This article, a conceptual and theoretical piece, opens a window on "playful learning" as a philosophy of education and a suite of diverse pedagogical approaches, methods, and techniques. The paper criticizes the serious ambience of adult education with its high levels of instrumentalism and performativity. It argues for playful learning…

Mentoring has long been recognized as an effective strategy for retaining and supporting doctoral students in their programs of study. In this qualitative investigation, we conducted three focus groups of proteges, peer mentors, and faculty mentors to explore definitions, experiences, and expectations of mentoring. Results indicated that the three…

The operational criteria for a center for continuing education is examined in the context of the center's mission, as the mission is described and developed from specified definitions of adult education, further education, and continuing, lifelong education. (AG)

Despite the lengthy existence of the concept of lifelong learning, there is still no one generally accepted theory of education as a lifelong process. More than an extension of adult education, lifelong learning rests on the belief that learning occurs throughout life, in different ways and through different processes. The key notion in lifelong…

In one school of thought, self-directed learning (SDL) is based in the autonomous, independent individual who chooses to undertake learning for personal growth. However, another school of thought stresses the social construction of knowledge and the social context of learning. Some writers challenge the exclusive emphasis on the autonomous self…

Critical reflection blends learning through experience with theoretical and technical learning to form new knowledge constructions and new behaviors or insights. Through the process of critical reflection, adults come to interpret and create new knowledge and actions from their experiences. It is generally agreed that critical reflection consists…

This paper, which is directed toward adult educators, presents a new approach to understanding the concept of marginalization, as well as a series of educational proposals regarding working with marginalized people that are drawn from transformative learning theory. First, marginalization is defined as being out of religious, legal, and…

College students enrolled in developmental mathematics and elementary algebra courses typically make the same mistakes repeatedly. Moreover, the same mistakes are made every semester, regardless of the students involved. Lev Vygotsky's concept of fossilization, which refers to the phenomenon of learning being lost over time and only behaviors…

The "biography of place" can be available in the objective (currently valid and predominant) history of a given region of residence or it can be created by individuals in the process of reflections on their own social identity, which is defined by their place of living. Each perspective is conditioned by an epistemological and…

Cohorts are increasingly popular management tools for recruiting students into professional education programs, for organizing their learning experiences, for promoting performance-based outcomes, and for developing and using innovative teaching-learning practices. This article examines issues about the effects of learning in cohorts by focusing…

To examine Coolie Verner's contributions to the study of adult education as a systematic discipline, the author of this paper reviews and analyzes Verner's publications from 1950-1975. The first of five sections describes this as a period of rapid growth for the adult education field. Verner is depicted as a leader in developing a substantive body…

The applications of biographical concepts in educational settings were examined through a case study of one researcher's use of the biographical narrative interview to examine the connection between subjective and structural conditions and coping strategies in individual lives and to inform adult education practitioners. The biographical approach…

For many years, Robert Boyd has focused on the deeper emotional and spiritual dimensions of learning that many have suggested are underdeveloped in dominant conceptions of transformative learning. Boyd's work is grounded in the field of depth psychology, which is based on a fundamental belief in the powerful role that the dynamic unconscious plays…

Incidental learning is unintentional or unplanned learning that results from other activities. It occurs often in the workplace, during the use of computers, and in the process of completing tasks. Incidental learning occurs in many ways, including the following: through observation, repetition, social interaction, and problem solving; from…

Self-directed learning (SDL) is among the most productive areas of research in adult education. Malcolm S. Knowles is credited with a comprehensive synthesis of adult teaching and adult learning principles. Andragogy, the art and science of helping adults learn, lies at the heart of Knowles' work. Lucy M. Guglielmino theorized regarding the…