Adults' development of literacy and numeracy skills that can enable them to navigate the demands of contemporary life and be prepared for the future is central to their economic, social, and personal well-being and the functioning of society. This article discusses the role of literacy and numeracy in adult learning and education, beginning with…

This essay introduces a juxtaposition of adult education, futures perspectives, transformative learning theory, and democratic engagement. Within adult education, the promise of education, and the possibilities of transformative learning (TL) are often linked to democracy and human freedoms, yet that democratic promise is often left unfulfilled or…

Adult education has historically played a role in modern democracies in support of civic participation and democratic engagement. In the context of a relatively stable and unchanging society, learning "about" and participating "in" the democratic process allow for tweaking the mechanisms of democracy. In present times, taken…

This conceptual article provides a comprehensive overview of the current status of Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration and its influence on adult education. It discusses generative AI technologies and their potential applications in adult education settings, examines the opportunities and ethical challenges associated with integrating AI, and…

In Spring 2022, the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC) conducted a survey of Illinois high school seniors to better understand their college-decision-making processes. Although a vast majority of seniors who answered the survey were attending 4-year or 2-year college, a non-negligible number (n = 355, 14% of the…

Based on observations of a rural community and in-depth interviews with five rural women, this paper shows how access to smartphones enables marginalised rural women to engage in digital literacies in their everyday life practices. The research shows that rural women learn digital skills, communication skills, and literacies in an unplanned and…

This article presents a multi-layered approach to mentoring within an urban secondary teacher education program in the mid-southern United States. The featured case focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), although multi-layered mentoring could occur in other subject areas or in general preservice teacher education. The…

This book elaborates on the project of continuing education and training (CET), its purposes, practices and prospects for future models and approaches. As such, it also seeks to elaborate the needs for a means by which this important educational sector can achieve its goals both now, and in the near future. Often seen as a supplementary or…

This study compares the way IVET and CVET sub-systems interact to support the learning of adults, and thus facilitate lifelong and life-wide learning. By comparing the interaction between IVET and CVET sub-systems in the countries covered, the study analyses the extent to which IVET systems are opening up to adults, and questions whether national…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop queer futuring strategies that take into consideration adult learners' needs in support of transformational and sustainable change for social justice and equity. Design/methodology/approach: This paper develops the construct of queer futuring, which engages queer theory perspectives in a critical…

Previous research is unequivocal regarding higher education's importance for regional or national development, and the local presence of highly educated individuals in a municipality is crucial for its prosperity and development. The study aim is to increase understanding of representational perceptions of future university students in rural areas…

This paper attends to the educational narratives of South Asian Muslim women who grew up in an inner city area. Using walking interviews, each individual took me around the neighbourhood where they grew up, identifying places of educational encounter on the way. There was a pertinent sense of a past that was in many ways, still present. Their…

During CONFINTEA VII's Panel 4: "Preparing adults for the future of work" and throughout the conference, participants grappled with crafting a "transformative agenda," where adult learning and education (ALE) prepares adults for future workplaces, education is viewed as an individual right and a common good, and sustainable…

This paper explores the development of Civic Wellness programs at the Art Institute of Chicago, with an emphasis on how Civic Wellness teaching, partnerships, and strategy are informed by social justice-oriented values. These include equity practice, antiracism, strength in community, and democratic justice-oriented andragogy. The paper lays out…

It is rare in contemporary times to encounter international education policy reports that inspire hope and excitement for the future, such as we are offered in the 1972 report of the International Commission on the Development of Education set up by UNESCO in 1971 and chaired by Edgar Faure. "Learning to be: The world of education today and…