Search

Beginning with Boeren's (2018) or Rubenson and Elfert's (2019) claims of underrecognition of quantitative methodology in adult education, authors use the ecological niche from biology as a metaphorical and heuristic model in order to consider the mechanisms determining the viability of research methodologies in education for adults. The authors discuss ecosystem factors affecting research methodologies and consider the situations of Germany and Canada to illustrate application of the niche metaphor. The conclusion stresses the complementary relevance and integrative value of different forms of research. Addressing diverse questions requires diverse methodologies and a rich ecosystem of resources and research capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning with Boeren’s (2018) or Rubenson & Elfert’s (2019) claims of under-recognition of quantitative methodology in adult education, authors use the ecological niche from biology as a metaphorical and heuristic model in order to consider the mechanisms determining the viability of research methodologies in education for adults. The authors discuss ecosystem factors affecting research methodologies and consider the situations of Germany and Canada to illustrate application of the niche metaphor. The conclusion stresses the complementary relevance and integrative value of different forms of research. Addressing diverse questions requires diverse methodologies and a rich ecosystem of resources and research capabilities.

Individualising processes often are prescribed as all-embracing solutions in adult education policies worldwide. Nevertheless, re-adaptation of educational frameworks to individual students' needs may result in tensions for involved agents due to complexities of such initiatives. This literature review examines individualising processes in international adult education research and aims to identify societal needs and challenges eliciting individualising processes and how the latter materialise in policy and practice, causing transformations of adult education in different contexts. The point of departure is Swedish Municipal Adult Education, which is viewed as a collective human activity embedded in a transnational policy agenda and involving a wide array of agents. Thus, the scope of the review involves international research. The analysis of the selected literature is based on the analytical concepts of motive and object, stemming from cultural-historical activity theory. The results indicate that, in the selected literature, individualising processes are problematised within three interrelated and not mutually exclusive themes: mediating between liberation and responsibility; alleviating the risk of exclusion; and addressing student diversity. The study concludes with recommendations for further research that considers the complexity and potentiality of the topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is the story of a leading European association of researchers on the education of adults and adult learning. The European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA) is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary in 2022. By looking back and recalling how the association started, who its initiators were, and using an (auto)ethnographic and biographical method of data collection and narration, the aim is to introduce a debate on adult education as evolving towards social sciences. At the same time asking a question how crucial was ESREA's impact on adult education research, if at all. In the concluding part, a state of adult education as a social science discipline is presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This article aims at analyzing the consequences of using educational monitoring data for adult education research. Refering to the Statistics on German “Volkshochschulen” (Adult Education Centers) the advantages and challenges that the usage of educational monitoring data brings for research purposes are shown. This is made explicit by focussing on the research project “Governance structures and educational performance profiles in adult education organizations” (GLOW) and discussing the empirical design and the cluster analysis which was carried out on the basis of data from the Statistics on German “Volkshochschulen”.

