Adults learn when they actively engage in meaningful activities. Meaningfulness is an extremely subjective factor, which depends on experiences, values, attitudes and much more. "The ways in which adults learn in and through the workplace are rooted in educational trajectories and their complex intertwining with social institutions (of labour…

This article describes a Framework that can be used to help bridge the gap between theory and practice in adult learning. The Framework promotes practice informed by three strands important to adult literacy work: social theories of literacy, social-constructivist learning theory and principles of adult learning. The Framework shows how five key…

The environment is now a common theme in adult education. However, conversations that swirled around the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012 suggested major environmental challenges persist, demanding that education, learning, advocacy and activism be augmented to ensure the survival of the planet. In adult…

Purpose: The purpose of this case study is to describe the design and delivery of a leadership programme for a diverse group of clinicians and middle managers within a British mental health organisation. Design/methodology/approach: This paper shows how the course was co-designed between managers, clinicians and higher education, specifically to…

Andragogical precepts provide rich opportunities for building cultural bridges, particularly among people in times of strife. Encouraging adults to share their experiences and insights in a learning community of unconditional positive regard can build understanding, hope, and peace among people experiencing conflict and marginalization. An…

Community workers are often described as unsung heroes who work for, with and alongside others in order to make qualitative differences to the communities they serve. This paper reports on the story of a community-based arts educator, Morgan Jai-Morincome, winner of the ACT Adult Learners Week Award for an outstanding program in 2007. This…

Spirituality, religion, and culture are complicated subjects. Indeed, they are fundamental socialising forces that affect how adult learners make meaning in the world. While there has been considerable discussion of the spiritual and religious dimensions of adult learning in North America and to some extent in England, there has been little direct…

This article aims to continue the conversation initiated by Denis O'Sullivan in the 2008 issue of the "Adult Learner". O'Sullivan raises several important points about the nature of Irish adult education and the need to develop a rigorous theoretical basis for the authors' work. The authors wish to engage with O'Sullivan's observations…

This art-informed, reflexive, autobiographical inquiry explores the struggles of a feminist academic committed to transformative adult education and subsistence learning, while engaged in program planning for fire service education. The author chronicles how her approach within the applied practice in a traditional, male dominant workplace setting…

This empirical study uses auto-ethnography to describe a higher education pedagogical process that facilitated largely doctoral students in preparing their candidacy proposals through the use of specific adult learning principles. Students' experiences and points of view of such a learning environment were explored, including: (1) how they…

The Welsh Assembly Government is nothing if not consultative. The most recent draft policy out for public debate aims to improve the way adult community learning (ACL) is planned and delivered--in order to provide demonstrable benefits for learners. This latest consultation sits under "Skills that Work for Wales," the Assembly…

Two perspectives are used to reflect on the learning design of a postgraduate online course--that of the designer/facilitator and that of the learner. While the course focus is on online pedagogical approaches, the main aim is to connect learners with each other and with the facilitator so that together they may investigate, trial, challenge and…

In this article, special attention is paid to psychologists' experiences of learning trajectories in educational counseling. The data consists of two case studies. They were selected from a total of 15 interviews with psychologists conducted as part of a research project on "Changing Practices in Educational Psychological Practice (CPEPP) in…

An Australian rural extension center used a training approach based on adult learning principles and action learning. Action learning was applied daily in residential courses, weekly in development of work-based learning projects, and on a subject basis over 3-4 months. (SK)

"Adult Language Learners: Context and Innovation" presents instructional practices that are particularly successful with adults. Adult language learners are goal oriented and direct their learning to fulfill particular needs or demands: to advance their studies, to progress up the career ladder, to follow business opportunities, to pass…