Implications For Adult Education Research Articles

Situated Learning for Community Engagement: Chinese and Chinese Americans Transformative Action for Identity Reformation in the Context of the Politicalized COVID-19 Pandemic

This qualitative case study examines the learning experiences of self-organized Chinese and Chinese American adults from the X Care Group amid the political repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings revealed how care group members created meaning in their daily life experiences, reformed their identity, and increased their Chinese and Chinese American visibility. Situated learning is employed to understand participants’ transformative actions through learning in their social engagement through their community of practice. These findings indicate that situated learning can lead to collective transformative action, personal and group growth in identity formation, and community engagement and social development through communities of practice. Subsequently, this study demonstrated how the X group learned to reform their new identities and respond to changes in their social environment. This study contributes to the collective dimension of situated learning theory and has implications for adult educators, researchers, and policymakers interested in fostering social change through community-based, situated learning.

Doing Migration in Adulthood

Among the well-documented challenges faced by newcomers to Canada is the possession of Canadian experience (CE) as a prerequisite for successful entry into the labour market. Building on discussions that highlight the exclusionary functions of the CE discourse, this paper employs Dewey’s concept of active and passive experience and applies a doing migration framework in order to study how individuals interact with this discourse. Empirically, this paper draws on narrative interviews conducted with individuals with tertiary education who moved to Canada in adulthood. Using the documentary method, I identified three modes of engagement with CE discourse as replay and readjust, reset and move forward, and research and pro-act. Results illuminate the various forms of engagement, highlighting active, passive, and relational dimensions of doing migration. Concluding, I argue that such relational perspective has implications for adult education and the approaches taken to support individuals as they settle into life in Canada, as well as for theoretical perspectives on learning.

Adult Learning for Self-Care and Healing Justice: Black Women Living With HIV/AIDS Amid a Global Pandemic Voices From CBOs’ Service Providers

The aim of this article was to identify the perceptions of community-based organization (CBO) service providers regarding their experiences with Black women living with AIDS (BWLHA) during a global pandemic. Two CBO service providers were selected for the study through a purposeful sampling technique. Black feminist theory, informal learning, and trauma theory helped frame the study, and narrative and cultural analyses were used for data analysis. Social isolation, medical and telehealth concerns, perceived social categorization of us and them, and informal strategies for healing were the emerging themes. Findings from this study have implications for adult educators, health educators, and mental health professionals as the global COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need to develop a trauma care plan (TCP) for BWLHA.

Learning with friends and strangers: partner familiarity does not improve collaborative learning performance in younger and older adults

ABSTRACT Collaborative learning with a familiar partner can reduce age-related differences in learning and memory compared to learning alone. This study compares younger and older adults’ learning with familiar and unfamiliar partners to determine whether familiarity is beneficial for collaborative learning. Twenty-four younger adults aged 18–28 years and 24 older adults aged 60–80 years participated in familiar and unfamiliar pairs. Participants were asked to arrange abstract tangram shapes in a specific order on a grid over multiple trials; the directors’ tangram cards were arranged in a specific order on the grid and this order was communicated to the matcher. Older adults initially took longer to complete the task, using more words to correctly arrange the tangrams. Over multiple trials, a learning effect was observed in both groups, although older adults did not perform with similar efficiency to younger adults. Familiarity had no effect on performance. These findings suggest that the familiarity of a partner does not affect learning outcomes in younger or older adults when learning in a social context. Collaborative learning may be beneficial for older adults, even if they do not know their learning partner, which may have implications for adult education and lifelong learning.

Conceptualising Male Vulnerability in a Ghanaian Context: Implications for Adult Education and Counselling

Gender advocates have bemoaned the diatribe about women inequality at the neglect of males’ vulnerability in abstract narratives. We propose that achievement of female empowerment will be complimented by empirically exploring men’s vulnerability themes wrapped in “masculinity” with cultural differences. This study documented views on male vulnerability in the Ghanaian environment using mixed-method design with 189 respondents conveniently. Chi square goodness-of-fit test, and thick descriptions were applied to the open-ended questionnaire items. Indeed, 74% of the participants agreed that Ghanaian males were vulnerable with 26% expressing contrary views. With nine overarching themes generated, gender was not a significant factor in categorising male vulnerability (Σ2(8) = 10.836, p > .05). We concluded that both sexes appear to have shared views on Ghanaian males’ vulnerability issues and recommended for gender advocates to expand the equality discourse to cover males’ vulnerability. Implications for adult education and guidance and counselling practices are indicated.

Social Determinants of Health and Implication for Adult Education in Ghana: A Conceptual Study

The recognition that social factors have an important impact on people’s health has a long-standing history. However, there was a renewed interest when the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) was established by World Health Organization (WHO) in 2005 to support countries and global health partners in addressing the social factors leading to ill health and health inequalities. Since then, the concept of SDOH and its applications have evolved and expanded as researchers have examined the dynamic socio-cultural and economic roots and routes to experiences of health and wellbeing in society. This paper explores how, where and to what benefit the social determinants of health concept has been applied to date, and how such applications have contributed to its critical evolution as a relevant and useful concept in health research, education and practice. This paper summarizes the key themes identified in the literature, broadly in keeping with the core material, social, cultural and economic dimensions of the concept with examples from Ghana, Africa. Through this process, this paper identifies strength and limitations of the concept and its implications for adult education, as well as knowledge gaps and future directions for work in this field, contributing to wider interdisciplinary discussions and debates around social determinants of adults’ health. The research model is crucial for adult educationalists when they design course curriculum for educational institutions.

