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Copyright of Lifelong Learning / Celoživotní Vzdělávání is the property of Institute of Lifelong Learning and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents an objective definition of the accessibility of education as well as the factors characterizing such accessibility. Additionally, by analyzing the results regarding the opinions of education planners and consumers, the article evaluates the accessibility of education. The article also investigates the accessibility of education by considering territorial, information aspects, methods and form of education, various options and tendencies of education programs, the qualification of teachers, education assistance and the conditions of education. The article helps to better understand the situation of adult education not only in the country, but in particular municipalities and to improve the education process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows the historic steps in the appearance and development of adult education throughout the Bulgarian territories. It also underlines the possibilities for learning available to the Bulgarians in different historic periods and in present time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current literature review explores the factors that contribute to academic persistence for adult learners. The aim of the study is to identify current research-based strategies aimed at supporting learner persistence, particularly for low-skilled adults. Elements of three theoretical frameworks, namely, expectancy-value theory (EVT), goal theory (GT) and self-determination theory (SDT) are conceptualised in a new, melded cognitive model to explain better the constructs that contribute to academic persistence. These theories are used to frame and explain the challenges that adult learners face when returning to school and to understand better the psychosocial demands on adult learners, based on social cognitive theory. This study is particularly significant in the light of current national attention directed towards redesigning adult basic education programmes to include more workforce development and strategies aimed at accelerating the progress of adult learners through basic skills and into post-secondary education and/or career training. Questions guiding the current study include identifying research-based strategies that instructors can use, and elements of programme design that support student persistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine honor-related dilemmas that principals encounter in daily practice. Such dilemmas illustrate how special demands from parents can collide with the school's democratic mission. Design/methodology/approach –In total, 53 principals who participated in an in-service program, which aimed to enhance consciousness and knowledge concerning honor-related issues, were asked to describe their experiences of honor-related dilemmas. The paper uses the understanding of the honor culture as an analytic probe in studying and understanding the dilemmas and how these collide with the school's inner work in accordance with democratic values. Findings – The major findings illustrate that the participating principals have to deal with honor-related issues in their daily practice. The dilemmas include parents' demands for restrictions affecting girls, young women, boys, and young men from preschool up to adult education. These restrictions limit their right to participate in all school subjects and activities and to live a life free of oppression. Practical implications – The paper reveals the importance of enhanced consciousness and knowledge concerning honor-related issues. Principals must have the ability to identify and recognize at-risk students and organize the necessary support for those students without stigma and exclusion. How the school's structure and culture support intercultural practice and inclusion is important to avoid a contribution to marginalization and a rejection of the school's value base. Originality/value – A number of research studies have been done regarding culture clashes in the multicultural school context. This paper identifies dilemmas that can be related to the honor culture and how these are expressed in the principal's office. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employed quantitative and qualitative research approaches to investigate what constitutes success in adult basic education ( ABE) programs from the perspectives of multiple educational stakeholders: the state funding agency, the teachers, and the students. Success was defined in multiple ways. In the quantitative section of the study, we computed classroom value-added scores (used as a metric of the state's definition of success) to identify more and less effective ABE classrooms in two Florida counties. In the qualitative section of the study, we observed and conducted interviews with teachers and students in the selected classrooms to investigate how these stakeholders defined success in ABE. Iterative consideration of the qualitative data revealed three principal markers of success: (1) instructional strategies and teacher-student interactions, (2) views on standardized testing, and (3) student motivational factors. In general, classrooms with higher value-added scores were characterized by multiple instructional approaches, positive and collaborative teacher-student interactions, and students engaging in goal setting and citing motivational factors such as family and personal fulfillment. The implications for ABE programs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

