In this article I call for adult educators to begin taking consumption seriously as a site of adult learning and education. I provide an overview of various sociological perspectives on consumption, and also discuss several areas where education, learning, and consumption intersect. In doing so, I seek to convince adult educators to more…

It may be good to remind ourselves that ICAE was created in 1973 as an international non-governmental organisation in the context of CONFINTEA III which was held in Tokyo in 1972. Ever since it has grown as a global network. The ICAE Executive took the initiative to start a process to prepare for CONFINTEA VI in Brazil via a virtual seminar to…

Adult learning is a field that has so far been neglected in education and training reforms in South Eastern European countries and territories but which is beginning to emerge as an important policy area. Further efforts are needed to foster national policy debate about the importance of lifelong learning (and adult education as a vital component…

In anticipation of CONFINTEA VI, this article critically reflects on the last decade of English adult education policy. The United Kingdom played an important role in 1997's Hamburg conference by putting forward International Adult Learners' Week, and inspiring delegates by its enthusiasm for adult education. However the trajectory of the past ten…

Learning to learn is important and increasingly vital for people trying to deal with a rapidly changing world! Or, in the words of the European Union, learning to learn is one of the eight "key competences that citizens require for their personal fulfilment, social inclusion, active citizenship and employability in our knowledge-based…

The objective of this paper is to highlight the role of adult education as a tool in addressing labour migration issues, specifically those concerning the protection of migrant workers' rights and the transformation of the impact of migration into positive holistic developmental gains. The view of labour migration as a means to forge the economic…

Through an overview and analysis of the major national education and adult education policies, this paper endeavours to present the driving forces of the development of contemporary Chinese adult education, to identify and examine the highlights of current practices, and to discuss future developments. Questions for exploring and informing the…

Adult education efforts in Africa are dominated by Western models. One aspect of this domination is a presumption that Western models of adult development can be applied to African contexts. As perspectives on adult development affect adult education programmes, this presumption may negatively impact these programmes in Africa. This manuscript…

The author hypothesizes that the greatest problem confronting education in Africa is the need to find new and constructive methods of improving social and economic conditions. He suggests that adult education is a vital and necessary solution and must be implemented. (RR)

In March 2006, Premier Wen Jiabao acknowledged that the situation in the Chinese countryside is desperate and claimed new resources would be devoted to healthcare and education. This announcement should have pleased architects of the Chinese "learning initiative" who are building learning cities and villages. The authors describe why…

The article is an English-language survey of a document published in January, 1970, concerning Dutch adult education as limited to educational, nonvocational activities outside school aimed at personal, social, and civic competence. This article is particularly informative because the Netherlands' excellent program of adult education has not been…

There has been some progress in international cooperation in adult education since the world conference at Montreal in 1960 but there will be no permanent structure for cooperation that is not rooted in national, regional, and international organizations that have stability in themselves. (LY)

Examines American youth: who they are, what they are thinking and doing, and their effect on adult education. (AN)

Professor Anatol Darinsky, director of the Research Institute of Adult Education in Leningrad, discusses the program of the Institute and outlines research needs in the field of adult pedagogy. (MF)