The COVID-19 pandemic has caused increasing economic and physical vulnerability of many Americans. There has also been a surge in poverty, housing insecurity, food insecurity, long-term unemployment, and challenges with health care access and use. This first article in the forum examines how the field of adult education continues the pattern of…

This study examines the motivations of refugee-background adults in participating in English language classes in the United States. Five focus group discussions were held with refugee-background adults with no or very limited English proficiency who were enrolled in an English language program in an urban area in the Northeastern region of the…

This paper explores the challenges and successes of engaging female survivors of childhood sexual abuse and sexual violence in community-based, arts-informed adult learning. The study presents the complex physical, psychological and emotional barriers to participation that were encountered during the fieldwork period. The rationale for using an…

This study explored the complex relationships between immigration, volunteering, and life-long learning among older adults. It investigated adult teaching and learning and active ageing from the perspective of immigrant volunteer instructors of English as additional language. Using a grounded theory method (GTM), comprising a combination of…

Students older than 25 years are a growing population on our campuses. However, separating these students and labeling them as "nontraditional" further isolates them from campuses that are already geared toward younger learners. This reflective essay explains the need for a philosophy of invitational andragogy--a classroom approach…

The process of migration to a new country brings with it a host of challenges, and therefore also learning needs. Some countries have systems in place to facilitate the transition of migrants into society, often including adult education programs. Those programs, however, cannot be effective if blithely designed in ignorance of the…

We must recognize that our current language to describe the work and purpose of adult education sets a "dominant culture" social dynamic between teacher and student. To anchor adult education in a genuine spirit and experience of equity, we must start with a fundamental shift from a one-way savior helper mindset to a two-way mutual…

Universities can help level up by boosting earnings, transforming towns and delivering vocational and technical education. They fulfil the aspirations of many young people. In this paper, David Willetts explores how to boost participation in higher education while cutting public spending. He argues it is reasonable to expect graduates to pay for…

This edited volume focuses on best practices in experiential learning. Chapters address service-learning, community-based research, international efforts and other experiential methods, highlighting innovative approaches, successes, and issues of concern. Further, the book also demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of experiential education,…

Before 2019, neither SARS-CoV-2 nor its genetic sequences had ever been identified. Retrospective investigations identified human cases with onset of symptoms in December 2019. While some of the earliest known cases had a link to a wholesale food market in Wuhan, China, some did not. But eventually, it spread to all nations of the world, and…

The purpose of my study was to document the educational experiences of adult "mexicana" immigrants and their "convivencia" with others in public spaces. This study consequently addressed the interdisciplinary gap between adult education and Chicana feminist epistemology. I collected data through a "convivencia"…

The community of inquiry (COI) model identifies elements which are fundamental to a successful online learning experience, namely, teaching presence, cognitive presence, and social presence. The model has received empirical support as a useful framework for understanding the online learning experience. A limitation of the model is its…

The idea of learning throughout life has been present in educational thinking since Plato. However, as a guiding principle for integrating educational efforts, it is a much more recent development. This paper canvasses the rise of interest in lifelong learning internationally as a policy initiative, an umbrella under which other learning policies…

Writing Salon at the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, DC, is a series of free creative writing workshops for adult audiences. The program uses art as an inspiration for writing and embraces writing as a powerful way to experience art. Highlighting the parallels between the writing and art-making processes, the program demonstrates that…

In this qualitative study, the authors apply Callon's sociology of translation to examine how new technology entrepreneurs enact material arguments that involve the first two moments of translation--problematization (defining a market problem) and interessement (defining a market and the firm's relationship to it)--which in turn are represented in…