e-Learning has increased rapidly in higher education. Most online education attempts to mirror the traditional face-to-face (FtF) classroom with less than favourable results. This paper proposes a conceptual e-learning framework based on andragogy theory, transformative learning theory, and media synchronicity theory. The conceptual e-learning framework supports the self-directed learning. e-learning based on this framework has the potential to out-perform not only current learning management systems such as Blackboard™, but also traditional FtF learning for adult education and with different and better outcomes. Results of early testing of the concept showed increased learner's online activity, innovation, and creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnographic research in a further education College (Borough College) between 2000 and 2005 assessed the impact of performance indicators (PIs) within a department teaching GCSEs and A-levels. Research focused on PIs integral to the Learning and Skills Council funding formula, the Common Inspection Framework and newspaper league tables, and the extent to which these facilitated the utilisation of productive motivational inputs (e.g., lecturer and manager self-interest, altruism and intrinsic motivation) in line with New Labour’s goal of students improving skills for employability and its egalitarian goal of needs-based equity for disadvantaged students. Research in Borough College provided significant caveats for the current Coalition government to consider in the design of performance indicators in 2013 relating to the nature of governance within which the use of PIs is situated. In particular, it suggests that an over-emphasis on the hierarchy form of governance at the expense of open systems to meet targets set may lead to the marginalisation of productive motivational inputs such as intrinsic motivation and tacit knowledge within internal policy and procedure. It also suggests that an over-emphasis on the rational-goal form of governance at the expense of self-governance may lead to a culture of performativity and student commodification if disadvantaged student cohorts are expected to achieve in line with the ‘average’ student encapsulated in national benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Pädagogik is the property of Julius Beltz GmbH & Co. KG Beltz Juventa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The historically distinct fields of adult and higher education are converging in a dramatic demographic shift from undergraduate classrooms occupied primarily by traditional-age college students to ever-increasing numbers of adults within baccalaureate programs. This study found that while higher education faculty acknowledged that adult students differ from their traditional-age counterparts and enhance the overall educational environment in mixed-age undergraduate classes, they perceived no need to adapt their instructional approach to accommodate this growing postsecondary demographic. These findings reveal a lack of understanding by the professoriate regarding adult learners and adult education methodologies, and they provide valuable insight into an emerging crisis in America's college classrooms where faculty members are increasingly unable to meet the needs of today's learners. Amid the clamor for accountability in higher education, the results and context of this study provide direction for future discussions and implications for adult higher education praxis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Faculty of Educational Sciences is the property of Ankara University, Faculty of Educational Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article offers guidelines for doctoral students in developing problem statement in adult education and human resource development dissertation research. It mentions that potential research problems might be determined by reviewing scholarly literature, reaching out for the opinions of other people, and personal experience. It notes that creation of problem statements is an intellectually demanding process which requires a range of analytical skills.

Copyright of Sciences de l'Education pour l'ere Nouvelle is the property of Universite de Caen and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

At present, lifelong education represents a necessity arisen from a changing society. The forms it takes are many, and vary from one education system to another, from one country to another. Organizations must have coherent programs on human resource development by providing members with opportunities to improve organization and career advancement. The results of the research show that people who have participated in training courses in recent years, and have developed communication skills, had acquired information applicable to the current activity and their participation was particularly determined by their personal motivation. The empiric research presented in this paper is aimed to analyze the effectiveness of training courses in adult education. The study's objectives address the need to increase the participation in adult training, in order to investigate the students" motivation in training and last, but not least, how much the participants could exploit the knowledge gained in these courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The authors reflect on the impacts of the linguistic turn brought by the 1980s to social theory and research on education. They believe that research in adult and lifelong education has long seen the significance of both space and time as well as may bring new perspectives. They account instances that suggest the intersection of space and place in creating educational experience. According to the authors, spatial thinking is undertaken by people in particular places.

