Adult education has historically played a role in modern democracies in support of civic participation and democratic engagement. In the context of a relatively stable and unchanging society, learning "about" and participating "in" the democratic process allow for tweaking the mechanisms of democracy. In present times, taken…

Utilizing a qualitative single case study approach, this study was designed to examine how teachers in an elementary school that engages in professional learning communities describe the role of reflection in their own professional learning and practice. Relying on two semi-structured interviews, this study examines teachers' perceptions…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how bilingual full-time and adjunct university faculty in a dual-language program described their experiences with professional development to meet college English Language Learners (ELL) students' academic needs in the state of Florida. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews…

The effect of gamified elements among adult learners in online post-secondary education classrooms is essential to determining the needs of each learner and if they vary from generation to generation and affect their playful experience and academic success. The gap in research exists as this is yet to be determined. The research questions tested…

For 27 years, the Adult Participation in Learning Survey has provided a unique insight into adult learning across the UK. It adopts a deliberately broad definition of learning, reflecting the fact that learning is about much more than formal courses and qualifications. The 2023 survey shows almost one in two adults took part in learning in the…

OpenStax Kinetic is an innovative research infrastructure that aims to transform education and learning research in the digital age. With its access to large sample sizes, authentic learning environments, experimental control, scalability, security and privacy protection, Kinetic provides an unparalleled opportunity for researchers to study the…

This chapter focuses on the Renewed European Agenda on Adult Learning and elucidates the three substantive authoritative functions (i.e. legal, epistemic and procedural) it performs to ease European governance in the adult education policy domain. It traces the development of the European policy objectives in the area of adult learning and the…

This research study investigated the coaching effectiveness of 1st-year principals in low-performing schools, employing the International Coach Federation (ICF) coaching framework. The study aimed to provide insights into how successful ICF-coached principals perceive coaching's utility, transfer learning from coaching to their leadership roles,…

It has been claimed that various discourses related to competence influence higher education, but there is limited understanding of the discourses underlying competence development. The specific aim of this study was to explore epistemic discourses concerning the development of competence of health professionals with a master's degree in health…

In Pakistan, adult literacy programs are offered to enable learners to function effectively to attain individual, family, and social sustainability, but these programs are continuously reporting low participation. This study aimed to explore the reasons behind low participation, employing a descriptive phenomenological design to examine the…

The Workers' Educational Association (WEA) has supported adult learning for over 120 years. Participating in adult learning brings a range of benefits for individuals and communities. These go much wider than solely education benefits and include better health, increased participation in community activities, and increased confidence and critical…

Although there has been much research on second language learning, minimal literature reports how language learners learn multiple foreign languages through immersion. Further, a majority of these previous studies have been conducted using exclusively quantitative methods. In response to these empirical and methodological gaps, the current study…

Online courses are particularly attractive in continuing education because they offer a high degree of autonomy and flexibility, although this requires learners to take greater responsibility for self-regulating their learning. That can be challenging for adult learners as they need to handle other obligations in addition to learning. Thus,…

Since 2008, the Taiwan Ministry of Education has been encouraging government agencies and private organizations to establish Active aging learning centers (AALCs). This has led to the engagement of AALCs across communities in Taiwan. We explored AALC organizers' experiences with negotiations during program planning. Semi-structured interviews were…

The research in this volume takes account of the context of policy promoting Chinese as a second language (CSL) in several countries and regions, (Australia, East Asia and South-East Asia), and the wider social context of multilingual and multicultural societies. Furthermore, this book reports results of two research studies which investigated how…