A somatic approach to education implies education that trusts individuals to learn from and listen to the information they are receiving from the interaction of self with the environment. Somatic or embodied knowing is experiential knowledge that involves senses, perceptions, and mind-body action and reaction. Western culture has been dominated by…

Educational research is distinctive inasmuch as it shares the moral objective of education, which is to help people make the best of themselves through processes of learning. Educational research is a service industry for education. As such, its contribution to the efficiency and effectiveness of educational processes can be increased by focusing…

This report summarizes results of the AISD federally-funded Title IV Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program evaluation for the 1999-2000 school year.

The following papers are included: "Preface" (Huey B. Long); "Self-Directed Learning: Smoke and Mirrors?" (Huey B. Long); "From Self-Culture to Self-Direction: An Historical Analysis of Self-Directed Learning" (Amy D. Rose); "The Link between Self-Directed and Transformative Learning" (Jane Pilling-Cormick);…

Learners' views on their progress and achievement in literacy and numeracy were examined in a study during which practitioners from eight further education colleges in England interviewed 70 adults (ages 16 to over 60 years) enrolled in literacy, numeracy, or English-for-speakers-of-other-languages programs. The metaphor of traveling on a learning…

This document contains six papers exploring emerging viewpoints, issues, and trends related to mentoring and adult learning. "Mentoring: From Athena to the 21st Century" (Catherine A. Hansman) traces the definitions of the term "mentor" and mentoring practices that have evolved since antiquity. "Emerging Perspectives on…

In the United Kingdom, these two perspectives on lifelong learning sit uneasily together: emphasis on adults in employment and a focus on diversity and widening participation in adult education. A recent emphasis on accreditation with implications for funding has affected diversity and participation objectives because involving assessment,…

A questionnaire responded to by 424 students was intended to find out the ways in which the needs and experiences of 19,000 lifelong learners enrolled in the Lifelong Learning Society (LLS) at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) meshed with the goals of the LLS. Of those students, 44 participated in a follow-up interview. These were the goals of the…

Robert Kegan's constructive-development theory of adult growth postulates three different ways of knowing (instrumental, socializing, and self-authoring) and suggests that, although individuals develop differently, individual development can never be separated from culture. The potential of the constructive-development perspective on adult…

Advances in communications and increased international travel have necessitated that learners in New Zealand and elsewhere be integrated into the global educational community. Globalization faces numerous challenges and dangers, including the following: recruiting foreign students can become an entrepreneurial activity designed to generate revenue…

This book examines the ideas of Antonio Gramsci and Paulo Freire regarding radical education and adult education's role in the struggle for liberation from oppression. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the following topics: Gramsci and Freire's theories; publications about both men in the adult education literature; and the principles of…

Increasingly, adult educators are using narrative and stories for many reasons, including their deep appeal, satisfaction, and cultural transcendence. As a fundamental structure of human meaning making narrative is a valuable classroom tool in that it can enable students to understand life events, personal actions, and solidify identity formation.…

The media constitute important sources and resources for development of critical thought about the media themselves and the reality they represent. The first theories of the media were based on the concept of unidirectional communication. Later, factors such as the increasing interest in audiences and development of cultural studies caused…

This collection of 38 papers has as its focus adult learners, and covers a wide range of topics including: electronic peer networks; workplace training (in Australia); health professional accreditation; students with disabilities; vertically integrated courses; balancing instructional modes through journal writing and student collaboration;…

Appreciative inquiry (AI) is based on the heliotropic principle, which has been variously described as art and science, holistic theory and practice, and practical philosophy and change process. AI engages people and organizations in discovering what gives life to human systems when they are most effective and constructive and using that knowledge…