Adult education occurs whenever individuals engage in sustained, systematic learning in order to affect changes in their attitudes, knowledge, skills, or belief systems. Learning, instruction, and developmental processes are the primary foci of educational psychology research and theorizing, but educational psychologists' work in these domains has centered primarily on the childhood and adolescent school years. More recently, however, a number of educational psychologists have studied learning and development in adulthood. The results of these efforts have resulted in what is now called adult educational psychology. The purpose of this volume is to introduce this new subfield within educational psychology. Section 1 focuses on the interplay between learning and development in adulthood, how various forms of instruction lead to different learning outcomes for adults, description of the diverse social contexts in which adult learning takes place, and the development of metacognitive knowledge across the life span. Section 2 describes both research and theory pertaining to adult intellectual functioning, thinking, and problem-solving skills within various contexts. Section 3 describes research in a variety of adult learning domains; discusses the cognitive and behavioral dimensions of reading in adulthood and the applications of reading in real-life circumstances; examines an educational intervention developed to promote forgiveness; and relates the outcomes of an intervention designed to educate parents about their children's mathematics learning. Section 4 summarizes the themes and issues running throughout this, the first book that has sought to span the gulf between adult education, adult development, and educational psychology.

Adult Educational Psychology is useful for those encountering psychology as a subject in adult education courses as well as those with an interest in the psychology of adult development. It is directly relevant for teachers in higher education, instructors in technical and further education, staff development and human resource practitioners as well as community educators.

A bridge between educational psychology and the fields of adult learning and development. For researchers, teachers, and graduate students in these fields.

The third edition of this popular book examines the role of psychology in informing adult education practice and has been fully updated to reflect the effect of changes in the structure of society, globalisation, technology and the impact of postmodernism. It explores the traditions of key psychological theories and discusses issues and problems in applying them to an understanding of adult learning and development. It also examines the formation of identities and places increased emphasis on what it means to be a lifelong learner. Dealing with adult learning in a variety of contexts, the topics considered include: humanistic psychology self directed learners psychoanalytic approaches the formation of identities development of intelligence learning styles behaviourism group dynamics and group facilitators critical awareness.

This book offers a new and promising way to support adults in Adult Basic Education (ABE) and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) programs specifically, and learners in adult education, in general. Applying renowned Harvard University psychologist Robert Kegan's constructive-development theory, Drago-Severson depicts an in-depth investigation into how and why adults develop "ways of knowing" to better prepare them for their work in the 21st century. This book provides practical suggestions for applying Kegan's theory in adult education classrooms to enable teachers, curriculum developers, program designers, and policymakers to better respond to adult learners' strengths and learning needs.

The field of educational psychology draws from a variety of diverse disciplines including human development across the life span, measurement and statistics, learning and motivation, and teaching. And within these different disciplines, many other fields are featured including psychology, anthropology, education, sociology, public health, school psychology, counseling, history, and philosophy. In fact, when taught at the college or university level, educational psychology is an ambitious course that undertakes the presentation of many different topics all tied together by the theme of how the individual can best function in an "educational" setting, loosely defined as anything from pre-school through adult education. Educational psychology can be defined as the application of what we know about learning and motivation, development, and measurement and statistics to educational settings (both school- and community-based).

Development of Adult Thinking is a timely synthesis and evaluation of the current knowledge and emerging issues relating to adult cognitive development and learning. Focusing on psychological and educational cutting-edge research as well as giving an overview of the key theorists such as Piaget and Kohlberg, Kallio and the team of expert contributors offer a holistic view on the development of adult thinking, representing perspectives from developmental, moral, and social psychology, as well as education and philosophy. These topics are divided into three sections: Adult cognitive and moral development, Perspectives of adult learning, and Open questions and new approaches, offering introduction, analysis, and directions for future research. This text is essential reading for students and researchers in developmental psychology and related courses as well as adult educators and teachers working in adult education.

The time is right for this comprehensive, state-of-the-art Handbook that analyzes, integrates, and summarizes theoretical advances and research findings on adult development and learning - a rapidly growing field reflecting demographic shifts toward an aging population in Western societies. Featuring contributions from prominent scholars across diverse disciplinary fields (education, developmental psychology, public policy, gerontology, neurology, public health, sociology, family studies, and adult education), the volume is organized around six themes: theoretical perspectives on adult development and learning research methods in adult development research on adult development research on adult learning aging and gerontological research policy perspectives on aging. The Handbook is an essential reference for researchers, faculty, graduate students and practitioners whose work pertains to adult and lifespan development and learning.

The book addresses a crucial issue for all involved in education and training: the transfer of learning to new and different contexts. Educators, employers and learners face the problem of ensuring that what is learnt in the classroom is able to be adapted and used in the workplace. It focuses on adult learners in professional and vocational contexts. The authors provide an accessible book on the transfer of learning which draws on multi-disciplinary perspectives from education, psychology and management. The Transfer of Learning will be useful both for postgraduate students and for practitioners wanting to deepen their understanding of transfer and for those interested in practical applications. It combines theory and practice from international research and the authors' own case studies of transfer involving learners engaged in professional development and study towards qualifications. Theories of adult learning, change and lifelong learning are discussed in relation to the transfer of learning. The purpose of this book is to emphasise to tertiary educators and trainers the importance of transfer and in doing so highlight the participants' voices as central foci in coming to an understanding of the process. By doing this it balances the literature which has to date emphasized transfer from a trainer's and/or organization's perspective. There has been little if any substantive material on tertiary transfer issues and yet demands are increasing for tertiary education providers to be more accountable and more focused on developing students' ability to use their learning in everyday work situations. The book is unique in that it adopts a phenomenological perspective and underscores the significance of the participants' voices in understanding issues.

This book examines the role of psychology in informing adult education practice. It acknowledges the psychological dimension of adult education work, and explores this dimension in the context of the concerns of adult educators. The approach is to examine the most important traditions of some key psychological theories and to discuss the issues and problems in applying them to an understanding of adult learning and development. The text is ideally suited for those who seek a critical understanding of psychological theory and research from the perspective of the adult educator.