If a few decades ago, the education received in school could be in most of the cases enough to go with for the rest of one's entire life, today the situation has changed dramatically. The individual has to be prepared for a new type of life and training, namely lifelong learning. The individual's survival in society could depend on his capacity to learn, to re-qualify, to forget what he once learned and to train for the future in an entirely different manner. Within this context, e-learning and distance education can be viable alternatives for the necessary and imperative adaptation process. Modern man's education has to go beyond the stage of level oriented education (limited in terms of trainee number and training duration) and advance towards continuous education, which is able to train the individual irrespective of his location and with no limitations in terms of time. The passage towards the information society involves mutations in the object of the activities, mainly in terms of selecting, storing, preserving, managing and protecting information. Against this extremely fluctuant background, a relevant question rises: is the adult capable of coping, both individually and socially, with the challenge of e-learning? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research indicates that about a quarter of adult students separate from formal adult basic and secondary education (ABE/ASE) programs before completing one educational level. This retrospective study explores individual dispositional factors that affect motivation during learning, particularly students' goals, goal-directed thinking and action based on hope theory and attendance behaviors, and self-perceptions of competency based on affective domain attributions about external and internal obstacles to learning and employment, and demographic factors. Among 274 ABE/ASE students, those learners who made an education gain in 1 year significantly differed from those who did not in only a few dispositional or demographic variables; and by educational level they significantly differed in a wide variety of dispositional and demographic variables. These findings suggest researchable questions and programmatic considerations that may lead to future innovations that improve learner persistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Management information systems (MIS) are pivotal in the efficient and effective running of Further Education and Training (FET) colleges. Therefore, the evaluation of MIS success is an essential spoke in the wheel of FET college success. Based on an extensive literature review it was concluded that no MIS success evaluation model for FET colleges in South Africa exists. Objectives: The main objective was to propose a MIS evaluation model and evaluation tool (questionnaire), and verify the model empirically by evaluating the MIS at a selected FET college. The supporting objectives were firstly, to identify the most appropriate MIS evaluation models from literature. Secondly, to propose a MIS evaluation model for FET colleges based on the literature. Thirdly, to develop the evaluation tool (questionnaire) based on these models. Fourthly, to capture and analyse data from one FET college, in order to evaluate the performance of the MIS at the college. The final supporting objective was to evaluate the proposed model by triangulating the findings from the survey with the findings from the interviews. Method: The proposed MIS evaluation model is based on the integration of three existing MIS evaluation models. The evaluation tool was developed by combining four empirically tested questionnaires that capture the constructs in the underlying models. A survey and semi-structured interviews were used as data collection methods. The statistical tests for consistency, scale reliability (Cronbach's alpha) and unidimensionality (Principal Component Analysis) were applied to explore the constructs in the model. Results: Results from the empirical testing of the newly designed evaluation tool were used to reine the initial model. The qualitative data capturing and analysis added value in explaining and contextualising the quantitative findings. Conclusion: The main contribution is the SA-FETMIS success model and evaluation tool which managers can use to evaluate the MIS at an educational institution. The novelty of the research lies in using a mixed methods approach where previous MIS success evaluation studies mainly used quantitative methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Career self-directedness is a concept that has gained widespread attention in the literature on new careers and managerial thinking about contemporary career development. In a related sense, the topic of employee retirement has become popular in both the academic and managerial literature. However, to date, career self-directedness has not been studied in relationship with older workers' retirement intentions. The purpose of this study is to test a model of the relationship between career self-directedness and retirement intentions, mediated by career self-management behaviors and engagement. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was completed by 271 employees older than 45 working in five organizations. The average age was 53, and 59 percent were female. Participants had been with their current employer for an average of 16 years, and 58 percent of them worked fulltime. The survey included measures of self-directed career attitude, career self-management behaviors, engagement and retirement intention. Findings – Results indicate that engagement and career self-management behaviors fully mediated the relationship between self-directed career attitude and retirement intention. Originality/value – This is the first study to address career self-directedness in relationship with retirement intentions, thereby considering the mediating role of career self-management behaviors and engagement. As a result, this study contributes to insights in the validity of career self-directedness as a predictor of career development using a sample of employees different from the main body of studies using samples of employees in their early career stages. Moreover, it sheds further light