This report and the companion backgrounder "Supporting Persons with Disabilities in Post-Secondary Education" represent the work of the Foundational Learning and Diversity sub-committee. Within the larger context and framework of A Learning Alberta, the sub-committee focused on identifying priorities for community learning opportunities…

Research in gerontology as it has contributed to further research on and expanded library services to the aged is discussed. Significant research efforts eminating from the library and gerontology community are highlighted. (30 references) (KE)

Addresses the questions of terminology, definition, and identification in an effort to contribute to the theory of distance education. Suggests that "distance education" is the most satisfactory solution to the problem of terminology. (Available: School of External Studies, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, 167 Franklin Street,…

Addresses aspects of group process that affect learning in groups: maintenance and task functions, group cohesion, the facilitator's role, group formation, and power and conflict issues. Suggests that the relationship between group process theory and learning theory needs further exploration. (SK)

A contemporary method of group learning in the workplace is the concept of the learning organization. Learning organizations feature dialogue as a process for generative, creative, collective, and transformative learning. (Author/SK)

Themes from the special issue on group learning are highlighted: perceptions of learning, process versus content, the facilitator's role, power relations, and learning communities. (SK)

This dialog between Alan Rogers and Knud Illeris debates arguments Rogers made in a previous article about the differences between adult and child learning. Rogers emphasizes differences in teacher-learner relationships. Illeris believes the differences result from different motivations for learning. (SK)

Learning-in-action must be accompanied by reflection in and on action. Journals are a personal, self-consciously interactive method of communicating reflection to oneself and others, although they manifest a tension between the public and private aspects of learning-in-action. (SK)

By applying the metaphor of literacy to environmental issues, the argument is made that critical literacy is a set of social practices involving thinking and acting upon environmental concerns. Examples of critical environmental education for adults illustrate the argument. (Contains 21 references.) (SK)

Interviews with 20 people involved in Wiccan communities of practice revealed a trajectory of participation from the periphery to the center of the group, experiential learning that combines formal and intuitive knowledge, and a process of identity development in becoming a witch. To an extent, the community's marginality shaped learning and…

Suggests a widening of the context of the discussion on collaborative learning. Explores the notion of collaborative learning in the rapidly growing arena of adult learning, either in a school setting or in less formal venues. Offers some reflections on the role of education in the larger enterprise of citizenship. (RS)

Discusses the methodology by which people arrive at "knowledge" and how knowledge has been seen by philosophers and critical thinkers through history. Includes the theories of Jurgen Habermas, Jack Mezirow, Thomas Kuhn, and Paulo Freire. Cites implications for adult education. (JOW)

Describes the study circle concept that pioneered in Sweden during the last century. Suggests that study circles can be sustained if their usefulness for education, communication, and leadership development can be demonstrated to organizations. Offers multiple forms of study circles for organizational use. (JOW)

Resistance to self-direction in learning often results from misconception: self-direction is all or nothing, implies learning in isolation, is a fad, is not worth the time, is an easy way out for teachers, and is the one best way for adults. The relationship of self-directed learning to humanist concepts also gives rise to resistance. (SK)

Adult learners are not simply larger children, and the process for the adult learner needs to be addressed. This includes establishing goals and objectives, developing curriculum, setting requirements and conditions of learning, and determining what changes in behavior constitute learning. (Author/JOW)