This Ideas in Practice article investigates lifelong learning practices in a women's studies course at a program of Osher OLLI (Lifelong Learning Institute). The course adopted a holistic and positive approach by celebrating lifelong learners' strengths--their invaluable backgrounds and life experiences--fostering vitality and wholesomeness in…

This study explores EFL students' perceptions of gender diversity by analyzing their interactions about Chile's same-sex marriage law in 2022. The study focused on fostering linguistic and critical skills through classroom discussions. A safe space for open conversations allowed students to express diverse views on gender diversity. While opinions…

The theory of transformative learning and its notion of freedom, that we are not trapped by one way of looking at the world or being in the world, fosters a fundamental re-ordering and radical questioning of how one thinks or acts. As a theory of adult learning, it emerged from the women's movement in the US, echoing what it means to become a…

The purpose of this article is two-fold. Firstly, we consider whether the setting up of mixed-gender focus group sessions has the potential as a research process to contribute to transforming people's understandings of their gendered relationships. Secondly, we relate our discussion to the question of the mutability of stereotypical thinking in…

This paper discusses the scope of governmental interventions in families through adult education in the context of Turkey's family-focused debates. The central question is to understand how 'family' is constructed in the family life education programme of the Ministry of Family and Social Services. Seven handbooks were chosen from the family…

In the field of physics education research, numerous studies have been dedicated to investigating the relationship between gender identity and physics learning. However, these studies have predominantly employed binary gender measurement methods, which may limit the range of research questions that can be explored and impede the discovery of…

Although Traditional Ethiopian Orthodox Church Education (TCE) has been involved in literacy teaching for over two millennia, its potential as a model and an asset for adult literacy programmes has not been recognised by literacy providers. This paper examines how people of different generations acquire and practise literacy within TCE, including…

This study explores gender-related inequality in participation in Adult Education and Training (AET) in four countries with vastly different adult learning systems and support measures for women's AET. Our examination of the data from an original international survey conducted in 2022 has found that the participation of men and women clearly…

Honoring the voices needing to be heard, the research investigated the lived experiences of six Syrian Muslim refugee women who resettled in the United States after the 2011 Syrian War. Data analysis was informed by qualitative research methodology and narrative inquiry. The stories of Syrian women in this study highlight the complexities of…

In this article, I present my analysis of an advertisement for a local professional football team. Central premises here include the conceptualization of adult learning as occurring holistically in the course of everyday encounters, and Sara Ahmed's thoughts on the social function of affect, especially happiness or "good feeling." I…

Over the past 40 years, colleges and universities have seen an increase in groups of traditionally marginalized people as students. Groups such as mature adult learners, African Americans/Blacks, and female students have closed the disparity gap but continue to fall behind their White, male, and female counterparts in terms of degree success. The…

This paper discusses a piece of qualitative research that explored the narratives of a group of mature women when they discussed influences on their post-16 educational decisions. This encompasses their initial vocational education and training (VET) and their choice to study higher education (HE) programmes in England. The research draws on Nancy…

The foreign language classroom affords conversations related to heteronormativity, language, and power, but instructional approaches often center upon discrete aspects of grammar and vocabulary. Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) disavows such approaches, instead utilizing personalized questions and co-created stories.…

One of the most often repeated goals in modern society is making education available to all on equal terms, regardless of social origin, culture or individual characteristics such as age, gender or the socio-economic status of an individual. However, in relation to gender inequality within learning environments, in the Czech Republic the…

This study aimed to explore how gender restructuring might interact with immigrant second language (L2) learning in the new trends of feminized marriage migration in Asia, using Mandarin-language education in Taiwan as a case study. Drawing on positioning theory to analyze classroom discourse in a Mandarin-language class for marriage-migrants,…