Multiple collaborative inquiry groups were established in a K-12 rural school for teacher professional development and school improvement. Outcomes included individual teacher renewal, creation of a network for teacher interaction, change in teachers' classroom behavior, and structural and cultural change in the school. (SK)

Analysis of over 450 contributions to electronic discussions by 52 adult learners showed the learning processes used were engaging, developing conceptual relationships, drawing conclusions, and reflecting. Learning progressed to a high analytical level and was facilitated by group process development. Faculty supported discussion by synthesizing…

Explores the problematic relationship between public education and adult education in the United States and Canada since World War II, the shift in understanding of adult education as social education, and the rise of cultural politics in lifelong learning in postindustrial society. (SK)

Problems in research on participation in adult education include the following: (1) treatment of participants as voluntary, which ignores the growth of compulsory training in the workplace; (2) lack of knowledge about the choice to be a nonlearner; (3) individualistic focus; and (4) inadequate investigation of informal learning. (SK)

Presents qualitative information about the persistence of GED students enrolled in a four-year institution; in-depth interviews of twelve students taken from a sample of 251 GED students enrolled during a specific semester provide themes of persistence. Many financial, social, and academic factors were found to influence whether students remain in…

Explains the growing importance of higher-level qualifications for adults in the UK, highlighting statistical trends in commitment to learning and qualifying-the result of taking part-time courses in higher education. Most part-time undergraduates fund their own tuition. Mature students' backgrounds and perspectives partly account for their rising…

Technology is the key to improving student achievement, but without high-quality professional development, technology will never be successful in fulfilling that role. To create successful professional development, it is necessary to carefully plan programs and activities that model constructivism and take into consideration characteristics of…

This examination of the pedagogical and curricular characteristics and imperatives of an interdisciplinary studies program for adult learners, within a wider context of theory and practice, draws on the example of a general education course to demonstrate the vitality between interdisciplinary thinking and adult learning.

Traditional forms of teaching and learning based on textual forms of representation and rational thought may limit how we perceive our world. Artistic forms of expression and their implications for adult education are discussed.

Central to development of authenticity in teaching is self-understanding and self-awareness. Using a Jungian perspective, the author suggests that the imaginative dimensions of the self play a critical role in our journey and experience as teachers, and in developing self-awareness and authenticity in our teaching.

This paper discusses three technologies used in an adult continuing education Masters programme: blogging, learning objects and e-portfolios. My reflections on their use and on the literature underpinning their use form the basis of the discussion. All three of these technologies were used to promote self-directed learning, reflection and learner…

This study investigated the types of informal learning activities that adults with low literacy skills engage in outside of formal literacy programs and how these activities relate to their literacy practices. Key informants for the study included 10 adults identified at International Adult Literacy Survey levels 1 and 2. Using ethnographic…

What motivates adult language learners in the city of Belfast to enrol and remain in an Irish class in the first years of the twenty-first century is the subject of the research study reported here. The research is placed within the context of the long history of interest in Irish revival in the city as far back as the eighteenth century and is…

For many years, poverty has dominated international headlines as a global condition. In some countries, poverty has become a chronic socioeconomic problem. This qualitative study explored the incorporation process of poverty into adult identity and assessed the nature of the learning that occurred. Destitute adults in Botswana were chosen and used…

For the mature student, the recognition and validation of prior knowledge, much of which may be tacit, is central to both confidence and further learning. From a theoretical stance the use of interdisciplinary study or applying interdisciplinary approaches within monodisciplinary study should benefit the learning of the mature student. Such…