on the retirement process by including an individual career attitude and intermediating variables viewed as important to understand contemporary organizational behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored innovative alternative processes of living, learning, and knowledge sharing of a loosely knit community of anarchist, anticapitalist "Do-It-Yourself" (DIY) activists. Generated through participant observation and interviews, findings reinforced adult education theories-that adults can diagnose their own learning needs and carry out appropriate learning activities. Participants also critiqued prevailing educational practices, suggesting alternatives such as autonomy, choice, critical thinking, cooperative learning, and deconstructing hierarchy. In particularly promising findings, the DIY activists described radical alternative channels for knowledge sharing: piracy, skilishares, Internet/open source media, the streets, and zines. Employing older and newer technologies, and legal and illegal methods, these modalities embodied in powerful ways the participants' radical political commitments. The DIY activists also gave cause to reflect on the nature of cultural dialogism, community, and communities of practice as they struggled with the nature of their own identities, ideologies, and desires to broaden outreach beyond their immediate community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In recent years, social networking services (SNSs), for example, Facebook, have shown exponential growth in their number of users. Witnessing the popularity of these SNSs, educational researchers have also explored the potential educational value of using SNSs. Despite the few studies that have investigated learners’ attitudes toward and the effects of incorporating SNSs in class, limited attention has been paid to examining learners’ knowledge and cognitive processes involved in online discussions using SNSs. Although general public interest in life-long learning has been gradually increasing, relatively little attention has been devoted to exploring the application of SNSs in adult and continuing education programs. To promote a better understanding of using SNSs in learning, this study seeks to explore learners’ online discussion behaviors in an art course that involved a project-based learning activity using a popular SNS, Facebook, to support students’ asynchronous online discussions. The participants in our study included 62 students enrolled in the school of continuing education at a university in northern Taiwan. Adapting the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy as a coding scheme, this study employed a quantitative content analysis (QCA) and lag sequential analysis (LSA) to examine the content and behavioral patterns of students’ discussions. The results indicate that the most prominent knowledge dimension in students’ discussions is the meta-cognitive knowledge, while the cognitive process is primarily focused on understanding and comprehension. In addition, a moderate proportion of off-topic discussion was found in this study. Considering the different behaviors that may be exhibited by members of varied age and gender, a further analysis based on students’ individual differences was conducted. The results showed that, in the context of online discussions, female and older learners are more likely to engage in off-topic discussions. Based on these findings, this study suggests that when conducting online discussion activities using SNSs, instructors should consider the characteristics of adult learners and their individual differences and design their teaching activities accordingly. Implications and limitations of this study are discussed, and pedagogical suggestions for adapting SNSs to teaching activities for adult and continuing education are proposed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The 21st Century arrived with so many changes that we have been wondering whether the reality we witness is not science fiction. Without solid education, competence and multi-skills, one cannot live through. That is why alternative methods have been called forth as mandatory to complement and consolidate what once traditional, teacher centered education was doing. Technology-enhanced-learning (TEL) needs have already proven their worthiness, bringing students into the limelight. What we still fall behind with is educators' reluctance and lack of imagination in how to best employ these tools to students' best interest. The present paper gives models on how to create learning scenarios where TEL is involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of online continuous education and training initiatives continues to increase in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and by extension, the number of adult learners who are unfamiliar with the peculiarities of the online teaching and learning environment. The extent to which these learners can derive maximum benefit from these initiatives depends on the rate at which they can adapt to the new circumstances and, as a result, function effectively in this type of teaching and learning environment. To this end, while supporting learners is recognized as a critical success factor little has been explored or documented specific to the Caribbean-SIDS context. The purpose of this study therefore was to describe the support services provided first time online learners in the context of Caribbean-SIDS and examine what if any benefit learners derived from them through their perceptions of these services. The findings reveal that participants' overall perception of the support services was high. They also reveal that although participants' awareness of ongoing support services was variable, their rating of the need for and importance of this type of support was also high. The findings suggest that providing support for first time online learners in the context of Caribbean SIDS positively impacts their performance in the online teaching and learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 administered between 2002 and 2010. It reviews both recent and historical policy in the area of ‘lifelong learning’ and considers the findings of previous empirical