A new project called Bookbite, which was launched in February 2010 by the national reading charity Booktrust, aims to encourage people over 60 to engage more with reading and writing for pleasure, and provides a range of web and paper-based resources to get them started. In this article, the author accounts his visit to the project and how he met…

In a previous study it has been suggested that there are six stages that adults move through before they feel ready to participate in higher education, and proposed a chain-of-response (COR) model to describe the process. In this study we examine the reported experiences of nine adult entrants during the second year of a work-related degree…

This study investigated characteristics and experiences of teachers of adult music learners, instructional aspects they perceive to be unique to teaching adults, and their self-perceived needs in providing quality experiences for adult learners. A 25-item questionnaire investigating the topics of preparation, goals, methodology, materials,…

Established in 2006 by New Leaders for New Schools[TM], the Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) initiative rewards high-need urban schools showing significant gains in student achievement. In exchange, schools agree to share the practices helping to drive those gains, which they do through an in-depth study of practice, aided by the EPIC…

Purpose: As two doctoral students and adult learners, the authors strongly believe that story telling can be a great tool for educators working with adult learners. The purpose of this paper is to increase awareness of how effective storytelling can be for adult learners. Design/methodology/approach: The approach of this paper is one of gathering…

Adult learning takes place not only in educational organisations, but through participation in leisure and special interest groups. Commercially operated weight management organisations recruit large numbers of adults to their classes to learn how to eat healthily and lose weight. They publish readers' "real life" success stories in their…

When adult ESL (English as a Second Language) learners enter our classrooms with little or no first language literacy, their instructors teach them to read for the first time in an unfamiliar language. It is a tremendous task, and the context for teaching "adult emergent readers" is complex. This complexity is coupled with a growing, but still…

CONFINTEA VI provided a unique lens through which to view adult education and literacy worldwide. Over 1,000 participants from 144 countries were convened to advance the recognition of adult learning and education as important elements of lifelong learning and crucial to the agendas for international education and development. The aim was to…

Since 1997, the identity of the research field of adults learning mathematics has been debated; the research field has grown in quantity and quality; and the research forum Adults Learning Mathematics (ALM) has established an international journal. In practice, the researchers answer the question about identity and quality of research papers in…

The New Year saw the UK economy facing the steepest decline in activity and the most rapid rise in unemployment since the Second World War. Whether unemployment peaks at around three million, as in the period 1981-86, or goes even higher, as some reputable forecasters are predicting, remains to be seen. The time between trough and recovery is also…

This article features Liverpool University's Go Higher, a one-year programme for adults who want to return to part-time education with a view to going on a degree course. For 10 years, Go Higher programme has been helping adults with few or no formal qualifications gain access to university-level study. The standards of learning and teaching on…

"Protective presence," "advocacy" and "solidarity" are the three key elements in the work of ecumenical accompaniment. In this article, the author focuses on the third, "solidarity," and explores what it has to do with undertaking and promoting adult learning. The author shares her experience when she…

This book's bold new vision for professional learning emphasizes the importance of intrinsic motivation and respect for cultural diversity to create a transformative approach to school improvement. Knowing that culture and motivation are inseparable influences on learning, Margery B. Ginsberg provides practical steps that focus on teaching and…

New teachers continue to leave the profession at high rates although retention rates vary from school to school, district to district, and state to state. Many districts have implemented mentoring programs to improve retention of and support for new teachers in their schools. Often these models rely on full-time release mentors, which is…

In this qualitative study the primary researcher utilized research methods of heuristic phenomenology in order to better understand the experience of recovery for a group of male participants. The purpose of this study was to aid the primary researcher in better understanding his own experience of recovery from alcoholism, as well as to add to the…