Ghana has been identified as an important example of democracy in Africa, yet the story of this democratic success overlooks the crucial role social movement activism and learning have played in locally reconfiguring and deepening what democracy means. A key dimension of this overlooked-story is ongoing efforts to contest both local and global…

Canada welcomes around 24,000 refugees annually (Citizenship and Immigration Canada 2015; 2016). Many adult learners with refugee experiences join English as an Additional Language (EAL) classes every year, whether these classes be federally or provincially funded. These adult learners with refugee experiences bring to EAL classes varied…

Few adult second language (L2) learners successfully attain high-level proficiency. Although decades of research on beginning to intermediate stages of L2 learning have identified a number of predictors of the rate of acquisition, little research has examined factors relevant to predicting very high levels of L2 proficiency. The current study,…

The study described here is based on the work of creative writing students engaged in life writing for a piece of assessment in a distance-learning course. Using the finished assignment pieces themselves, the students' reflective commentaries on their completed task, and a follow-up questionnaire, the analysis was designed to explore the…

The population of adult learners in higher education continues to increase. In many cases, the majority of faculty teaching adult learners are adjunct instructors. These instructors bring a rich background of experience and expertise to the classroom, but may lack experience in designing and implementing effective instructional practices for adult…

In the last few decades, the workplace has been increasingly recognised as a legitimate environment for learning new skills and knowledge, which in turn enables workers to participate more effectively in ever-changing work environments. Within the workplace, there is the potential for continuous learning to occur not only through formal learning…

This article addresses how older people understand and engage with contemporary art in the gallery context--whether there is something unique to the art, the format of the visits, the pedagogical approaches used by gallery educators, the social contact, or a combination of all these factors. It also addresses the psychosocial barriers to…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore learning for and through retirement from the workplace. Design/methodology/approach: First, "retirement" is considered in the light of the existing literature, demonstrating a complex concept. The paper describes the research project from which a theme of retirement as a learning process…

This study explores professional learning of teachers in a web-based Open-Ended Learning Environment (OELE). Adult learning theorists suggest that adults are self-directed, experience-based, personally- and socially-related, problem-oriented, and application-focused learners. Constructivists suggest that the OELE affords learners opportunities to…

A fundamental aspect of adult education is engaging adults in becoming lifelong learners. More often than not, this requires removing barriers to learning, especially those relating to the actual organisational or institutional learning process. This article explores some of the main barriers to adult learning discussed in the literature and…

When we separate the process of learning that is experienced by adults and children from the methods, systems and settings that are used, a clear case can be made for a very distinct, andragogical model. This concept exists separately from the notion that there is undoubtedly a common pedagogy or "art of teaching" that is shared by the…

In light of the many social, medical, and political viewpoints on obesity, little is known of the weight loss maintenance experience and the impact on learning processes and outcomes among adults. The purpose of this study was two-fold: a) to explore the experience and meaning-making processes of individuals who have maintained a weight loss and…

This study defines a blog as a contemporary web-based environment that can make a difference in adult informal learning practice. An online survey with 70 adult bloggers in Korea was undertaken to understand the nature of adults' blogging and its meanings in terms of learning. This study investigates (a) adults' blogging experiences related to…

Good mentoring depends on effective learning. Effective learning depends on the readiness, willingness, and openness of mentoring partners. The concept of mentoring as a partnership does not come easy to many who experience mentoring through the lens of the traditional paradigm that focused on an older, more experienced person passing on knowledge…

This qualitative study examined the influences of teachers' experiences on their perceptions of teaching English language learners (ELLs) framed within Mezirow's transformative learning theory. Eight teachers ranging from pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade participated in long interviews responding to a 10 item questionnaire. Each teacher…