research in the area. The results of the current study support previous findings suggesting that participation in ‘later’ learning is most strongly associated with positive ‘learning dispositions’ and extended participation in initial, full‐time education. While other socio‐economic factors were related to participation in adult learning, the explanatory power of these variables was much weaker. Despite dramatic changes in online technologies and a ‘massification’ of Internet access over the period studied, there was no evidence that information and communications technologies were either increasing or widening access to participation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Studia Paedagogica is the property of Masaryk University, Faculty of Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studia Paedagogica is the property of Masaryk University, Faculty of Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studia Paedagogica is the property of Masaryk University, Faculty of Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Extension has enhanced the lives of U.S. citizens through adult education in a myriad of ways. However, as budgets get tighter, accountability becomes increasingly more important. Over the years, Extension has reported low level impacts rather than the long-term successes that those working within the system know are occurring. Without enhanced evaluation-driven environments, Extension systems will continue to inadequately report programmatic successes, resulting in a lower perceived public value of Extension programs. The use of evaluation can create an atmosphere which encourages organizational thinking resulting in the types of accountability reports which are adequate for decision making. This study examined how Extension professionals' perceptions of evaluation use related to their evaluation behaviors. The findings suggest a substantial percentage of Extension professionals are doing just enough evaluation to complete mandatory reports. It also showed that Extension professionals who valued their own personal use, but not necessarily organizational use of their evaluations, were more likely to conduct in-depth evaluations. Recommendations for enhancing evaluation driven work environments include clearer communication from administration demonstrating the value of evaluation beyond the role it plays in accountability and working directly with Extension professionals to promote evaluation-oriented conversations rather than just delivering state-led in-service trainings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformative learning theory is a dominant approach to understanding adult learning. The theory addresses the way our perspectives on the world, others and ourselves can be challenged and transformed in our ongoing efforts to make sense of the world. It is a conception of learning that does not focus on the measurable acquisition of knowledge and skills, but looks rather to the dynamics of self-questioning and upheaval as the key to adult learning. In this article, transformative learning theory is used as a lens for studying learning in a competency-based, entry-level management course. Instead of asking which knowledge and skills were developed and how effectively, the research enquired into deeper changes wrought by the learning experiences. The research found that for some learners the course contributed to significant discontent as they discovered that management practices they took to represent the norm fell dramatically short of the model promoted in the training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the importance of and advocacy for developing literacy skills for successful and rewarding participation in the community, there remains a common perception that becoming literate is not possible for people with intellectual disabilities. Until recently, limited research has been undertaken to investigate the literacy skills of adults with intellectual disabilities. In particular, research related to opportunities for lifelong learning in community-based organisations, and to the kinds of literacy activities that might be both developmentally and socially appropriate to assist adults with intellectual disabilities to remain active as they age, is limited in relation to older adults with intellectual disabilities. This exploratory project used a range of instruments to gather information about the literacy skills of older adults to identify their literacy needs and wants, and to consider opportunities to enhance and maintain literacy skills existing in an ongoing activity program in one community-based service organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While much has been written about the transformative potential of adult education from the student perspective, little research has been done into the experiences of those who teach in such contexts. This paper draws on the reflections of three academics who work in an enabling program in regional Australia. We embarked on a process of critical self-refection, not unlike the kind of activity we ask of our students, as we considered the challenges as well as the rewards inherent in our experiences. Brookfield's (1998) concept of critical refection was used as a vehicle for examining underlying assumptions about what we do and how we are positioned within the broader University community. Though we are cautious about describing our learning as 'transformative', we contend that the process of critical refection has led to a heightened awareness, and has enabled us to articulate perceptions of professional and personal growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the informal learning experiences expressed by Taiwanese adults (aged from 16 to 97) and examined their involvement related to selected socio-demographic characteristics. Data of the 2008 Adult Education Participation Survey in Taiwan and Fujian Area were used to look at different variables of adults' demographic characteristics in relation to their informal learning participation. Results were based on the responses of 10,000 adults to the survey. The key findings indicated that the percentage of adults who had, or had not, participated differed by