This publication is part of the study materials for the distance education course, Adults Learning in the Workplace: Part A, in the Open Campus Program at Deakin University. The first part of the document examines the process of learning from experience within the context of on-the-job-training and learning in the workplace. The following topics…

A multi-pronged comparative approach was used to identify training and development needs specific to faculty evaluators of prior learning experience essays. Surveys were administered to 39 active evaluators who were members of the National-Louis University (NLU) faculty and 14 directors of prior learning assessment programs external to NLU. The…

These 15 papers cover a wide range of topics and perspectives on the work of Adult Literacy and Basic Education (ALBE) practitioners in Victoria, Australia, in the contemporary ideological and political context. A preface (John Wilson) and introduction (Delia Bradshaw) begin the anthology. The papers are as follows: "...A…

Through their own inventiveness and persistence, adults are circumventing institutional indifference and creating alternative educational networks to teach themselves art. Problems that must be overcome are as follows: inadequate instructor preparation, a generally narrow array of programs in most community centers with the preponderance of…

Problem-based learning (PBL) uses adult-learning theory to structure the instructional process around presentation of a problem. Learning events emulate real-life situations as closely as possible. This paper describes how two middle schools and one high school implemented a structured staff-development approach aimed at teaching teachers how to…

A collection of three excerpted stories is provided in this paper about cross-cultural communication. The paper presents excerpts from papers written as assignments by teacher/students in a course about first and second language development. In the paper's first excerpt, Angela Jordahl tells about her involvement with Kurdish students in a…

The quality of a literacy program can be assessed by taking into account the following factors: purpose of the program, how the program meets the most important current needs of the adult population, if it is accessible to the people who need services, and whether the literacy content is relevant to learners' needs. Flexibility of funding also is…

The Head Start home-based supervisor provides guidance, support, direction, and continuing staff development opportunities while attempting to maintain and improve quality of services to Head Start children and families. This guide is designed to help the home-based supervisor in carrying out responsibilities while supporting the home visitor, who…

This anthology contains 32 essays: "Beginner's Mind" (Sarita Chawla);"Communities of Commitment: The Heart of Learning Organizations" (Fred Kofman, Peter Senge); "Managing the Dream" (Charles Handy); "Ahead of the Wave: Valuing Gender Perspective in Learning Cultures" (Marilynne Anderson); "Mastering…

During 1996, the Center for Adult and Continuing Education (CACE) at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, was in a process of rapid transition. Staff participated in a retreat during which a vision of CACE's work was rebuilt. CACE staff were closely involved with the Western and Northern Cape Provinces Departments of Education in the…

Over the past 30 years, many changes have taken place in education in Scotland. Adult learning has increasingly figured in the broad canvas of education, teachers are increasingly being viewed as mangers of learning resources or facilitators of learning, and the emphasis has shifted from imbibing knowledge through books to active learning and…

This paper reviews and uses current research to present guidelines for curriculum development and delivery. The presenters demonstrate why manipulatives, laboratories and other "hands on" approaches are not appropriate introductory learning tools for adults. They argue that laboratory and similar strategies are the tools of an…

Studies of self-directed learning (SDL) have generally concentrated on who self-directed learners are and what/how they learn. In 1980, Gibbons et al. used biographies of 20 "expert" self-directed learners to explore the principles and determinants of SDL. Tough (1967), Guglielmino (1977), and Spear and Mocker (1984) have respectively…

A research study examined the complex roles of adult life in relation to the student role, the nature of adult undergraduate engagement in learning, and adult perceptions of involvement. Adult students were interviewed in three types of institutions: 38 at two liberal arts colleges, 29 at two community colleges, and 23 at two public universities.…

This book describes the theory and process of transformative learning (TL) and presents practical strategies for fostering and supporting TL. In chapters 1 and 2, TL is placed within the broader context of adult learning and Mezirow's 1991 theory of TL is presented. Chapter 3 examines the following: TL's relationship to the instrumental,…