This article presents recent evidence of the labour market outcomes of adult education from a global perspective. There is evidence that adult education has positive impacts on a wide range of labour market outcomes, including enhancement of employment and career prospects, of performance and earnings, of job satisfaction and commitment to work, and of innovative capacities. While this evidence is widespread, it is also fragmented and incomplete, which thwarts sustained support for and investment in adult education. Moreover, some findings suggest that positive outcomes do not arise in all situations. After providing an overview of perceptions of labour market outcomes of adult education and a summary of the available evidence, the author discusses a number of key contextual and structural factors which are helpful in interpreting the evidence and for understanding the systemic underinvestment in adult education. The article concludes by presenting some implications of the findings for adult education research, policy and practice. These include a need to foster a balanced evidence base to inform policy and to institutionalise flexible and diversified adult education provision structures that recognise and value all kinds of adult learning and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversity education in academic and business settings has common goals of helping students or employees to learn diversity knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Unfortunately, researchers are missing opportunities to capitalize on the unique characteristics of each setting to answer research questions of general interest. We review the research from 1970 to the present reporting evaluations of diversity education initiatives targeting adult learners. We identify a series of unanswered research questions and suggest ways that these questions can be addressed in academic or business contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite radical changes in teaching assumptions, management educators have continued to use the archaic term pedagogy to describe their work. The word pedagogy refers specifically to children and assumptions for teaching children. Thus, pedagogy does not encompass the needs of adults common in management classrooms today. To ensure congruence with the emerging management teaching methods, we advocate adoption of the term andragogy. Such a word focuses on the adult learner and creation of an independent, adaptable individual. Underpinning andragogy are four assumptions regarding learning: a self-directing self-concept; use of experience; a readiness to learn; and a performance-centered orientation to learning. Management educators already use techniques that take advantage of these andragogical assumptions. Adoption of the term andragogy would align the philosophy of management educators with the current dynamic instructional strategies already in use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International and European intergovernmental organisations and the adult education research community all emphasise the importance of well-qualified personal working in the field of adult education. However, as previous research has shown, the diversity of the field is a 'challenge' to the greater professionalisation of adult education. Therefore, this paper investigates how the European Union conceptualises adult education professionalisation in the 21st century and how this is reflected in the Slovene adult education policy. For this purpose, the core official European Union and Slovene policy documents on the professionalisation of adult educators were analysed using documentary analysis. The theoretical framework of the Europeanisation of education was used, along with international and comparative perspectives in studies of adult education. Our findings indicate that in the Slovene context, the emphasis is on the recognition of different professional roles and competences that adult educators need to work successfully in different contexts rather than on the unification of their competences, which can be found in the European context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult education research is frequently an own subject of research. Such research is often focused on the analysis of journals. This paper will instead analyse triennial research conferences of the European Society for the Research on Adults (ESREA) between 1994 and 2013. The research was carried out mainly via a bibliometrical program analysis of conference papers. Results support previous findings in the analysis of adult education research, but a number of differences or blind spots of ESREA and adult education research in general will become visible.

Against the background of internal developments of adult education as a field of study, and new external conditions for research, this article examines how the configuration of adult education research has been evolving, particularly over the last decade. Our analysis draws on a two-pronged approach: a reading of four seminal articles written by adult education scholars who have conducted bibliometric analyses of selected adult education journals; as well as our own review of 75 articles, covering a one-year period (2012-2013), in five adult education journals that were chosen to provide a greater variety of the field of adult education in terms of their thematic orientation and geographical scope than has been the case in previous reviews. Our findings suggest that the field is facing two main challenges. First, the fragmentation of the map of the territory that was noticed at the end of the 1990s, has continued and seems to have intensified. Second, not only practitioners, but also the policy community voice their disappointment with adult education research, and we note a disconnect between academic adult education research and policy-related research. We provide a couple of speculations as to the future map of adult education as a field of study and point to the danger of shifting the research agenda away from classical adult education concerns about democracy and social rights.

Copyright of Report: Zeitschrift für Weiterbildungsforschung is the property of Springer Nature 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.)

In this piece, we argue that an economy of publication and citations has emerged that not only changes the notion of what is deemed quality in educational research but also changes the incentives of us as researchers. With pressure on publishing in 'international’ journals, education researchers are increasingly pushed to publish their research in the article format, and for many, in their second or third language (English). Additionally, we are to direct the research to an audience who might not at all be interested or knowledgeable about the context under scrutiny. With such pressure to publish in English-language journals, the question of who is allowed to publish and who is cited is of paramount significance. Based on our own empirical research on the adult educational research field as well as other bibliometric research, we propose that there is an ‘Anglophone’ bias in educational research. We end with a discussion on the implications of the current trend to publish in indexed English-language journals and suggest that ‘Anglophone’ as well as non-Anglophone scholars need to start citing other scholars than those from the dominating ‘Anglophone’ countries in order to further enhance knowledge and debate within education. The ultimate irony of the developments described in this piece is that the researchers from non-Anglophone countries actively engage in a publication game that underscores their own subordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper' examines some crucial issues on 'research as professional development' in distance education (viz. systemic versus discipline research, identity and learning, scaffolding and mentoring in researching at a distance, role of. incentives in distance education research, and research training) for further critical reflection and for setting up an agenda for implementation and follow-up of institutional and collaborative research at a distarice. It raises research as well as professional-managerial questions on research policy, research mentoring, and promotion of research through institutional support including incentive, which are crucial to sustaining research in general, and research in adult and distance education in particular. This has been examined in a context where exchange, support and collaboration are possible through information and communication technologies (ICTs). As a conclusion, the paper highlights some of the training issues relating to research as professional development in distance education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the Integrated Education and Training (IE&T) programs created by the Northampton Community College in compliance with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014. Topics include the use of the Evolution and Potential of Career Pathways report to create the said program, the benefits of the IE&T programs to adult learner, and the academic support component of the Skills, Tasks, and Results Training (START) and Community Health Worker programs.