gender, age, educational background and annual income. Taiwanese adults' preferred method of workplace informal learning was interpersonal communications and sharing. Similarities and differences between this study and past international research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the next decade, as literacy rates are predicted to decline, the health care sector faces increasing challenges to effective communication with low-literate groups. Considering the rising costs of health care and the forthcoming changes in the American health care system, it is imperative to find nontraditional avenues through which to impart health knowledge and functional skills. This article draws on classroom observations and qualitative interviews with 21 students and 3 teachers in an adult education health literacy class to explore the efficacy of using adult education courses to teach functional health literacy skills to low-literate populations. Data were analyzed using a combination of thematic and content analyses. Results describe the motivation of students to share information within the classroom and with friends and family outside the classroom. This article also provides several recommendations to help ensure accuracy of diffused information both within and outside of the classroom. Ultimately, this study suggests that the adult education system is in a prime position to impart functional health literacy skills to low-literate populations in the classroom. Significantly, this study demonstrates that adult education students themselves may be a powerful vehicle for health communication beyond the walls of the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has to do with a proposal of teaching and learning carried out in the first year (ninth and tenth year of high-school) of secondary education of adults from Colegio Emprender in Osorno. The objective of the current proposal is to design and apply a didactic model in teaching adults through the use of ICT to enhance learning of geometric contents established in the curriculum. The research methodologies applied were qualitative and quantitative, and tiie instruments of data collection were a pre- and post-test, an opinion survey and observation by part of the teacher. Findings show that most students achieved high passing percentages in isometric transformations, so we can be conclude that the use of a dynamic geometry software called Cabri II influences on topic learning as well as on student motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we report and reflect on a study about the problems encountered in the implementation of adult education policies in the Limpopo province of South Africa. We used the model of intergovernmental policy implementation of Van Horn and Van Meter as a theoretical framework. We reflect on this study and link the findings with more recent literature on and experiences with developments in the implementation of adult education policies. The findings of our study show several discontinuities and contradictions in the implementation of an adult education policy, partly caused by the legacies of the past. A central recommendation, informed by contributions from stakeholders at grassroots level, is to use a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches (bottopdown) in policy development to improve the quality of the implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the conflicts and challenges that student leaders in adult basic education and literacy programs experience in balancing their leadership responsibilities with academic endeavours. Based upon a case study of an adult basic education student leadership council in New York City, the article shows that leadership activities can both support and impede academic progress. The mediating factors were time requirements for implementation of leadership activities and the perceived priorities of the participants, who used various strategies to manage their academic and leadership responsibilities. Council involvement also supported and changed their academic, vocational and personal aspirations. This study alerts adult educators to the ways in which leadership activities can complicate learners' academic pursuits, the need both to respect student leaders' choices and to provide guidance on balancing their multiple responsibilities, and the importance of cultivating literate capabilities through leadership activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education is the property of Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Pädagogik is the property of Julius Beltz GmbH & Co. KG Beltz Juventa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Alberta Journal of Educational Research is the property of Alberta Journal of Educational Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article contends that the development of lifelong learning needs to be grounded within the framework of being, a concept inspired by Heidegger, rather than within the framework of having. This article also describes the problems of the adult education literature, which favors the pragmatic sense of being and, thus, may undertheorize the meanings of developing lifelong learning. It considers Heidegger's conception of "being" by defining the existential mode of learning as part of the development of lifelong learning, thereby resisting the exclusive mention of the functional mode of learning in times of postmodern change. The analysis of being is captured by the language of dynamic movement, which grants no priority to one's thought, action, or feeling, none of whose operations can be understood without reference to the other. Finally, the implications of the being mode of learning for developing adult education research, practice, and policy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article problematizes the role of autobiographical narratives in adult learning and suggests that the life histories produced by adult learners in our classrooms are, in important senses, fictions. Rather than being the free expressions of experience and selfhood, students' narratives are multiply overdetermined, both by the cultural frames that are available to them and by the conditions of story-telling in