Adult Learning In Modern Societies

As industrial societies increasingly evolve into knowledge-based economies, the importance of education as a lifelong process is greater than ever. This comprehensive book provides a state-of-the-art analysis of adult learning across the world and with

As industrial societies increasingly evolve into knowledge-based economies, the importance of education as a lifelong process is greater than ever. This comprehensive book provides a state-of-the-art analysis of adult learning across the world and within varying institutional contexts. The expert contributors examine the structures of formal and non-formal adult learning in different countries, and investigate the levels of success those countries have experienced in encouraging participation and skill formation.

A research-based foundational overview of contemporary adult education Foundations of Adult and Continuing Education distills decades of scholarship in the field to provide students and practitioners with an up-to-date practical resource. Grounded in research and focused on the unique needs of adult learners, this book provides a foundational overview of adult education, and an introduction to the organizations and practices developed to support adult learning in a variety of contexts. The discussion also includes select understandings of international adult education, policy, and methods alongside theoretical frameworks, contemporary and historical contexts, and the guiding principles of adult education today. Coverage of emerging issues includes the aging society, social justice, and more, with expert insight from leading authorities in the field. Many adult educators begin practice through the context of their own experiences in the field. This book provides the broader research, theory, and practice needed for a deeper understanding of adult education and its place in society. Learn the key philosophical and theoretical frameworks of adult education Survey the landscape of the field through contemporary and historical foundations Examine key guiding understandings and practices targeted to adult learners Delve into newer concerns including technology, globalization, and more Foundations of Adult and Continuing Education provides an expertly-led overview of the field, and an essential introduction to real-world practice.

From an international comparative perspective, this third book in the prestigious eduLIFE Lifelong Learning series provides a thorough investigation into how social inequalities arise during individuals’ secondary schooling careers. Paying particular attention to the role of social origin and prior performance, it focuses on tracking and differentiation in secondary schooling examining the short- and long-term effects on inequality of opportunities. It looks at ways in which differentiation in secondary education might produce and reproduce social inequalities in educational opportunities and educational attainment. The international perspective allows illuminating comparison in light of the different models, rules and procedures that regulate admission selection and learning in different countries.

This book provides case studies written by practitioners from four organizations serving diverse adult learners in equitable, inclusive, and just ways. Their work employs an adapted version of the Education Deans for Justice and Equity Framework for Assessment and Transformation, a comprehensive tool grounded in research on equity and justice. This is one of the first published uses of that framework. The editors situate this book in the history and need for increased equity and justice in adult education. They apply participatory action research to assist the four organizations in telling their stories. Authors of the organization chapters highlight their history and context in relation to their organizational structures, systems, policies, and procedures. Editors provide a cross-case analysis of the four case studies. This book will appeal to academics in adult education, social justice education, qualitative research methods, and organizational development. Organizations and practitioners will find exemplars of how to live into their intentions to be equitable and just.

How do you tailor education to the learning needs of adults? Do they learn differently from children? How does their life experience inform their learning processes? These were the questions at the heart of Malcolm Knowles’ pioneering theory of andragogy which transformed education theory in the 1970s. The resulting principles of a self-directed, experiential, problem-centred approach to learning have been hugely influential and are still the basis of the learning practices we use today. Understanding these principles is the cornerstone of increasing motivation and enabling adult learners to achieve. The 9th edition of The Adult Learner has been revised to include: Updates to the book to reflect the very latest advancements in the field. The addition of two new chapters on diversity and inclusion in adult learning, and andragogy and the online adult learner. An updated supporting website. This website for the 9th edition of The Adult Learner will provide basic instructor aids including a PowerPoint presentation for each chapter. Revisions throughout to make it more readable and relevant to your practices. If you are a researcher, practitioner, or student in education, an adult learning practitioner, training manager, or involved in human resource development, this is the definitive book in adult learning you should not be without.

Critical Theorist Carlos Alberto Torres offers a political sociology of adult learning and education, based on Critical Social Theory and the always inspiring work of Paulo Freire. Empirically grounded and theoretically sophisticated, this new book follows the footsteps of his classic book published in the early nineties The Politics of Nonformal Education in Latin America. Torres book offers comparative and international sociological analyses of adult learning and education, an area in which there is an obsession with ‘practice’ and an aversion to theory, with some notable and laudable exceptions, but which has the potential to provide avenues for social justice education in ways that no other systems and policies can. This book revitalizes social theory in education, and provides ample evidence of the power of adult learning and education, examining a variety of policy documents connected with the various adult education congresses promoted by the UNESCO, which are thoroughly scrutinized for what they bring to or omit from the policy agenda. In the context of new developments in adult learning and education, particularly the impact of multiple globalizations, neoliberalism, and the new role of international organizations in reconceptualizing lifelong learning, new evidence-based research, new narratives, and the vibrancy of social movements striving for a new and possible world, it is clear that new theoretical designs were needed making this is a must-read book.

Migration is an old, perhaps perpetual, phenomenon. Currently, it is an urgent challenge involving huge numbers of people who leave their home in search of a better life. Differences in language, customs, and norms are often joined by specific manifestations of xenophobia born of particular differences between host countries and their current influx of migrants. In a pronounced way, then, migration reveals important societal questions・of solidarity, of identity, of transition and transformation, of human rights and obligations. The explorations in this collection highlight individual stories of migrants, showcase innovative research methods, and explore concepts and theories that might be usefully applied toward learning needs in a migration society. Including insights from scholars across 14 different countries, this book offers an international perspective on the role of adult education in addressing migration. Such international comparisons hold great potential for seeing new possibilities in any single country, whether in Europe, North America, or across the world.

An authoritative overview of the current state of the field of adult and continuing education Drawing on the contributions of 75 leading authors in the field, this 2010 Edition of the respected Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education provides adult education scholars, program administrators, and teachers with a solid foundation for understanding the current guiding beliefs, practices, and tensions faced in the field, as well as a basis for developing and refining their own approaches to their work and scholarship. Offering expanded discussions in the areas of social justice, technology, and the global dimensions of adult and continuing education, the Handbook continues the tradition of previous volumes with discussions of contemporary theories, current forms and contexts of practice, and core processes and functions. Insightful chapters examine adult and continuing education as it relates to gender and sexuality, race, our aging society, class and place, and disability. Key Features Expanded coverage of social justice, the impact of technology, and the global dimensions of adult and continuing education provides a useful update on theories and practices in the field as they have evolved during the last decade. An invaluable introductory overview and synthesis of key aspects of the field of practice and scholarship acquaints new readers to the field The centrality of social justice in adult and continuing education is addressed in a new section. The broader global context of contemporary adult and continuing education is covered in a final section.

This volume comprises an edited selection of papers which were originally presented at the 9th International Conference of the History of Adult Education that was held in Leiden in September 2002. The theme of that conference and this volume addresses the key dynamics associated with the impact of globalisation upon both the historical and contemporary development of the organisation of adult learning. Following a general introduction to the key themes by the chief editor, the first section of the volume comprises a number of papers of a distinctly historical nature. The focus in this section is upon the development of organised adult learning as a major component of the European modernisation project from the Enlightenment period in the eighteenth century to the twentieth century. The second section examines contemporary developments and the emergence of new forms for the organisation of adult learning in the learning society. The emphasis here is upon those societal developments that contribute to the centrality of lifelong learning in current education and training policies. The third section comprises a number of country studies focused upon the dilemmas associated with the restructuring of national education and training policies. Issues of social inclusion and the risk of exclusion form the recurring theme of these country studies.