This paper examines emerging discourses and practices of quality assurance in English Further Education (FE), a sector currently undergoing significant change. Using a broadly ethnographic approach and Foucauldian theories of power, we discuss how 'documentisation' contributes to governance techniques in a specific institutional context.…

The Adult Education Budget (AEB) plays a key role in the provision of skills programmes for Londoners. Since the delegation of the AEB to the Mayor of London in August 2019, the Greater London Authority (GLA) has been granted some flexibility to align AEB policy and commissioning with local priorities. Some of these changes have been designed to…

This paper critiques recent developments in educational discourse through an analysis of two UK Government White Papers and three specific problems. We argue that the latter herald forms of 'biocreep'. Echoing the analysis of such phenomena in the work of Michel Foucault, this gradual extension of 'biopolitics' into the field of education is a…

The following paper describes a pilot project in anti-colonial pedagogy for English Language Learning (ELL). This anti-colonial curriculum and pedagogy was developed by drawing from anti-colonial and Marxist theorizations of migration, settler colonialism, and imperialism as well as insights from critical adult education. This paper explores the…

This research article discusses and analyzes an education program for older adults in Isla de la Juventud, Cuba, called the Cátedra Universitaria del Adulto Mayor (University Chair for Older Adults). Our interest in studying this program for older adults stems from the peculiarity of its designation as a university chair and, simultaneously, being…

Lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, through trial and error and sharing stories of successes and failures, have resulted in progress in the quest to resume what we refer to as normal or regular college life for students, faculty, and staff. However, it is doubtful that we will ever get back to the exact same situation that we were in…

Through examining the perspectives of students within the Chinese Adult Higher Education sector, this paper investigates their motivation for gaining a degree (that many felt was undervalued) and their perceptions of credentialism in China's post-massification era. Forty semi-structured interviews were undertaken with adult students studying for…

In an appeal to establish transformative learning's (TL) boundaries, Kegan (2000) implored researchers to identify "what from transforms?" As a social psychologist, I am particularly drawn to theorists who identify the self as the form that transforms; however, I argue that a model of the self that specifies how it is represented in…

This essay introduces a juxtaposition of adult education, futures perspectives, transformative learning theory, and democratic engagement. Within adult education, the promise of education, and the possibilities of transformative learning (TL) are often linked to democracy and human freedoms, yet that democratic promise is often left unfulfilled or…

Senior citizens' communities of practice (CoPs) in Taiwan focus on the sharing of experiences and expertise, and engagement with issues of mutual concern. Because most of their members have a wealth of social experiences, as well as the time and strong motivation to learn new skills, these CoPs have strong potential to become learning environments…

The purposes and implementation of adults' lifelong education (LLE) has been shaped by two imperatives: i) neoliberal reforms and ii) focuses on employability and economic outcomes. This has led to LLE taking similar pathways across many countries, i.e., away from a focus on personal and cultural betterment, to one associated with promoting…

In this article, we examine the role of the Principal within Further Education colleges in England and explore the often neglected issue of succession planning in the sector. To provide background and context to the current situation, key policies and developments over the past 30 years are reviewed and challenges identified. Interviews with…

Adults learn simply through life experience and possibly by pursuing an education. Pursuing an education would depend on the setting of the experience. This project aimed to explore the theories and frameworks that inform the field of adult learning today. A course project was constructed of seven individual projects, each exploring different…

This book presents and advocates for a framework of competing epistemologies and conceptions of ethics as a way of understanding modernist lifelong learning. These epistemologies are grounded in a recognition of the normative nature of knowledge that informs lifelong learning; each being framed by a different account of the sort of knowledge that…

Understanding early school leaving (ESL) remains a key issue on political and academic agendas. Most research focuses on the experiences of young people who intend to leave or have left school early without a qualification from secondary education. In addition, most studies focus on regular secondary schools. We aim to add to this literature by…