This paper explores the application of the card-sorting interview technique in understanding the complex interplay of motivations and barriers faced by adults engaging in learning. Traditional research methods, whether quantitative or qualitative, often fail to capture these nuanced interactions or to provide scalable insights for policy…

Transformational learning theory is a cornerstone within the field of adult education. However, are all learners ready for their disorienting dilemma which instigates transformational learning? To answer this question, this autoethnographic paper unpacks an adult learner's personal journey on a research expedition to Antarctica. Using Antarctica…

This is a study of the process of biographical learning and how it can be observed in narration. There have not yet been empirical studies focused explicitly on the learning aspects of biographical learning, as scholars have focused more on the biographical part of the concept -- more on the question of what is learned than of how it is learned.…

It is widely accepted that professional learning is a crucial aspect of the ongoing professional practice of educators. But how should this professional learning take place, and what arrangements enable and constrain practices associated with educator learning? In this article, we explore two case studies of action research projects: one…

Participedia is a collaborative, digital learning tool for the co-production of knowledge about new forms of citizen participation across the world (www.participedia.net). In this paper, we analyse using the platform as a learning resource for adult learners who are democracy practitioners and for undergraduate students. We examine Participedia's…

Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is a combination of different forms of teaching knowledge necessary to provide students with a meaningful learning experience. This article aims to improve teachers' PCK by incorporating it into an action learning approach. The authors designed the Blended Model of Reflective PCK (BMRP) to enable teachers to be…

This study is concerned with emotional highs in experiential learning and, more specifically, determining triggers that lead to emotional highs. The research aims not only to understand the invisible side of emotions, but also genuinely consider how learners make sense of their experiences. To study the triggers of emotional highs, a deliberate…

Traci L. Hodges is a doctoral student in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program at the University of Missouri St. Louis. Her research interests are comparative adult education, African American adult education, and critical education. Having witnessed freedom protests in Madrid, Spain, and Ferguson, Missouri, she shares her…

This article describes how adults learn to self-manage chronic bodily symptoms, a complex and costly health problem. It proposes a theory of learning for an innovative, research-informed intervention, The BodyMind Approach® (TBMA) aimed at developing confidence, competence, skills, and knowledge and understanding for self-management for people…

The 21st Century workforce must be flexible, adaptable, and innovative to stay competitive in today's fast-paced, ever-changing job market. Organizations play an important role in supporting the professional growth of its employees by offering various kinds of formal and informal professional development opportunities. While formal learning may be…

The Portfolio-Based Language Assessment (PBLA) literature explicitly states the suitability of using PBLA in English as an additional language (EAL) learning contexts. An underlying assumption is that it is also suitable for adult learners. This paper tests this assumption by comparing PBLA against the assumptions and principles of andragogy--a…

Professionals in the field of adult and higher education recognize the path into any learning community is riddled with complexities of life exigencies. This author states that he found "light at the end of the tunnel" in an experiential, transformative study abroad course in Spanish language and culture. Transformative learning abroad…

This qualitative case study examined the cultural learning insights of four educators during and after an immersion experience in Kenya. During this experience the participants delivered professional development sessions to teachers in two rural Kenyan schools, and stayed with Kenyan families. Mezirow's transformational learning theory,…

Oral presentation skills are considered essential workplace skills and are therefore highly valued in higher education. However, research into this aspect of adult learning is limited, especially in the context of distance and online education. This paper reports on an innovative approach used in a university preparatory program in Australia.…

In this autobiographical essay I discuss my role as an adult educator teaching in a teacher education program. I begin with an outline of my serendipitous pathway into the field of adult education, noting some moments in that journey that continue to inform my orientation to adult and lifelong learning. I then offer some reflections of my…