Within Higher Education, the social nature of learning may no longer equate to in-person interactions. Technology provides various interaction options and changes the learning environment. The challenge for instructors of courses in the area of teacher education is to understand the nature of academic risk-taking associated with blended learning…

Western Oklahoma State College's name comes up whenever athletes get themselves in a jam: They've failed a class. They've dropped another. Maybe they're just short on credits. But they still want to play. Western Oklahoma gives them a chance, offering three credits in two weeks--and for less than $400. Almost as appealing: The community college…

As school librarians tout lifelong learning for students, then it follows that lifelong learning applies to educators as well. Learning does not stop in retirement; however, the learning is different. The emphasis changes from professional development to more personal development. Although retirees may not need professional activities to add to…

The use of story with dramatic presentation approaches produces an engaging and powerful instructional choice for today's adult ESL educators. Two engaging and timed-tested approaches are Reader's Theater and Tableau Vivant. Both provide English language learners with content tailored to their abilities in addition to numerable opportunities to…

Surveys to evaluate instructor effectiveness are commonly used in higher education. Yet the survey items included are often drawn from other surveys without reference to a theory of adult learning. The authors present the results from a validation study of such a theory-based survey. They evidence that an evaluation survey based on a theory that…

The previous article, "Prior Learning Assessment: What is next after 40 years? Part 1: Prior Learning Assessment: 1970-2011" focused on the history of prior learning assessment (PLA) in the United States over the past 40 years. After exploring more recent recognition and development of PLA across institutions of higher education, the…

Organizational learning and transformation and attainment of organizational goals are not at odds. Those who value and consciously integrate whole-person and whole-body strategies in their formal and informal learning practices encourage people to bring their whole selves, including their emotional, physical, and spiritual life, to work. As…

The roots that Dr. Maria Montessori established are strong. Her understanding of children and learning continues to be relevant today. The content, sequence, and presentation of lessons still provide relevant learning experiences for today's students. Montessori teachers continue to present these lessons in ways that strike the imagination and…

Participation in adult education is today generally considered an individual responsibility. However, participation is the result of a complex bounded agency between individuals, educational institutions and regulating governments. This paper explores the motives of 12,000 European adult learners in formal adult education in 12 European countries.…

The legacy of the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research has been a powerful force for critically understanding social reality. Erich Fromm was one of the early and best known members of the Institute. Fromm emphasised the centrality of culture and interpersonal relations in the construction of the psyche. The unconscious was not only the…

This column features essays written by current middle school and high school teachers, media specialists, librarians, literacy coaches, curriculum specialists, administrators, preservice teachers, teacher educators, and adolescent and adult learners. They highlight diverse perspectives on teaching and/or learning with literacies to inspire reader…

In this paper I explore the relationships between lifelong learning and emancipation. On the one hand I raise critical questions about the idea of lifelong learning, particularly highlighting the tendency to turn social and political problems into learning problems and thus into issues that need to be resolved by individuals and their learning,…

This paper examines the earnings returns to learning that takes place following the conventional "school-to-work" stage of the life-course. We operationalise such "lifelong learning" as the attainment of certified qualifications in adulthood, following the completion of the first period of continuous full-time education. Using…

This article presents the results of experimental data on language production and comprehension. These show that adult learners of Dutch as an additional language, with different language backgrounds, and a L2 proficiency below level A2 (Waystage) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR; Council of Europe, 2001), use…

Partnerships between community colleges and employers to create apprenticeships have been around for decades. These traditionally have covered fields like the building trades--electrical, construction and others--as well as heavy manufacturing like the automobile industry. Inspired partly by a new federal apprenticeship consortium--and $175…