Adult Education Theory Research Articles

Tailoring information literacy instruction and library services for continuing education

As higher education diversifies worldwide, academic librarians must adapt their information literacy initiatives to meet the needs of new populations. This paper explores the implementation of information literacy instruction and library services for diverse adult learners, in response to Cooke’s (2010) call for case studies on the relationship between andragogy and information literacy. Based on librarians’ success in reaching a previously underserved continuing education department, a variety of practical techniques for working with diverse students and instructors are discussed, with a focus on how learners’ characteristics inform the approaches. Effective techniques from adult education theory and information literacy practice are discussed in the context of outreach to continuing education learners. Librarians adapt instruction and communication strategies for students with varying levels of language, library, and technology skills; teach outside usual “business hours”; teach online; integrate information literacy outcomes in course curricula; tailor communication to students and instructors; and continually develop entirely new workshops based upon the content specific to continuing education programmes. Through these efforts, this unique group of students and instructors has been provided with previously unrealised access to information literacy training and library services. Challenges in outreach and teaching remain; however, the groundwork has been laid for a sustained liaison relationship. Future work will include systematic evaluation of successes and changing needs so that structured information literacy efforts, tailored for continuing education students, can evolve over time.

Becoming an expert: a review of adult learning theory and implications for vocational training in ophthalmology

One of the key responsibilities of professional bodies, such as the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists, is to determine, teach and assess the competencies required for trainees to reach an expert level. Vocational training programs (VTP) need to incorporate advances in educational research and reflect changes in generational thinking and learning styles to provide the most optimal learning environment to meet the desired educational outcomes. This paper seeks to introduce some of the important concepts of adult educational theory and to explain how they connect to four strategic areas in the development and implementation of the VTP: 1 What are the learning needs of trainees? 2 What educational methods best address these needs? 3 What assessment methods best test the acquisition of the desired learning outcomes? 4 What are the needs of supervisors and teachers?

You've Got the Power: Documentary Film as a Tool of Environmental Adult Education

Educators call for more creative means to combat the moribund narratives of contemporary environmentalism. Using visual methodology and environmental adult education theory, this article discusses how a documentary film titled You've Got the Power works to pose questions about complex environmental issues and develop critical thinking and cultural understandings. By juxtaposing narratives and images the film artfully, critically, and emotively exposes diverse ways of knowing and viewing the world, problematises concepts of citizenship and ecological justice and illuminates the complex contemporary politics of environmentalism. Perhaps most importantly, it challenges stereotypic notions of aboriginal peoples in Canada, by highlighting their critical environmental roles and actions and thereby provides a much needed source of inspiration and hope for change.

Structural constraints on the training of peer educators in hepatitis C prevention

Despite advances in understanding the structural contexts in which drug use occurs and shifts beyond the individual-level focus of adult education theory, peer education models remain wedded to questions of individual behaviour. Our analysis examines the structural context of peer education and its implications for peer training. People who inject drugs (PWID) were invited to participate in a series of three focus group discussions in order to develop peer education messages and strategies. These were then trialled by participants within their networks and their experiences discussed in subsequent focus groups. The influence of structural factors (such as the policing of public space) on participants' peer education attempts were identified and discussed. We propose that despite the damaging impact of structural factors on the lives of PWID, they can in turn be used by peer educators to develop innovative interventions designed to increase resilience and reduce internalized stigma. Peer education programmes need sufficient flexibility and resources to allow for the negotiation of participants' immediate needs and for collaborative learning between PWID and peer educators. This would require an informed and responsive funder-a challenge to the current orthodoxy wherein peer education is increasingly delivered in formats predetermined by the funder.

An Application of Knowles’ Theories of Adult Education to an Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Studies Degree Program

Malcolm Knowles’ theory of andragogy is best known in the world of adult education as a conceptualization of how and why adults learn. The following practice-based article that has applied Knowles’ theories and precepts to an undergraduate program reflects on how those concepts work with people whom Knowles might well have not considered “adults.” The Interdisciplinary Studies program at The University of Southern Mississippi allows learners to formulate their own degree plan within broad boundaries, focusing on two disciplinary concentrations with a final research or creative project as a “capstone.” This article reviews the process within which this program came into being and considers its inner workings. The authors reflect on the motivations that Knowles considered the foundational difference between “adults” and “children” and compare their own, somewhat traditional, base of learners to those precepts, finding that perhaps there are more similarities than differences when the learner is in control of his or her learning.

