Life is serious and serious literature can help people through it. That's the message of Jane Davis's remarkable Get into Reading project. Jane Davis's Get into Reading project is one of two main strands of work undertaken by The Reader organization, at Liverpool University. In 1997, Jane and two other continuing education teachers, Sarah Coley…

When John McAnuff came to London from Jamaica in 1958 he was not planning to stay. Like most of the people who made the crossing to England, frustrated by low pay, little opportunity and poor living conditions, he intended to work hard for a few years before returning home a bit richer. McAnuff, now 72, worked for 10 years as a passenger guard on…

The Brighton Unemployed Centre Families Project, a community centre run by the unemployed for the unemployed, unwaged and low-waged, has run periodic creative writing classes for 15 years. The centre's creative writing scheme, Salt and Vinegar, gives centre users an opportunity to write about their lives and to develop their writing skills. The…

The recognition of prior learning (RPL) has been a part of adult education policy and practice for a long time, but in different ways and in different times and places. In Sweden, RPL has been an explicit part of the policy since 1996. This policy analysis starts with the current Swedish policy concerning RPL. The figures of thought expressed in…

Adult basic education represents a marginalized field that addresses the needs of a largely marginalized population: adults who are viewed through a deficit lens labeling them as being underprepared. This article examines particular challenges and strengths of adult learners in basic education programs (including literacy, English language, and…

The link between learning and the knowledge-economy is so crucial that the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development has reconceptualised the term knowledge-economy to call it "learning economy". Ultimately, one of the main challenges of learning and development in the 21st century is to evaluate the significant learning…

Based on a sociocultural perspective, this study investigated the learning experiences of a selected group of older adults learning computing technologies at a social center in Hong Kong. Data generated from in-depth interviews were used to develop a model of evolving motivation that explains how this group of "anxious novices" had…

Unaware of the messages a bare adult learning environment sends and its effect on adult learners, a trainer attends an intensive Reggio Emilia course and learns that the physical environment is the "third teacher"--for adults as well as for children. Using principles of Reggio, she offers suggestions for enhancing adult learning spaces and…

The aging population is a worldwide challenge. Understanding how older adults have been portrayed would provide a foundation on which future scholarship can build. This study assesses and critiques the assumptions underlying the portrayal of older adults and their learning in adult education journals from 1980 to 2006. On reviewing 93 articles in…

In this article, an emerging framework for investigating and interpreting the experiences of learning in later life is presented. This framework is contextualized by a study in which the lived experiences of later-life computer learners were investigated. Significant ontological and existential interpretations from the study provided insights into…

Since the last edition of the Journal, the European Prison Education Association (EPEA) has been officially elected a member of the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) at EAEA's General Assembly held at the University of Latvia in Riga. The EAEA is the largest umbrella organization in Europe advocating lifelong learning. It is…

The education system is complex, but at its core, it is a learning partnership between the student, the family and teachers. This partnership -- supported by the Ministry -- is ultimately responsible for ensuring every learner receives a high quality education. A high quality education enables learners to realize their full potential and…

Inspired by innovative change already taking place in British Columbia communities and developed through many months of consultation with educators, students, parents and other British Columbians, BC's Education Plan responds to the realities and demands of a world that has already changed dramatically and continues to evolve. The engagement and…

This book assembles over 50 papers from the 7th Triennial European Research Conference of the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA), which was held from the 4th to the 7th of September 2013 at Humboldt-University in Berlin. The title of the conference was "Changing Configurations of Adult Education in Transitional…

The trade union movement is justifiably proud of the part it has played in developing education services for working people. Unionists have long realised that education, far from being the preserve of the ruling classes, is the key to liberation and to civic and political participation. The association is one of the most luminous in the history of…