The article consists of two parts. The first part shows how the idea of lifelong learning turns away from an earlier understanding of adult education, replacing it with a new vision of learning activities as natural processes of participation in culture. For adult education as a research field this means a paradigmatic shift that is radical, thus difficult and costly. A transition from teaching to learning lays the foundations for a discourse that implicates a reconceptualisation of the most basic theoretical categories and methodological competences of research practices. This change of leading research paradigm creates a situation that each discipline finds difficult. Analysis presented in the second part of the paper describes the situation among Polish researchers in the field of the education of adults. Describing the divided research community, the author emphasizes the difficult position of young researchers and proposes a typology of their attitudes towards their professional roles and academic career.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop understanding of the theory of identity-work and to then deploy this understanding in examining managers’ identity-work. These understandings provide a basis for appreciating managers’ receptivity to learning and, in turn, for considering the likely efficacy of management development. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative, photo-elicitation interview research study is detailed in which managers’ accounts of being a manager were generated. Findings – The accounts of a sample of managers are analysed through the lens of identity-work using a range of narrative analysis techniques. The findings of the study reveal the use of six distinct types of identity-work that have potential for explicating managers’ receptivity for learning. Research limitations/implications – The strengths of the qualitative research approach are expounded but certain limitations are acknowledged and therefore opportunities for extending the research trajectory are proposed. Specific implications for training and development practice are developed. Originality/value – The study contributes to the literature of workplace learning and HRD by showing the potential of understanding identity for appreciating managers’ receptivity to learning and, thereby, the efficacy of management development activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study on development of an evidence-based reading fluency program for adult learners, published in the journal "Reading Psychology." Topics include outcomes of the Guided Repeated Reading (GRR) program for adults; significant features of the GRR program like fluency materials for adults, and tutor training and support; concerns type of placement testing used in the study; and suggestions for improving adult education like including repeated reading in classrooms.

This article reports on the findings of a quantitative survey of North American adult education faculty and a textual analysis of websites of adult education graduate programs in North America conducted in the fall of 2013. This study examined background information about adult education faculty and programs; the nature of faculty work interests, motivations, and satisfaction; and involvement with the Commission of Professors of Adult Education. It is informed by prior studies in the field, the role of professional organizations literature as related to social capital, and the faculty satisfaction literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased federal attention to student completion metrics and uncertain financial forecasts have heightened the tenor of student retention conversations. Improved institutional retention rates will lead to higher completion rates and relieve some funding concerns. To accomplish these improvements, institutions have invested in analytics to better understand student persistence and completion factors. However, few studies outline how analytics are employed to positively influence student success and persistence. This article outlines the creation of a predictive model for student persistence, and details the use of the model outcomes to create a communication strategy intended to increase student persistence. The methodology used to develop the persistence model and the results of the communication strategy are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writing is critical to success in education, the workplace, and everyday communication yet receives limited attention in the research, particularly the topic of writing instruction in adult education. Adult literacy practitioners frequently lack training in writing instruction and must rely on a confusing array of information, primarily derived from K-12 pedagogy. This literature synthesis investigates findings from studies of writing focusing on adult literacy and explicates specific instructional practices and strategies for teaching writing to adult learners. Findings highlight the importance of fostering motivation, persistence, and self-efficacy and indicate motivation and achievement increase when instructors introduce specific writing microgoals, share explicit feedback, and provide evidence of progress. Classrooms should incorporate opportunities for creative expression, authentic materials and communication, writing task contextualization, explicit strategy instruction, regular journaling and personal writing, and technology and multimedia integration. Research gaps in supporting adult learner writing are identified, and implications and ideas for future research are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports adult students' (N = 632) perceptions of long-functioning academic learning teams in accelerated online and on-campus business cohort groups in six constructs: attraction to team, performance expectation alignment, workload distribution, intra-team conflict, preference