Can adult education and learning be understood without reference to community and people’s daily lives? The response to be found in the chapters of this volume say emphatically no, they cannot. Adult learning can be best understood if we look at the social life of people in communities, and this book is an attempt to recover this view. The chapters of this volume reflect ongoing research in the field of adult education and learning in and with communities. At the same time the work of the authors presented here offers a very vital reflection of the work of the ESREA research network Between Local and Global – Adult Learning and Communities. The chapters showcase the broad range of professional practice, the variety in both methodology and theoretical background, as well as the impressive scope of field research experience the authors bring to bear in their papers. The first section provides the broad view of research into adult learning and community development emphasising how social movements are at the heart of local and global change and that they are critically important sources of power. The second section focuses in on the practice of educators/mediators working in local and regional contexts in which the tensions of the wider policy and discourse environment impact on adult learners. The third section privileges the view at the close level of research inside local communities in the field. International researchers and practitioners, particularly young researchers, who are active in adult learning and in local/global communities will be interested in this book. The emphasis of the chapters is on participatory and emancipatory social research. Empowerment of women in rural communities, involvement of communities in social and environmental movements, power-sharing in community research projects and the exposure of hegemonic, globalising forces at work in ethnic communities are among the themes developed in this volume.

This book contributes to the debate of the complex relations between development and adult learning in Europe, both at a local and global level. This integrated analysis provides models for interpreting the reality of macro and micro-development, and also for clues on how to make populations life's better. The book will be useful to researchers in the field of adult education, as well as other social actors (NGOs, social economists, sociologists, and practitioners) concerned with the recent trends in human development and how adult education can help people to deal with it.

Whether it is earning a GED, a particular skill, or technical topic for a career, taking classes of interest, or even returning to begin a degree program or completing it, adult learning encompasses those beyond the traditional university age seeking out education. This type of education could be considered non-traditional as it goes beyond the typical educational path and develops learners that are self-initiated and focused on personal development in the form of gaining some sort of education. Essentially, it is a voluntary choice of learning throughout life for personal and professional development. While there is often a large focus towards K-12 and higher education, it is important that research also focuses on the developing trends, technologies, and techniques for providing adult education along with understanding lifelong learners’ choices, developments, and needs. The Research Anthology on Adult Education and the Development of Lifelong Learners focuses specifically on adult education and the best practices, services, and educational environments and methods for both the teaching and learning of adults. This spans further into the understanding of what it means to be a lifelong learner and how to develop adults who want to voluntarily contribute to their own development by enhancing their education level or knowledge of certain topics. This book is essential for teachers and professors, course instructors, business professionals, school administrators, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the latest advancements in adult education and lifelong learning.

"This book presents educational and social science perspectives on the state of the healthcare industry and the information technologies surrounding it, offering a compilation of some of the latest cutting edge research on methods, programs, and procedures practiced by health literate societies"--Provided by publisher.

This book discusses the current state of the art in research on the education and learning of adults, and how such research has been transformed through contemporary policy and research practices. Gathering contributions from leading experts in the field, the book draws on previous research, as well as new findings in order to provide a map of this research field and its contemporary history. The chapters address a number of questions, including: What constitutes this research field? What theories and methodologies dominate within the field? What “invisible colleges” are active in shaping this academic field, in marking out its contours and in transforming its contemporary battle zones? Who is publishing in the field and who is deemed worth citing? What is the relationship between the shift in state policy on adult education and the research that is conducted on the education and learning of adults? How has the research field changed over time in various western countries? What do these meta-reflections of the field tell us about possible future research endeavours? Rather than speaking from within the field, this is a book about the research field. The diversity of the chapters provide a fascinating resource for anyone interested in research on the education and learning of adults.

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.

What responses is adult education providing to the great global problems: climate change and the environment, populism and racism, gender inequality, social and economic inequality? The ESREA Research Network between Local and Global – Adult Learning and Communities and the authors collected here argue for socially engaged community-based research which promotes critical democracy and popular education and drives powerful research methodologies: participatory research, feminist research, ecological research activism, posthumanist research, and more. The first part of the book looks back and forwards to the contribution to adult learning and community development played by participatory research in the making and remaking of community and society. In the second part, the focus shifts to pedagogies of possibility and change, knowledge creation and the transformation of pedagogies of inclusion. The third part, on activism and change, turns its attention to the motivations for activism and their individual and collective forms of expression. The final part considers re-making and 'doing' society and community, in particular during the COVID-19 pandemic. For researchers interested in participatory and emancipatory social research, gender and biography research, or community-university research partnerships, Remaking Communities and Adult Learning presents adult learning as a site of resistance for sustainable and creative andragogic practice.

A collection of 46 articles from the diverse and still emerging field of adult education.

This edited volume sets the groundwork for a dialogue between transformative learning and continental theories of Bildung in adulthood. Both theoretical frameworks bring meaning to the complex learning process of individuals as they develop a more critical worldview. In this volume, a variety of authors from different countries and theoretical backgrounds offer new understandings about Bildung and transformative learning through discussion of theoretical analyses, educational practices, and empirical research. As a result, readers gain greater insight into these theories and related implications for teaching for change. From the various chapters an exciting relationship between both theories begins to emerge and provides impetus for greater discussion and further research about two important theories of change in the field of adult education. /div

A high level of literacy in both print and digital media is required for negotiating most aspects of 21st-century life, including supporting a family, education, health, civic participation, and competitiveness in the global economy. Yet, more than 90 million U.S. adults lack adequate literacy. Furthermore, only 38 percent of U.S. 12th graders are at or above proficient in reading. Improving Adult Literacy Instruction synthesizes the research on literacy and learning to improve literacy instruction in the United States and to recommend a more systemic approach to research, practice, and policy. The book focuses on individuals ages 16 and older who are not in K-12 education. It identifies factors that affect literacy development in adolescence and adulthood in general, and examines their implications for strengthening literacy instruction for this population. It also discusses technologies for learning that can assist with multiple aspects of teaching, assessment,and accommodations for learning. There is inadequate knowledge about effective instructional practices and a need for better assessment and ongoing monitoring of adult students' proficiencies, weaknesses, instructional environments, and progress, which might guide instructional planning. Improving Adult Literacy Instruction recommends a program of research and innovation to validate, identify the boundaries of, and extend current knowledge to improve instruction for adults and adolescents outside school. The book is a valuable resource for curriculum developers, federal agencies such as the Department of Education, administrators, educators, and funding agencies.