A research survey was designed to investigate the factor affecting participation of illiterate adults in adult education in Kenya and suggests ways to improve on the literacy levels. From the findings it was established that lack of conducive learning environments for adult learners, unavailability of enough instructional materials, negative…

This chapter examines the potential for personal growth, development, and learning of older adult women who will have many productive years in the workforce. What implications are there for adult education communities who will interact with these older women? How do they adapt to the educational environment, and what social support will enable…

Although there is a widely held view that adult learning has a positive impact on well-being, only recently has this proposition been systematically tested. A review of recent research confirms that adult learning has a clear influence on earnings and employability, both of which may influence well-being indirectly. These are more important for…

This study investigates how poverty and residential mobility affect adult persistence and participation in family literacy (FL) programs. Combining data from interviews with directors and participants from a sample of FL sites in Pennsylvania, this study examines (a) the perceptions of practitioners and adult learners regarding the role of…

This major contribution to the literature on adult education provides adult educators with an accessible overview of critical theory's central ideas. Using many direct quotes from the theorists' works, the author shows how critical theory can illuminate the everyday practices of adult educators and help them make some sense of the dilemmas,…

Discusses factors which stop people from learning and suggests approaches that can help overcome them. (EB)

Some methodological problems are noted, followed by descriptions oflearning sets, transfer of learning, paced learning, mediated (paired associate) learning, and discovery learning. Twenty-four references. (LY)

Examines the interviewing techniques of journalists and applies them to use by instructional designers for interviewing subject matter experts and analyzing and teaching expert skills to adult learners. Highlights include types of interviews, including directive and nondirective; stages of the interview; the interview structure, including…

Introduces the theme issue, and presents key questions that address how a public or secular spirituality can best be brought to bear on teaching, researching, and learning processes. (SGD)

Examines andragogy through four questions: the meaning, antecedents, facilitation, and purposes of learning. Highlights two persistent tensions in adult learning: freedom versus authority and human agency versus social structures. (SK)

The power of collaborative learning partnerships is the synergy created through productive, meaningful activity. Key elements include trust, respect, self-selection, mutual goals, a belief that the sum is greater than the parts, and complementary qualities. (SK)

Compares theoretical underpinnings of three strands of feminist pedagogy--psychological, structural, and poststructural--in relation to four themes: knowledge construction, voice, authority, and positionality. Identifies five insights of feminist pedagogy: gender as category of analysis, gendered nature of experience, instructors' positionality,…

In critical theory, knowledge is a rational human product, power is possessed by subjects, knowledge frees subjects from power, and learning occurs through critical reflection. In a postmodern perspective, knowledge is tentative, power is expressed by subjects, knowledge is an expression of power, and learning occurs through deconstruction and…

Reviews current knowledge of the brain in the areas of neurobiology, aging, and consciousness as conceived by different cultures. Derives learning principles that take into account the brain's plasticity, ability to respond to learning throughout life, and the involvement of emotional and sensory experience. (Contains 27 references.) (SK)

The volume addresses the ways that the field of adult basic education has already been impacted by changes in technology and what needs to happen for learners and teachers to take full advantage of newly developing resources. The analysis is organized around three main themes: Learning, Teaching, and Organizing. Each section reviews relevant…