In this article, I trace lines of materialist pedagogies in the history of women workers' education following feminist interpretations of Spinoza's assemblage of joyful affects. More particularly, I focus on the notions of "laetitia" [joy], "gaudium" [gladness] and "hilaritas" [cheerfulness] as entanglements of joy…

This study draws upon Mindful L2 Teacher Education (Johnson & Golombek, 2016) to explore how volunteer community tutors of adult English as a Second Language (ESL) conceptualize and enact their roles as creative teachers. Through three case studies, I explore community language teachers' preunderstandings, contradictions, and growth points.…

We draw on theories of policy enactment to explore the ways in which the situated, material and external contexts and professional cultures in adult literacy in the UK have influenced practitioners. Our analysis of the transnational (OECD, EU) and UK external policy contexts found that skills-related education is prioritised, with a focus on…

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to extraordinary changes in family literacy instruction, forcing face-to-face programmes to shift rapidly (or "on the fly") to online, remote instruction. This study is one of the few on online teaching and learning in family literacy and, to the knowledge of the authors, the first on emergency remote…

The authors of this article describe themselves as a lucky group of older adults, ranging in age from sixty to ninety-two, who participate in an intergenerational arts program at their local senior center in Flushing, Queens, one of New York City's most culturally diverse communities. In their living history theater program, run by Elders Share…

Over the past 20 years, research has consistently affirmed the importance of explicit vocabulary instruction for adult learners of English as a second language (ESL). Given the significant vocabulary demands faced by adult second language readers, ESL teachers must carefully target their instruction for maximum impact and to foster meaningful…

The Literacy and Equality in Irish Society (LEIS) Project is an example of a project which used alternative non-text methodologies to help literacy and basic education learners explore and understand how inequalities in society have impacted on their lives. The project focused on inequalities, shifting the emphasis in literacy and basic skills…

This chapter brings together themes from the various practices presented by the educators who contributed to this volume for purposes of reflecting on the implications of the arts for the practice and theory of adult education.