By studying survey data from 1,000 teachers participating in a Title II workshop, researchers identified three structural features (form, duration, and collective participation) that set a proper context for professional development. Three core features of professional-development learning experience include content focus, active learning, and…

Describes an experiment that looked at how adult learners made use of their Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI[R]), a personality assessment tool, type to cope with the challenges of learning in an online environment. Presents results of the experiment, and draws tentative conclusions. Provides notes related to the four psychological dimensions of…

Explores the relationships between the patterns of participation in lifelong learning of parents and children within families. Based on a large-scale study of lifetime participation in industrial South Wales. Suggests that individual participation trajectories remain similar within families and illustrates the varied manifestations of family…

Identified, synthesized, and critiqued literature on adult women's learning in higher education. Describes literature review, nature of literature, and topics and themes addressed by the literature. Three key themes emerged: women's self-doubts, women as silenced, and women as "connected" learners. Concludes there is not much work on women's…

Explored United Kingdom postgraduates' individual accounts of the experience of learning to see whether or not such descriptions of process reflected assumptions about "adults" appearing in some research literature. Found a diversity of approaches and experiences which did not fit with the idea of a distinctively "adult" way of…

A British university sought to increase participation of Muslim women in higher education by working with community organizations, conducting focus groups, developing curricula desired by learners, and delivering them at community sites. Flexible entry points and supports for nontraditional students were recommended. (SK)

Discusses adult learners and higher education provided in a distance-delivery format; case studies centered on adult learners; library service and support needs; distance adult learners' expectations of library service support; potential resources for distance adult learners; and selected online learner resources. (Author/LRW)

Discusses partnerships between libraries and literacy programs to help promote lifelong learning. Topics include understanding the adult learner; communication between tutors, literacy program staff, and library staff; tutoring accommodations, including privacy and quiet; a supportive library collection; library services, including computer…

Discusses differences in methods that are needed to effectively teach online courses as opposed to traditional classes. Considers the needs of online learners and suggests that andragogy, based on self-directed learning theory for adult learners, is more appropriate for distance education and nontraditional learners rather than traditional…

Questions the narrow definition of learning used in lifelong learning discourses. Uses evidence from a study of patterns of participation in adult learning in South Wales from 1900 to argue that if informal learning continues to be ignored, the result may be an exclusiveness in defining a learning society. (CMK)

One way in which the concept of sustainable development has been understood is through the metaphor of natural capital. This sees that the natural world has performing functions similar to those of economic capital. This metaphor is usually developed by applying to Nature standard economic techniques for capital valuation. However, where valuation…

The research reported in this paper attempts to document the actual learning practices of working-class people in the context of the much heralded "knowledge-based economy." Our primary thesis is that working-class peoples' indigenous learning capacities have been denied, suppressed, degraded or diverted within most capitalist schooling,…

The interaction of agency and context in workplace learning is explored through a micro-analysis of the implementation of networked learning communities in schools in England. Interviews with local activists show evidence of co-participation between individuals' responses and their workplace roles and experience as they take up the opportunity to…

This chapter presents a brain-based model of adult learning and connects the model to practice.

Graduate counselling students in the first semester of practicum are challenged to learn the basic active listening sequence while simultaneously learning to engage in the supervision process. Students struggle with confusion and self-doubt as they attempt to develop self-efficacy as a professional counsellor. Adult learning theory and…