Online Instructors

This study investigates the andragogical and pedagogical teaching philosophies of online instructors at the California State University, Long Beach in the Spring Semester of 2010. Drawing from reflective adult education theory, this article proposes a new model for this reflective adult education theory. It is either the helping relationship (andragogical philosophy) or the directing relationship (pedagogical philosophy) plus the learning environment (the Internet) that leads to adult learners’ critical reflection in Mezirow’s (1991) terms. A researcher-designed survey instrument called Online Philosophy of Adult Education Scale (OPAES) was used to measure instructional preferences of these instructors in the electronic classroom to determine their andragogical or pedagogical teaching philosophies. Data were collected from 37 online instructors regarding their instructional preferences. Nine qualitative questions were designed to parallel the Likert scale OPAES to determine why these online adult education instructors chose their pedagogical or andragogical teaching philosophies. The results of the study demonstrate that these online adult education instructors support both the teacher-centered approach and the student-centered approach to teaching online.

Learning From the Past, Organizing for the Future

This article analyses key events in the history of adult and community education in Aotearoa New Zealand. It draws on historical sources to examine the role of grassroots community activism and local and national networking in upholding a broad vision of adult and community-based education, in the face of a hostile policy climate. The authors suggest practical and theoretical lessons from their historical analysis: first, the possibilities for adult education that exist beyond the state and its apparatus; second, the need to recognize the power of the state to support or attempt to strangle adult education by controlling or withdrawing funding; third, the need for broadly based alliances across and beyond education. Drawing on critical adult education theory, the authors suggest a range of political and pedagogical actions that adult educators and their allies might take to advance adult education’s contribution to social change and social justice.

From Passive to Active Learning: A Worked Example of Theological Education in Rural China

AbstractThis article presents a brief case-study of theological training amongst mainland rural Chinese Christians in 1998 and follows their progress beyond completion of the training up to 2008. To counter the cultural norm of passive learning, the training programme's development and use borrows from adult education theory and methodology, and necessarily harnesses cultural norms to aid the teaching and learning process. It also makes use of experiential and problem-solving learning by having the training participants engage in ministry early in the training process, working with real-life problems and learning to solve them together. With the action-reflection that promotes thoughtful praxis, and the spiritual development to which praxis lends itself, what results is a process which has empowered local Christians to reproduce and leaven the wider community on their own, context-aware, terms. The article proposes to bring out some potentially transferable insights gained from involvement in the teaching...

Applying Adult Education Principles within Church Sermons: Some Theoretical Implications

Theories of learning and adult education have often been connected to the broad arenas of theology and spirituality, but seldom applied within the specific context of a Christian worship service sermon. Traditional sermon practices have developed through a rich theoretical history but they are often structured as a one way, rhetorical speech act. This article is an attempt to provide a human learning lens as a different way of looking at sermon design and delivery. It includes a review of the homiletic literature including an exploration of the empirical research studies on sermon form and impact. Clergy, as adult educators, are encouraged to use principles from adult education such as those found in the constructs of transformative learning and andragogy. Significant theoretical shifts, both for the person delivering sermons and those who hear them, as well as practical implications come out of using this alternative paradigm.

