The paper reports on the findings of a Learning and Skills Research Centre (LSRC) funded study investigating the impact of different modes and methods of assessment on achievement and progress in post-secondary education and training. Data were collected across Advanced-level academic and vocational preparation programmes in schools and colleges,…

This article was originally presented as a position paper at the Symposium on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Social Development held in Jakarta by the ASEAN Foundation Collaboratory (May 2006). Its main premise is that, while there is growing use of open and distance learning (ODL) in formal and nonformal education and training…

At the invitation of UNESCO in 1997, more than 1,500 representatives of governments and non-governmental organizations attended the Fifth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA V) in Hamburg, Germany. They laid out a strategy for lifelong learning that omitted rights for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender, Two Spirit, and…

The purpose of this conceptual paper was to propose an ultimate goal and purpose for the field and practice of adult education. A literature search was conducted to delineate historical philosophies of education that inform the current state of education, including adult education. Furthermore, building upon the rudiments of adult education extant…

Andragogy, originally proposed by Malcolm Knowles, has been criticized as an atheoretical model. Validation of andragogy has been advocated by scholars, and this paper explores one method for that process. Current motivation theory, specifically socioemotional selectivity and self-determination theory correspond with aspects of andragogy. In…

This paper represents the text of a presentation given by the author during a panel discussion on "Paving the Way towards CONFINTEA VI: Balance and Challenges on the Side of Civil Society," in Montevideo in June 2006. The author argues that adult learning, instead of inciting general interest and concern, tends to be forgotten in public…

Emotion-laden images that arise within adult learning provide a symbolic language for helping teachers and learners understand and facilitate transformation at both the individual and group levels.

National attention to a possible superintendent shortage has created concern about the changing nature of the superintendency, particularly new challenges, and how superintendents are prepared. Through 23 focus group interviews, superintendents across the country described the challenges they faced when new, how these have changed in recent years,…

How does one count the most organic and authentic moments where an adult educator helped facilitate a learner's epiphany? One minute all the letters on the blackboard seemed jumbled and the words were unidentifiable, and then suddenly, with a blink of an eye, all of the letters now make words that have meaning and enter the mind to make deeper…

A greater acknowledgment of relational interdependence between individual and social agencies is warranted within conceptions of learning throughout working life. Currently, some accounts of learning tend to overly privilege social agency in the form of situational contributions. This de-emphasises the contributions of the more widely socially…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to differentiate effects of phonotactic probability, the likelihood of occurrence of a sound sequence, and neighborhood density, the number of words that sound similar to a given word, on adult word learning. A second purpose was to determine what aspect of word learning (viz., triggering learning, formation…

This study examined adult students' informal knowledge of percent and its relationship to their computational skills. Sixty adults studying in urban and suburban adult education programs were interviewed to ascertain: (1) their ideas of the meanings of benchmark percents, 100%, 50%, and 25%, as they appear in advertising and media contexts; (2)…

The Medicine Wheel is a Native American legend in which a circle contains countless points each of which represents a different, yet valid, perspective on the nature of reality. According to the Medicine Wheel legend, the north offers the gift of wisdom, the east offers illumination, the south offers innocence, and the west offers introspection.…

This report analyzes the employee training program at the Outdoor Program Centre (OPC) of the University of Calgary and offers recommendations that may be of benefit to other outdoor recreation centers. The OPC offers products and services such as facility access, equipment rentals, instructional and recreational programs, and repair services for…

Lifelong education is a critical issue for higher education. The number of adult learners in university classrooms is and will continue to increase. This paper addresses: (1) the impact of the changes in the cultural diversity of university students; (2) motivations of adult learners for continuing their education, with its implications for…