Adults seek out learning for very different reasons in different contexts, and this book is intended to support adult educators' development in responding to this rich array. There is no single way to be an adult learner, and so it should not be surprising that there is no single way to be an adult educator. However, the authors believe that all…

Although some have attempted to appropriate elements of Montessori education to select groups of adults (e.g., for learning disabilities, second language acquisition, dementia patients), there have been no comprehensive attempts to validate the adaptation of this approach to the adult learner in general. This exploratory study attempts to provide…

Climate change and climate education concern more than climate and the environment, as our social and economic systems both rely upon and are impacted by climate and environment. We cannot address the human impact on our global climate and local environments without several nations reconstructing their social and economic systems to be equitable…

The Adult Literacy for Life (ALL) Strategy was established to reduce the number of adults in Ireland with unmet numeracy needs from 25% to 12% (Government of Ireland, 2023). Studies suggest that learners' negative attitudes towards mathematics may also develop over a sustained period (Prendergast et al., 2020). Adult learners who have had negative…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the decision-making process of a group of core elementary teachers in Illinois Metro East districts around attending professional development. 10 teachers from two Metro East districts were interviewed about their motivations, choices, and factors when considering what professional development to…

This article provides an overview of major dimensions of the professional development of adult educators identified in European policy documents, relevant reports and research. The author reviews the relevant policy visions of the past two decades, aiming to determine the extent to which professional development of adult educators is visible in…

This paper draws on Freire's social philosophy arguing that adult education (AE) relates to community development (CD). The provision of AE opportunities serves as bait for community members (CMs) to participate in CD projects. This exploratory study undertaken in Ghana, interviewed 9 PhD students on how AE relates to CD, and how adult educators…

The climate is in crisis. Many conservation organizations identify in their mission statements the priority of motivating constituents to engage with conservation action. This priority is typically implemented by educators who design and deliver educational activities and materials. This study, designed to develop a professional pathway for…

Twenty-five-year-old inner-city students acquiring their high school diploma via an online forum experience stress. The research question is: How do faculty develop effective strategies to help online adult students mitigate stressors (from curriculum or technology)? The conceptual framework used in this research aligns with both the wellness…

This article presents the insights collected from an engaged interactive round table session, where participants came together to collaboratively brainstorm and deliberate upon best practices for effectively educating and mentoring Generation Z adult learners in both classroom and workplace settings. Drawing upon the extensive body of literature…

Irish Further Education and Training (FET) is presently undergoing a period of transformation after years of experiencing issues related to identity and precarious employment, among others. This paper explores the experiences and motivations of 16 student teachers who, despite the sectoral challenges, have chosen to teach in FET as a second…

This study examined various perspectives on 21st-century teachers, focusing on their definitions, characteristics, roles, developmental guidelines, challenges encountered during growth, and assessment criteria. The primary objective was to create educational modules for online self-training programs that enhanced teachers' skills. The research was…

Adult educators are often seen as proponents of social justice but what does it really mean to be an advocate for racial justice in and outside the classroom? Draconian policies implemented by the Trump administration have placed additional hardships on Americans. The increasing attacks on education have clear ramifications for adults in formal…

Through our shared interest in articulating a knowledge base for teacher education, we believe a deeper examination of the "work" of teacher educators would contribute to a fuller understanding of who teacher educators are and the work they do. Recognizing how context and positionality influence conceptions of teacher education and with…

Black students attending AANAPISI/HSI universities have long been overlooked in communication and interdisciplinary research. In this essay, I draw on bell hooks's (2014) radical transgressive teaching and Patricia Hill Collins's "outsider within" framework to examine the experiences of Black students at minority-serving institutions…