Pre-Apprenticeship Urban Workforce Training Programs

Over the past two decades, inner-city communities have witnessed double-digit joblessness among an increasing number of residents who are relegated to the status of the unemployed or the permanent underclass (O'Regan & Conway, 1993). These residents cannot hope to be competitive in a changing and evolving labor market. Relying on public assistance, low-wage part-time work without benefits, and struggling through spells of unemployment, these residents scuffle to survive during economically successful years and they are the last to experience long-term employment with family sustaining wages during an economic recovery. Particularly problematic for residents of inner-city communities is finding employment opportunities that pay well, and which cannot be exported to suburban communities, other states, or other countries. Although highly sensitive to economic boom and bust cycles, construction jobs offer this opportunity. However, in many urban settings, these jobs are controlled largely by unions, wherein membership is still highly evasive for people of color. Since the 1990s several federal, state, local and community-based initiatives emerged to meet the employment readiness needs of these residents and others through comprehensive training. While adult education and training efforts are recognized as important to the future employment endeavors of these residents; the designers of the intervention programs do not seem to view theoretically-based adult education and training as a central concern. Further, the adult education literature does not contain a critical lens on the quality of these programs. Therefore, we do not know the extent to which these education and training intervention programs employ theoretically-based adult education approaches. Nor do we know the extent to which they create opportunities for the unemployed, undereducated, and low-income residents of these communities to obtain the appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitudes to enter (or reenter) the workforce and earn family sustaining wages. The purpose of this article is therefore to begin to fill this void by providing an adult education theory-based critical analysis of published case evaluations of three very different pre-apprenticeship workforce training programs. The programs include the Newark/Essex Construction Careers Consortium (N/ECCC) (Mabe, 2007), the Building Bridges Project (BBP) Night Class, and the BBP Carpenters Class (Worthen & Hayes, 2009). Composites and Analysis of Three Pre-Apprenticeship Training Programs In this section, we provide a composite of key elements of the case analyses found in the literature. Immediately following each of the key elements of the composites, we analyze the programs by using adult education literature and theories to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the program components. Planning the Program Each case included approaches to planning the program which included a sharp focus on a targeted clientele, key stakeholders and partnerships with other organizations, and distinct funding sources. Targeted Clientele--each program sought to provide pre-apprenticeship training program opportunities to hard-to-employ low-income residents (i.e., unemployed and underemployed adults, individuals who have been convicted and served time in jail, youth, previous drug and alcohol abusers, and others) for employment in the building and construction industry as members of trade unions (Mabe, 2007; Worthen & Hayes, 2009). Stakeholders and Partnerships--stakeholders and partners included unions, consortiums of local organizations, local and state-level government, and community-based agencies. Funding--all of the programs were funded primarily from state sources; however, this funding was supplemented by donations and other grant sources. For example, the N/ECCC program had an annual budget of $600,000; however, a state grant provided about $450,000 on average. …

Supporting Clinical Teachers: Developing Radiation Therapists’ Preceptorship Skills

Preceptorship is a valuable component of undergraduate radiation therapy education and allows students to develop clinical skills and professional attitudes under the supervision of experienced practitioners. Preceptor preparation in the form of continuing professional development is an important factor for successful preceptorship to occur. This article describes the development and evaluation of a short, flexible blended learning course by a group of Ontario educators. The course was designed to support radiation therapists teaching students from the joint University of Toronto and Michener Institute Medical Radiation Sciences (MRS) program undergoing the clinical practicum component of their 3-year program. The course comprises two workshops and a web-based component. Topics include adult education theories, orienting a student to clinic, feedback, fostering clinical reasoning, conflict resolution, formal evaluation, the MRS program structure/processes and the needs of the student with English as a second language. To date, three cohorts have completed the course (52 learners) from four Ontario radiation therapy departments. Evaluations have been positive, with high participant satisfaction and a noteworthy difference in self-perceived knowledge using the original course objectives between pre- and post-knowledge levels. It is hoped that this course will contribute to the success of the role and provide an opportunity for staff recognition and support.

Perspective: Transformative Learning: A Framework Using Critical Reflection to Link the Improvement Competencies in Graduate Medical Education

Quality improvement (QI) in health care involves activities ranging from enhancing personal practice to reforming the larger health care system. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education recognizes this broad definition of QI in its requirement that physicians-in-training demonstrate competence in practice-based learning and improvement (PBLI) and systems-based practice (SBP). Creative metaphors have been used to teach the PBLI and SBP competencies, but conceptual frameworks describing the relationship between these competencies are needed. Transformative learning is an adult education theory that states individuals must critically reflect on life events in order to change their beliefs or behaviors. The authors propose that critical reflection during transformative learning can conceptually link PBLI and SBP. Reflection on personal experience with suboptimal patient care leads to recognizing personal or system limitations. Addressing personal limitations improves individual practice (PBLI), whereas applying QI methodologies leads to large-scale improvements (SBP). Educators who adopt the transformative learning framework should be able to design meaningful QI curricula that encourage residents to be reflective and empower them with QI skills.

