Training and development are used extensively in the United States to impact employee learning and performance. The considerable investment and expenditures across public and private sectors and the vast number of employees who receive support from training and development professionals warrants exploration into how instructional designers are…

This article provides an overview of adult learning theory, focusing on the theories covered in this issue of New Directions in Adult and Continuing Education. In offering a brief synopsis of each article and reflecting on the ways adult learning theories have evolved since the first update was published in 1993, this article explains several…

This practice-based paper provides a case study of the Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board's (WWETB) Rainbow Connection Initiative. The initiative employs badges as a visible symbol of inclusivity and staff commitment, actively seeking to address issues and challenges faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning,…

The Center for Effective Teaching and Learning at Cal State LA (CETL) was tasked to create a certificate program to address inclusive teaching that we could offer to faculty online at scale. The Inclusive Teaching Program recognizes college faculty as independent experts and self-directed learners who desire space and community to think about…

At a time when the number of younger students entering our colleges and universities is stagnant, and the number of older people in our society continues to grow by the millions, schools of social work have an opportunity to broaden their student base by intentionally including people past midlife. This article argues that we must recruit and…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, an adult noncredit program in the California Community College system partnered with Ease Learning to help convert face-to-face courses to an online modality. Subsequent data revealed a misalignment in the courses' Student Learning Outcomes and Instructional Objectives which became a barrier to student success. Wile's…

Higher education today is characterized by a highly diversified student population. This, in turn, calls for greater inclusivity in higher education. To answer this call, this paper introduces a typology of student diversity in, and an inclusive student learning support system for, higher education. More specifically, the typology of student…

This open access book offers pioneering insights and practical methods for promoting diversity and inclusion in higher education classrooms and curricula. It highlights the growing importance of international education programs in Asia and the value of understanding student diversity in a changing, evermore interconnected world. The book explores…

In recent decades, educational research has strongly supported the incorporation of culture and cultural identities into adult learning environments. However, much of the literature about culturally responsive teaching, a well-established framework in multicultural education research, has been conducted in the K-12 setting, leaving one to question…

U.S. colleges and universities are rapidly diversifying. In 2018, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that nearly half of undergraduate students were of non-white racial identities, with that number only increasing for future generations. This increase in diversity holds true for many other identity groups. Yet, faculty demographics remain…

Purpose: As the classrooms in higher education are growing increasingly diverse, it is imperative that higher education practitioners build a responsive learning environment for diverse learners to optimize their potential. Continuing professional development programmes (CPD) are central to such strategic approaches that equip educators with…

How engaged families are in their children's lives, whether at home or in school, predicts their success in school and in life. The purpose of this study was to explore parent, educator, and community member perspectives of family engagement, preschool through grade 12, to inform state-level policy from an ecological framework. Ten semi-structured…

In recent years and especially over the past 12 months, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the unrest after the death of George Floyd, community colleges have been making efforts to view and rethink their missions through an equity lens. These efforts have included turning this prism toward institutional operations like student services, human…

In today's classrooms, inclusion is evident on many levels. Educators are given opportunities for professional development on creating inclusive classrooms that respect and embrace diversity, and they are gaining confidence in their ability to apply differentiated instruction that engages all students in their learning. Using differentiated…

Sustainable leadership as a concept is both in its infancy and also under researched, with much of the previous work in the area concentrating solely on the compulsory sector. Lambert (2011) argues that existing models are not entirely appropriate for further education due to the landscape in which colleges operate. This paper presents the…