Online distance education programs are populated by adult learners who try to continue or complete their education without having to leave their jobs or places of residence. Their work environment becomes not just their working place, but also the lab where they apply new knowledge. The general expectation is that after graduation they will make…

In this article, the authors write about the myth of the "silver surfers"--those third-age learners adept at using the internet and other technologies for a mixture of formal and informal learning episodes. The notion of the silver surfer has endured since the latter half of the 1990s. It is sustained by the annual Silver Surfer week, media…

The research reported in this study concerns older adults from Australia who voluntarily chose to learn the craft of woodturning. The paper examines the literature of adult learning under the themes of presage factors, the learning environment, instructional methods, and techniques for facilitators. The paper then reports on the analysis of two…

Adult learners with high support needs often have no means of progressing to further provision. In this article, the author discusses Quality Inclusive Pathways (QUIPs), a project creating local multi-agency learning pathways for these learners. The QUIPs project--developed directly from the stated needs of families, carers and the young people…

With the formation of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in 2001, a single post-16 learning and skills sector (LSS) was created for the first time in England with huge potential to support lifelong learning. It was this momentous change that prompted the authors in 2004 to begin a study entitled "The impact of policy on learning and…

This article examines a number of issues regarding the leveraged use of global training within multinational organizations. Given a common purpose and using technology that may minimize cultural differences, is it possible for these organizations to overcome some of the cultural barriers to adult learning? In examining this concept, this article…

Despite controversy in the literature, the present article assumes that the adult learning theory provides a powerful framework for evaluating training practices. This study explores the degree to which adult learning traits are embedded in optional seminars, the primary form of formal in-service teacher training in Cyprus and a traditional,…

Korean lifelong learning in practice is gradually adapted by neo-liberals and the discourses of the economic market. Considering that the public foundation of Korean education is fragile to cope with the market challenge, the whole picture of Korean learning ecology is rapidly distorted towards the establishment of the learning market and the…

Purpose: There are three purposes to this article: first, to offer a training approach to employee learning and performance improvement that makes use of a step-by-step process of skill/knowledge creation. The process offers follow-up opportunities for skill maintenance and improvement; second, to explain the conceptual bases of the approach; and…

This article presents the outcomes of recent research into adult education programs and experiences in the Shire of Campaspe, a region in northern Victoria. Research data of people from diverse cultural backgrounds reveal how individuals can utilize adult education as a space to explore their own social and cultural isolation in a regional…

This paper assumes that contemporary Western society is a consumer society and argues that the need of global capitalism to sell its commodities in the market place is the fundamental force behind consumerism. A model of globalisation is discussed. In it, we see how the control of information technology means that producers have the power to…

This qualitative research study explores key challenges and literacy needs of adults from war-affected backgrounds. Poverty, stress and anxiety, years of formal education, and lack of English language proficiency were cited by the adult learners as barriers to fulfilling their potential. This study also presents perspectives of teachers who have…

Library-based adult literacy programs rely on volunteers to provide tutoring services to adult learners. A high percentage of volunteer tutors are matched with a reading-disabled adult literacy learner. Although all tutors are required to complete preservice tutor training, there is a limited amount of research that documents whether they utilize…

In this paper we describe a study of the effectiveness of mobile learning (m-learning) in the form of podcasting, for teaching undergraduate students in Higher Education. Podcasting involves downloading a series of audio or video broadcasts (files) onto a digital media player, via a computer, over a period of weeks. These can then be watched or…

In the conversation about underserved populations in New England, higher education often revolves around "school-aged" students of color and students from low-income families. This is understandable; after all, these are the fastest growing populations in the region. In this article, the author says it is time to reinvent education. One…