This article introduces Kominkan and its practice on Japanese social education and how it facilitates Japanese adult education and lifelong learning in local communities. Historically, social education was understood as all education that promotes social development and societal progress. Kominkan, as Japanese social education institutions for…

This article identifies historical connections between adult learning, popular education and the emergence of the public sphere in Europe, exploring potential implications for adult learning and community development, drawing upon research evaluating programmes to promote community-based learning "for" active citizenship in UK. The…

The study is situated within a national youth organisation called the Australian Air League Inc (Air League). We examine the recent progress of the Air League in South Australia, starting as a loose network of volunteers engaged in a sporadic array of activities, to become a learning community that worked collaboratively and then developed further…

The 21st century has seen renewed interest in activism, community development and social change globally (Kenny 2006). This paper outlines the educational significance of the learning practices of activists as they engage within and against the state. In an era of adult education which emphasises lifelong learning and learning in the workplace,…

This article focuses on the nature of "family learning" programmes in marginalised communities. Such programmes present a series of radical challenges (in the sense of getting to the root of things) to policy makers and professionals alike: about, for instance, the kinds of "learning" on offer and the neglect, perhaps…

A synoptic view of certain changes in adult education in Western Europe over the last twenty years, comments on their socio-cultural significance, and opinions about likely developments in the future are included in this study. Categories of adult education are defined as courses relating to established academic disciplines; courses in practical…

This book is a collection of selected writings and speeches which document the developments in the Canadian adult education movement during the 1960's. The writings and speeches are presented in six sections as follow: (1) Introduction, (2) The Setting, (3) Organizing for Work, (4) Programs and Experiences, (5) The Learner, and (6) Coming of Age.…

The six articles in this first issue comprise a critical discourse about theories, practices, and research with the intent of realizing the potential of adult learning to bring about social change. "Adult Education and Empowerment for Individual and Community Development" (Jack Mezirow) outlines and updates the author's transformation…

This study examines the role of adult education in bringing about social change through community development initiatives at a grassroots organisation called SUCCESS (United Chinese Community Enrichment Services Society), an immigrant community organisation in Vancouver, Canada. It adopts a case study approach. The study focuses on the historical…

A study of adult learning and neighborhood renewal examined how further education (FE) colleges and Local Education Authority (LEA) adult education services contribute to neighborhood renewal in deprived areas and considered how their strategic role might develop in this field. The study indicates that the policy framework for post-16 learning and…

A policy review examined the extent to which changes to the post-16 learning and skills policy environment, particularly in relation to further education (FE) colleges, were likely to support neighborhood renewal-related knowledge and skills development. It focused particularly on the development of skills and knowledge needed by regeneration…

This guide offers insight, advice, examples, and resources aimed at community education practitioners in the United Kingdom who want to establish sustainable community education and neighborhood renewal programs promoting active citizenship and social change. The following topics are discussed: (1) neighborhoods in crisis; (2) proposed government…

Ireland's economic and social problems in the 1980s spawned a new kind of community education. Key characteristics of the new community education are as follows: (1) it is a learning environment and located in the community; (2) it provides learning programs based on identified needs; (3) its control remains in the local community's hands; (4) its…

This document contains 12 papers about lifelong learning in rural communities in Great Britain. The papers, which are intended for lecturers, tutors, and guidance professionals but may also prove useful to organizations providing lifelong learning and policymakers, include conceptual tools as well as empirical case studies documenting lifelong…