A democracy we can eat: a livelihoods approach to TVET policy and provision

In Southern Africa, theories of adult education have remained modelled on imported paradigms. The urgency of particularly the first of the Millennium Development Goals, 'to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger' generally translates into policy and provision of skills training based on purely economistic considerations. In practice, lifelong education and learning occurs most commonly as part of other social practices and in the guise of community development. This article outlines the livelihood approach as a conceptual and methodological tool for a locally grounded understanding of what constitutes 'work' particularly in the context of poverty and high-risk environments. It argues that the principles of interconnectedness, relationality and agency are central to understanding livelihood practices and that participatory processes of data collection, dialogue and analysis should inform education and training policy. Programmes and curricula that fit in with the livelihood strategies of people have a greater chance of being supported and the process that leads to such understanding could provide a democratic model for adult education elsewhere.

Reframing the Concept of Reflection: Consciousness, Experiential Learning, and Reflective Learning Practices

The concept of reflection is common to a range of learning theories and therefore carries various meanings and differing significance. Within theories of adult education, reflection is predominantly conceptualized as the rational analytical process through which human beings extract knowledge from their experience. This article critiques this cognitive bias. However, the author argues that a perspective of embodied experiential learning should not give preference to the body over the mind as a source of knowledge. Nor should researchers reject reflection as an exclusively cognitive process. Reflective practices can facilitate a learning dialogue between our implicit embodied experience and conceptual aspects of our consciousness. The author illustrates this with the example of the theory and practice of Gendlin’s Focusing. In conclusion, the author proposes a set of elements, characteristic of individual and collective human experiential learning, that can provide a framework for a more expansive and integrative conceptualization of reflection.

Post-colonialist practice: An Australian social worker in rural Zambia

Globalization has seen an increase in social workers engaging in post-colonialist practice around the world. A working example is provided of an Australian social worker travelling to rural Zambia with the aim of the development and implementation of grief and loss workshops for local community leaders. Principles of community development, adult education and community education theories inform such practice, allowing the external social worker to contribute positively to the life of another community. In this environment the internal and external resources of the social worker are tested and utilized in the aim of joint partnership.

More Important Than Guns: Chinese Adult Education After the Long March

Without adult education, there would have been no Communist government in China. Once the Long March arrived in Yan’an, Mao and Communist leaders used adult education in informal and nonformal settings to build momentum for revolution. This article analyzes the theory and practice of adult education during the Yan’an “golden years” (1936—1939) of Chinese communism. Data were derived from interviews in Yan’an and close analysis of writings by foreign visitors to the Red base. Because of 1950s McCarthyism in the United States and tyrannical behavior in post-1949 China, Chinese Communists rarely appear in orthodox adult education history in the west. But after 30 years of “reform and opening,” this is a good time to recall Yan’an adult education and remarkable foreigners who studied and contributed to it. Although Chinese are now obsessed with modernization and money, looking into a rearview mirror might help illuminate adult education on the Red road ahead.

Counter-Learning Under Oppression

This qualitative study utilized the method of narrative analysis to explore the counter-learning process of an oppressed Kurdish woman from Turkey. Critical constructivism was utilized to analyze counter-learning; Frankfurt School—based Marcusian critical theory was used to analyze the sociopolitical context and its impact on the oppressed. Key issues for adult education theory and practice are highlighted.

Catalyzing employee change with transformative learning

AbstractBusinesses, organizations, and government agencies have invested heavily in employee training. The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) reports these costs as 2.15% of payroll (ASTD, 2008). A large amount of this investment is directed at improving employee knowledge and skills. Although most organizations are good at this, often a need exists to develop a deeper level of behavior change in employees. This type of change can be difficult to accomplish and sustain over time. Adult education theory, in particular transformative education theory, has enhanced the ability of organizations to bring about deeper change in employees through training and development. Therefore, human resource development (HRD) professionals need to become familiar with this theory and its implications for employee training and development.

