Objective: To address a critical gap in health education scholarship by exploring the contexts in which self-help reading takes place, the motivations of self-help readers and the processes through which such readers engage with books on mental health. Design: Structured, in-depth interviews conducted with participants recruited through online…

Numerous scholars have documented and critiqued the predominance of neoliberal policies and rationalities shaping adult and continuing education around the world. Contemporary sociologists have argued that neoliberal citizens are characterized by hyperindividuality and a strong sense of personal autonomy. Self-help reading is widely viewed as one…

In recent years, the concept of public pedagogy has increasingly influenced the study of continuing education, drawing attention to ways in which adults access resources from popular culture and learn without the involvement of educational institutions. Reading relationship self-help books has become a prominent component of popular culture. There…

A systematic literature review was undertaken to determine the evidence base underpinning the strategy of Self Directed Support and whether evidence demonstrates that this policy is accessible to everyone with a learning disability. It also sought to identify whether there were any barriers to Self Directed Support for people with severe or…

Self-help literature has become an important domain of adult learning in North America. Self-help books offer readers advice on how to take charge of their lives and achieve goals such as prosperity, love, happiness, wellness, and self-actualization. Despite the popularity of self-help books, there has been little research about them from scholars…

Australia is a country of ongoing migration that embraces diversity, creative expression and cultural activity. Membership of community music groups by older people can enhance life quality, and may provide a space through which cultural and linguistic identity may be shared and celebrated. This qualitative phenomenological case study explores…

Through presenting empirical research exploring the connections between popular culture and informal learning, we argue that, as predicted by concepts such as self-directed learning and transformational learning, the experience of transition has a meaningful impact on adult learning. Specifically, transitions encourage adults to engage in learning…

The education of African American adults evolved in response to the changing social, economic, and political needs of the Black community. To address these needs, Black Greek-Letter Organizations (BGLOs) created and implemented initiatives at the local, national, and international levels using education as a catalyst to change aspects of African…

Von Bergen, Soper, Rosenthal, and Wilkinson examine four alternative training methods (subliminal self-help, meditation, mental imagery/practice, and neurolinguistic programming), concluding that only mental practice is supported by scientific evidence. Watkins takes issue with their dismissal of qualitative evidence. Their rejoinder asserts the…

This qualitative research case study includes a brief overview of the status and development of self-advocacy in New Hampshire, describes the state's guardianship program, and highlights areas of concern to people with disabilities. Self-advocacy is described as having three primary components: (1) enabling people with developmental disabilities…

Given the current need for collegial interaction among teachers, a teacher collegial group (TCG) was designed and implemented as a participatory structure in an elementary school. An interpretive research design was used to: (1) identify interactions occurring among the six participating teachers during TCG meetings; (2) improve the TCG meeting…

Mental health consumer-run organizations are alternatives to mainstream mental health services, and they have the dual focus of supporting members and creating systems change. The existing literature suggests that these organizations have beneficial impacts on social support, community integration, personal empowerment, subjective quality of life,…

A qualitative study examined how formal and informal social and cultural learning for political action was incorporated into two women's organizations in Colombia: the Association of Daycare Mothers and the Community Mothers. Research was guided by the historic hermeneutic method, which identifies experience through the narrative testimonies of…

The purpose of this article is to report on the system-level findings of a longitudinal study of four mental health consumer-run self-help organizations. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed that staff and members of the four Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs) participated actively in system-level activities, including community planning,…

This article examines the outcomes of participation in mental health Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs) and identifies helpful qualities of CSIs through a longitudinal, qualitative study that involved in-depth interviews of people who experienced severe mental health challenges in Ontario, Canada. We used a nonequivalent control group design in…