Adult education for social change can occur within social movements, and the fight for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Queer (LGBTQ) rights has included educational strategies designed to challenge heterosexist and homophobic systems of power. This article explores how the Queer Nation movement of the early 1990s deployed a Foucauldian…

Beginning from the premise that the right to learn is a human right, the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning has set out a "framework of opportunity" for lifelong learning for the next quarter-century. In this article, the author describes how his team went about its task and sets out its main proposals.

Last year's Foresight report on mental capital and wellbeing has prompted much debate on the emergence of wellbeing as a key aim of public policy. For adult learning, obliged for so many years to justify its existence in economic terms, this should be good news, but it will be hard to shift ministers away from a narrow notion of…

Taking notes is of uttermost importance in academic and commercial use and success. Different techniques for note-taking utilise different cognitive processes and strategies. This experimental study examined ways to enhance cognitive performance via different note-taking techniques. By comparing performances of traditional, linear style…

This article features an open letter written by the author to her school library media colleagues, applauding those who are providing informative and interesting staff development activities for teachers, administrators, and their library media peers. She reminds her colleagues about their role in staff development and not to underestimate the…

The present study investigates 2-way bilingual immersion (TWBI) as a potentially viable pedagogical model for adult language learners. A review of the literature on TWBI at the K-6 level is provided, followed by an examination of key issues in adult second and foreign language education. Implications for potential adult TWBI programs are discussed…

The purpose of this multicase study was to explore with five students perceptions of their learning experiences and challenges faced while enrolled in a dental assisting course that is integrated with reading. The study was rooted in a constructivist framework both as a research paradigm and as a theoretical perspective regarding adult learning.…

Globally, blended learning (BL) technologies have been increasingly applied in a variety of fields, both public and private sectors. In recent years, universities, public and private businesses and organizations are among those employing blended learning methods and technologies in training and re-training of professionals in the workforce. In…

The author's academic interest in how shopping relates to adult learning goes back several years, to the author's Ph.D. program. Concerns are wide ranging, from social and material inequities manifest in unfair labor conditions for producers, to environmental degradation, to the tendency to favor economic viability single-mindedly over ecological…

This research explores the relationships between self-directed learning readiness and transformative learning theory (TLT) reflected by the Constructivist Internet-based Learning Environment Scale (CILES). A questionnaire survey about adult learner's perceptions of Internet-based learning was administered to adults enrolled in classes in community…

This article presents multivariate analyses of the characteristics associated with both participation in adult education and the intention to participate in future learning. It uses questionnaire data from more than 47,000 individuals collected by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) over the course of nine annual surveys…

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, this study was conducted to compare English communicative competency achievement between two different models of instruction. Adult English language learners (AELLs) participated in either the communicative task-based (CTB) or in a more traditional (MT) language instructional approach. The goal of the…

Originating from the literature on resiliency, adult learning, and professional development, this qualitative study investigated how the relationship between resiliency and adult learning influenced professional development in one suburban-rural school district in Litchfield County, Connecticut. Data represent findings on the perceptions of…

This study investigated the general instructional modes of adult educators in Southeast China and Northeast China. The study utilized Conti's (1983, 2004) Principles of Adult Learning Scale (PALS) to measure instructional modes of adult educators. Data were collected from 112 randomly selected participants engaged in teaching Chinese adult…

Increasing numbers of adults are pursuing higher education. The demand exists, to some measure, on changing demographics, rapid advancements in technology, global interconnectiveness, and more recently, a global economic downturn. Thus, there is a far greater need today for adults to acquire new skills or to be re-trained. Because of this,…