our classrooms. These include the values and assumptions that underlie our practices, the aspects of self that are called into being by the narratives we elicit, and the conventions of character and plot within which our students are taught to write. Thus for all our valorizing of individuality and uniqueness, there are only some stories we allow our students to tell and only some forms of selfhood we allow to emerge in the process of telling them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to reflect on past discussions in order to see how far we have travelled in terms of research over the past 12 years, identify some of the continuities and look at the significance of some of the changes that have taken place in order to inform our agenda for the future. This paper starts with some conceptual definitions in relation to the keywords in this title, which in themselves are by no means unproblematic. It then comments on the previous era of CONFINTEA V, some 12 years earlier and the discussions that were taking place then, and indeed before then, for the African context. For that reference is made to the journal publication by DVV International in 1995, which reported on an adult education conference that was dedicated to research trends and issues of the time. The remainder of the paper discusses documentation that led up to and immediately followed the international CONFINTEA VI conference on adult education in Brazil in December 2009. The focus is on the African context. I suggest that a research agenda for adult education and lifelong learning in the era of CONFINTEA VI might be subdivided into research for: practice change; base-line data; critical awareness and social purpose; and African identity. The core argument is that the current era potentially lends itself to a more radical agenda for Africa than might have been the case in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the educational situation of indigenous peoples in Latin America, and in particular their scant participation in adult education activities. It analyses the historical, structural and institutional barriers to their greater involvement in adult education. The article proposes to look at indigenous demands on education as a potential way out of educational stagnation of indigenous adults, which is one of the challenges clearly formulated by UNESCO member states during CONFINTEA VI as a priority to be faced. The article concludes arguing the case for intercultural education, not only among indigenous peoples, but for the whole of the population, to be a guiding philosophy for education in general and adult education in particular in Latin American countries. It emphasises the fact that this cannot be achieved without the active participation of indigenous peoples themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult learning is one of the key components of the Lisbon strategy. It is a major factor for the improvement of human capital of citizens after leaving initial education and is therefore a key element of both Employment, and Education and Training policies. In line with the comprehensive stipulations provided by Eurostat for the surveys of the EU Member States in the field of adult education this survey has covered a broad program of information. The main objective of the Adult Education Survey (AES) performed for the first time in Romania during 2008 is to provide detailed statistical usefully information to describe the participation of the adult population in learning activities. This is accomplished by collecting information regarding: participation in formal education, participation in non-formal education, participation in informal education, reasons for not participating in more learning/reasons for not participating in any learning at all, computer skills, language skills participation in social activities, field of learning (formal, non-formal and informal learning) (ISCED), purpose of learning (formal and non-formal learning) etc. The main source for data used (for Romania) in this paper is the AES (Adult Education Survey) carried out by National Institute of Statistics in 2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Irish-African Partnership for Research Capacity Building (IAP) is a research consortium involving all of the nine universities on the island of Ireland together with four African universities, with the overall aim of building research capacity for poverty reduction. The project was supported by a three-year grant from Irish Aid. This article examines the achievements of IAP and argues that the 'foresight' approach and methodology used to generate the health and education research priorities can make a useful contribution not only to development research, but also to adult education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the author's insights on lifelong learning (LL) or adult education and the design and purpose of the thematic paper on LL. It mentions the involvement of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) which developed a strategic approach on LL. It states that the way people learn should include bold new visions of technologically driven changes. Furthermore, the author says that sustainable development for the paper's theme is insufficient.

Educational gerontology is increasingly becoming a global phenomenon. Taiwan, a small island in the western Pacific Ocean, has responded to its aging population with the development of the studies and practices of educational gerontology. This study, first, traces the development of educational gerontology in Taiwan, based on Peterson's definition and perspective of educational gerontology. Second, the researcher identifies the factors that influenced the development of educational gerontology in Taiwan. Finally, further discussion and recommendations regarding the studies and practices of educational gerontology in Taiwan are made in order to facilitate its future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Huddleston on the nature of enterprise in Further Education (FE), one by Lans, Gulikers and Batterink on enterprise education programmes, and one by Beresford and Beresford on the need for broader knowledge on enterprise education.