for teamwork, and impact on learning. Comparisons between students in online and on-campus programs revealed, regardless of degree or delivery model, a majority of adult students preferred individual work and did not believe teams positively affected their learning. These perspectives were more distinct among students in online programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to provide a conceptual framework for mentoring as an added component of a learning organization in the context of adult learning and development theories. Mentoring is traditionally a process in which an experienced person (the mentor) guides another person (the mentee or protege) in the development of her or his own ideas, learning, and personal/ professional competence. Mentoring uses transformational theory through critical reflection in a non-judgmental manner and addresses the andragogical principle that experience is the richest source for adult learning. In a learning organization, adult development is fostered for both mentee and mentor in a reciprocal and collaborative learning partnership. Critical issues in designing a mentoring program for facilitating the development of a sustainable learning organization are discussed with potential pitfalls. Anticipated outcomes from a mentoring program in a learning organization include application of new knowledge in daily tasks, individual and collaborative analysis of problems and possible solutions, evaluation of new technologies or strategies and determination of their utility, and the creation of new business plans for the learning organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information literacy (IL) skills are essential for adult learners in higher education, especially those unfamiliar with information systems. Citing a lack of literature assessing such skills in adult learners, this article examines the IL abilities of adult learners in an IL course. Using a rubric and annotated bibliographies from study participants, the authors rank the IL abilities of adult students. Similar to studies assessing IL skills in traditional undergraduates, the authors found that adult students staiggled to articulate their evaluations of sources. The authors make recommendations for improving IL instaiction for adults and suggest future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever since Jack Mezirow introduced the incipient, and then more developed idea, of transformative learning to the discussion on adult education more than thirty years ago, the parameters of its theory and practice have been pushed out further and further. The introduction of spirituality and learning to this discussion is not a new one, but this paper explores further the possibilities of the inter-connectedness and inter-dependency of pedagogy and theology, when part of the pedagogical approach of transformative learning is viewed alongside the theology of Christian spirituality in a church based adult learning programme. The quest for pedagogical (and theological) clarity is pursued through attempts to forge learning in both the cognitive and affective domain, through clear and accessible biblical teaching in the local church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I reflect on epiphany moments in teaching and learning and the ways in which writing such moments can serve both to refresh and revitalise what Palmer calls the inner landscape of the educator, while also offering opportunities to enliven pedagogy. I use the notion of the liminal disposition to position such writing as an agentic act in the face of bureaucratic and other professional pressures and drifts. I also use the work of Cixous to provide a theoretical framework for writing and for its place in transformative adult learning. I then present the epiphany moment itself in story form together with an account of its impact on groups of learners and discuss its status as good practice in adult education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a Framework that can be used to help bridge the gap between theory and practice in adult learning. The Framework promotes practice informed by three strands important to adult literacy work: social theories of literacy, socialconstructivist learning theory and principles of adult learning. The Framework shows how five key factors can be utilised to establish existing learner knowledge onto which new learning can be built, identify relevant and effective learning objectives, and provide a means of evaluating learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a critique of the concept of equality as it informs the White Paper on Adult Education: Learning for Life (2000). It also outlines the extent to which human capital theory can be seen to have effectively colonised lifelong learning from the outset of its adoption by the European Union with highly constraining implications for state-funded adult education in Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working and writing together as supervisor and graduate student in a Canadian university, the authors bring their community/activist/adult education learning backgrounds into dialogue-and tension-with doctoral studies by reflecting on their personal learning paths and thinking about what this means for teaching and learning in academic contexts. They also explore potential avenues for doctoral studies to be a space of political, radical adult education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose:This paper explores the concept of peer-to-peer learning (P2PL) in the context of North-European small-scale forest owners. The aim is to develop a framework for initiating new and evaluating already existing forest owners' P2PL communities. Design:Previous studies of peer-learning are used to determine and justify eight dimensions for forest owners' P2PL. To demonstrate and test the operability of the dimensions, two potential forest