Generative AI (GenAI) refers to the production of entirely new creative works, such as text, pictures, music, or poetry, in response to simple prompts (Lanxon et al., 2023). Some view GenAI as a disruption to our education system, pointing to biases in the training data, concerns about misleading or inaccurate information, challenges to educators,…

This closing article urges adult educators to continue to question our role, our ideas, and our pedagogical strategies in order to renew our efforts to support social change and social justice.

This article explores the 'burden of compliance' experienced by providers and teachers in the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), a large national English as an Additional Language (EAL) program in Australia. It shows how compliance requirements have been shaped by the relationship between two groups, those who make and operationalise relevant…

As an adult-learning practitioner, I am intrigued by the process of helping learners, especially leaders, develop through the affective domain. Although leaders in my experience often comprehend the lexicon of emotional intelligence (EI), incorporating EI for leadership development has proven elusive. While research suggests EI is difficult to…

This article explores the potential of adult learning and education, its pivotal role in addressing social transformation and promoting global-local partnerships, and its relationship to the issue of sustainability. The authors' conceptual setting helps to reveal the closely connected yet contested and always power-related perspectives of adult…

In this brief article, the author expresses her greatest concerns regarding learning in the cyber world: the appropriateness of online learning for courses with sensitive subject matter, the comfort level of nontraditional learners in this new setting, and the inability as an instructor to fully engage with the learner in real time. As an adult…

In this essay, Jill Zarestky shares what she learned about creating student-centered adult education programs with those who wish to teach adults internationally or in similar contexts. Prior to traveling, Zarestky repeatedly heard from other Westerners (NGO employees and volunteers) how little the women knew and how desperately they needed her…

This article looks at how administrators and teachers who consider themselves adult educators but who find themselves in a union environment come to think about their role and their context. This article is based on research conducted with administrators and teachers working in a joint union-employer sponsored program. Joint programs were…

This article discusses findings from two case studies examining the impact of neoliberal education reform on the classroom practice of teachers and adult educators in Ontario, Canada. We asked educators to comment on the impacts of 20 years of policy shifts in their classrooms. Teachers in public schools and adult literacy programmes echoed each…

In this piece, the author experiments with re-presenting particular stories through poetic texts that contextualize and honor difference in experience between GED students and instructors. These poetic re-presentations stem from an ongoing study that explores (a) adult basic education instructors' perceptions of their pedagogy and interaction with…

This paper presents the cooperative analysis by a lecturer and an academic development practitioner of a reflective journal dialogue over the 12 weeks of teaching a postgraduate course. Through a retrospective analysis of the journal the present paper explores the following issues: the framing of an inquiry; the personal-professional nexus; and…

Diversity, understood in a multiplicity of ways, has been a focus of attention in education in recent years. As in many other countries, recent post-school education policies in Aotearoa/New Zealand have emphasised previously under-represented ethnic groups, such as Maori and Pasifika. The intention has been to widen participation in further and…

This article suggests that thinking about the nature of intimacy, especially sexual intimacy, is a good way of deepening our understanding of how deep-seated psychic vulnerabilities play an important role in adult education contexts. Drawing on psychoanalytic accounts of human development, the paper outlines how the capacity for ethical action in…

Despite high staff turnover and a predominance of part-time positions in the field of adult education some adult education teachers create careers for themselves that span many years--even decades. According to the U.S. Department of Education (2007), teachers are the most important factor in improving student achievement. Knapp (2003) points out…

The volume addresses the ways that the field of adult basic education has already been impacted by changes in technology and what needs to happen for learners and teachers to take full advantage of newly developing resources. The analysis is organized around three main themes: Learning, Teaching, and Organizing. Each section reviews relevant…