‘Introduction to Insulin’ classes: flexible approach to insulin initiation

AbstractThere is increased interest in undertaking task orientated patient education, such as commencement on insulin, in the group setting. Group education allows use of adult educational theory and may reduce educator time. The usual model of group education for commencing insulin is to delay insulin initiation until the first class. We describe an alternative flexible, hybrid model of education, combining initial 1:1 education in some patients with group classes (‘Introduction to Insulin’ classes), for initiation and stabilisation on insulin. This model was adopted primarily to ensure that insulin was commenced with minimal delay, once the decision to start it had been made.Following piloting and design of the ‘Introduction to Insulin’ classes, a prospective audit was undertaken of the first 50 patients participating in the classes. By one year, HbA1c had fallen from 9.8% to 7.8% and there was an associated 2.7 kg weight gain. This model of insulin education is therefore as effective as traditional 1:1 education, yet has the potential to utilise less overall educator time. Copyright ©2009 John Wiley & Sons.

Tinjauan Faktor-faktor Pendorong dan Penghalang Pemindahan Latihan: Konteks Malaysia

ABSTRACT : Human development and training program are one of the important aspects in developing an organization and to improvise and upgrade the performance of their personnel. However, a few research found that 55 billion have been allocated by an organization for the purpose of conducting formal training, but only 10% training transfer occurred at workplace. This was supported by the previous research that indicated multi millions Ringgit were spend every year in training and adult education, but the increase in performance at workplace was only 10%. This article reviews the literatures related to training transfer. It will also identify the factors that influence and hinder the process of training transfer to happen. Training transfer has also influenced by these factors such as: (1) individual factor; (2) working environment factor or organizational culture, (3) organizational support factor; and (4) training design factor. This article also explores adult education theories and motivation theories. It is hoped that related to literature review on training transfer could assist us in understanding the relationship among the effective training transfer related to factors that could allow the process of transferring training to be continuously implemented and improvement can be done from time to time. Key words: training, model, organization, theory, training transfer, motivation and adult education. About the Authors: Balkisnah Shaharuddin, M.Sc. ialah pelajar Ph.D. di Jabatan Pemajuan Profesional dan Pendidikan Lanjutan, Fakulti Pengajian Pendidikan (UPM). Menyelesaikan pendidikan B.Sc. (Hons) Kimia di Universiti Sains Malaysia; M.Sc. (Pengurusan) di Universiti Putra Malaysia; Diploma Pendidikan (KPLI), MTRM. Beliau sedang menulis disertasi bertajuk ”Pemindahan Latihan Bestari dalam Kalangan Guru Sekolah Rendah Bahagian Miri”. Untuk kepentingan akademik, penulis dapat dihubungi dengan alamat e-mail: kis_miri66@yahoo.com.my Prof. Madya Dr. Norhasni Zainal Abiddin ialah Pensyarah di Jabatan Pembangunan Profesional dan Pendidikan Lanjutan, Fakulti Pengajian Pendidikan, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). Menyelesaikan pendidikan Dip.Sc. di UPM pada 1995; pendidikan B.Sc. dan M.Sc. di universiti yang sama pada tahun 1998 dan 2000; serta program Ph.D di University of Manchester, United Kingdom pada tahun 2004, dengan menulis disertasi bertajuk “Effective Supervision of Research Students: A Study of United Kingdom University Practices and Overseas Students’ Experiences”. Untuk kepentingan akademik, penulis dapat dihubungi dengan alamat e-mail: nonie@ace.upm.edu.my How to cite this article? Shaharuddin, Balkisnah & Norhasni Zainal Abiddin. (2009). “Tinjauan Faktor-faktor Pendorong dan Penghalang Pemindahan Latihan: Konteks Malaysia” in SOSIOHUMANIKA: Jurnal Pendidikan Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan , Vol.2, No.1 [Mei], pp.107-124. Bandung, Indonesia: Minda Masagi Press, UPI Bandung, and UMS Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, ISSN 1979-0112. Chronicle of article: Accepted (March 17, 2009); Revised (April 20, 2009); and Published (May 20, 2009).