owners' peer-learning cases are described. The Finnish case focuses on forest owner clubs based on group interview data and the coordinator's interview, and in the Swedish case an ongoing study circle was observed and its participants interviewed. Findings:The eight P2PL dimensions defined are: initiation, reinforcement, content profile, participant profile, schedule, role of professionals, responsibility and role continuity. Of the described cases, Finnish forest owner clubs rely heavily on the expertise of the invited forest professionals, while owners themselves have a stronger role in Swedish study circles. Practical Implications:The two studied cases and the fictional example demonstrate how the framework defined can be used when assessing real life cases. The framework allows describing consistently P2PL, when designing new practices or implementing step-by-step changes to modify existing P2PL practices. Value:The framework gives new insights into the research of forest owner extension, which has had an increasing interest towards P2PL approach, but where its conceptualisation has remained vague. However, since the domain of the study is novel, further research with various case examples is needed to develop both the theoretical framework and real life practices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this study was to examine the construct of morphological awareness and its relations to vocabulary knowledge in Adult Basic Education ( ABE) students. Morphological awareness has emerged as an important predictor of children's and ABE students' reading comprehension abilities; however, there has been a dearth of research investigating the construct and potential multidimensionality of morphological awareness. First, we examined three sets of distinctions among morphological awareness measures: inflected versus derived, real words versus pseudowords, and contextual cues versus no contextual cues. A series of confirmatory factor analyses ( CFAs) revealed that the construct of morphological awareness could be multidimensional, as evidenced by a breakdown of tasks including only real words versus tasks with only pseudowords. Second, we investigated whether morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge were best represented as distinct constructs or the same underlying ability. CFAs indicated that real-word and pseudoword morphological awareness were separate factors from vocabulary knowledge. These results have important implications for morphological and vocabulary instruction in ABE programs. Moreover, the results have practical implications for researchers assessing morphological awareness because the findings indicate that different morphological awareness measures may be tapping disparate facets of the construct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter examines the changing nature of adult education in the age of transnational migration and proposes recognitive adult education as an inclusive model that acknowledges and affirms cultural difference and diversity as positive and desirable assets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like the immigrant clients they serve, service providers have been overlooked in adult education literature, yet their roles are crucial for addressing the serious concerns of refugees and refugee claimants who flee their home countries hoping to find safe refuge in another country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formed through experience, observation, and learning, mental models are used in decision making to understand, predict, and solve problems. The investigation and application of mental models research are a growing area of scholarly inquiry in human resource development (HRD) and adult education, yet debate about how to best elicit such knowing still persists. Therefore, exemplars for eliciting the mental models of individuals are a matter of importance. The goal of this article is to address some of the issues central to mental model research and the methodological problems faced by scholars and provide an approach to mental model elicitation that holds promise for attending to some of the issues raised in the article. Multi-method Mental Model Elicitation (MMME) overcomes some of the limitations of current approaches, thus helping to increase the utility of mental models research in the field of HRD. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Different innovative web-based solutions for adult learning have made wide-ranging global breakthroughs. Increasingly flexible initiatives are expected in the future from web-based solutions in education and in developing expertise. Global changes reach individuals in their everyday lives, and web-based education enables the realization of lifelong learning in many ways. Traditionally, academic adult students' most central challenge has been the practical difficulties in participation: many connecting factors and responsibilities overlap in their busy everyday lives. New web- based teaching solutions have enabled participation in academic studies more equally and for an increasingly wider group of people. In practice, the development continues proceeding as a process of different experiments, mistakes, and insights. In this article we present, with regard to pedagogical candidate-level research methodology studies in Finland, the development of web-based studying and teaching, adult students' experiences, and evaluation of their own learning and the experiences of teachers regarding challenges and future views of web-based teaching. Especially in web-based academic adult education, the significance of the planning stage and web-based pedagogical and adult educational starting points are emphasized: flexibility, independence of time and place, intelligibility of high quality expert teaching, and wider recognition of starting points of adult students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]