The impact of feminism on adult education publications: an analysis of British and American journals

Abstract

Feminism has potentially important implications for adult education scholarship yet the actual influence of feminism has not previously been assessed in a comprehensive manner. This study sought to determine the extent to which selected adult education publications have been receptive to feminist perspectives. Major research objectives included: (1) to analyse trends in the inclusion of women and gender differences as central topics in adult education journals; and (2) to assess, through content analysis, the treatment of women and gender differences in journal articles not primarily focused on women or gender differences. A secondary objective was to compare trends in British and American publications. Four major adult education journals were analysed for trends from 1966‐88; six journals were subject to a more detailed content analysis of publications in 1987‐88. Findings indicate that only one journal, Adult Education (British), showed an identifiable increase in articles on women and gender for the 23...