Metoda Szkoły Kofoeda i możliwości jej adaptacji do edukacji dorosłych w organizacjach pozarządowych

This article is an attempt to look at the possibility of applying a unique method of social work, called the Kofoed’s School Method, to adults education pursued by non-governmental organizations. The use of the method of vocational activation, developed in the Copenhagen social institution – Kofoed’s School, requires a look at the specificsof the method and its theoretical genesis. The Kofoed’s School focuses mainly on the social integration of the unemployed with the local community, although it is also a place of adult learning.The theoretical foundations of this method have been shown through Danish social pedagogy and its implications for adult education. The proposed adaptation of the Kofoed’s School Method refers to the educational practice towards adults in non-governmental organizations. In addition, the article outlines previous experience in the implementation of the Kofoed’s School Method in non-governmental organizations in Europe, as well as the opportunities that this method brings to adults education.

Understanding Collaborative Leadership in Theory and Practice

AbstractThis final chapter provides a synthesis and analysis of the major themes in the previous chapters. Definitions of collaborative leadership are explored along with theoretical underpinnings, characteristics, and common themes. Implications for adult education are discussed.

Foe or friend of adult education? The paradox of multicultural policy for adult immigrants in Canada

This study explores adult education programmes under the auspices of multiculturalism at a Chinese cultural centre in Canada in helping immigrants with their cultural development and integration in Canadian society. The study employs an exploratory case study approach combining methods of document analysis and personal interviews. The findings reveal the paradox of multiculturalism as both an enabler and constrainer for adult and lifelong education of immigrant learners. On the one hand, the creation of the cultural centre as a learning space affords members of the community opportunities of adult and lifelong learning. On the other hand, their cultural and educational roles were hindered by lack of proper funding, support and recognition. The paradox of multiculturalism speaks to the co-existence of Canada’s commitments to democratic principles of fairness, justice and equality with the negative attitudes and behaviours toward ethno-specific organisations. The findings of this study have significant implications for adult education in revisiting its practices and developing more inclusive and accessible programmes for adult immigrants.

Learning to Disclose

This autoethnographic research project examines the transformational learning of a transracial adoptive adult mother and daughter through the lens of postcolonialism. As collaborative researchers, adult adoptee and adoptive mother, examine this lifelong learning experience through critical self-reflection, qualitative meta-analysis, and autoethnographic research methods within the overarching historical and sociopolitical context of Haiti. The findings address the lived complexities of increasingly hybrid families, particularly around the contentious boundaries of race, nationality, and colonial history, as they impact transformational learning. Color blindness and racial identity development for both mother and daughter within their relationship are explored. Implications for adult educators around the use of autoethnography to engage the social imagination and employ disclosure toward transformative learning are discussed.

Enhancing Digital Literacy and Learning Among Adults With Blogs

AbstractDigital literacy and learning among adults has been identified as an area requiring research. The purpose of the present study was to explore technology acceptance and digital collaborative learning experiences with blogs among adult learners. This analysis employed a quasi‐experimental mixed‐methods approach guided by a sociocultural theoretical framework. Participants were graduate students (n = 46), and data were collected through pre‐ and postsurvey instruments. Quantitative analyses were conducted using paired sample t‐tests, which revealed statistically significant findings regarding determinants of technology acceptance. Qualitative analyses were conducted using grounded theory analytic techniques, which revealed four core conceptual categories: cautionary aspects and constraints, personal and communal dimensions, learner dispositions, and affordances. A discussion of these categories and examples of supportive data was provided. Based on these findings, implications for adult educators are described regarding strategies to enhance technology acceptance and the design of digital collaborative learning experiences among adult learners.

A Study on Karl Mannheim’s Generation Theory and its meaning and implication for adult education

A Study on Karl Mannheim’s Generation Theory and its meaning and implication for adult education

Tough Times: Adult Educators, Microaggressions, and the Work Context

This paper examines the roots, types, and effects of microaggressions in the workplace and discusses implications for adult educators who work in a domestic and transnational context. In a domestic context, the literature describes microaggressions as being based on differences in race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, and professional role, which can negatively impact the work and welfare of adult educators. There is little consideration of the transnational work context, but the current scholarship points to difficulties in history and power differentials as being roots of microaggressions. Future directions are discussed that aim to re-shift the workplace culture to one of respect and inclusion for adult educators.

Gerontology And Its Implications For Adult Education

The study of the elderly is a recent field of study and as such, has not been given its proper place in the human society. The elders or the retired workforce are in most cases regarded as people who have exhausted all their potentials of life during their services at their various places of work. They can no longer make meaningful contributions to the development of the society. This paper however, takes the position that adult education has a role to play in making people understand and appreciate the fact that the elderly or retired elderly people can still contribute meaningfully to the betterment of the human society. They should as well appreciate the message coded in gerontology. This paper explains the concept of ageing and its perspectives, gerontology and its implications to adult education. This paper concluded that adult education could be used in reducing the challenges faced by the elderly people by providing them with appropriate programmes of guidance and also proper counselling that will help in adjusting and assisting them to cope with the declining functions of the organ of the body and contribute meaningfully to improve the society.

All Work and No Play Makes an Adult a Dull Learner

In educational contexts, the attributes of play and fun should be taken into consideration program design and content delivery, as these attributes can stimulate better learning results. This article proposes that playing with ideas and maintaining a playful attitude while constructing knowledge should be encouraged in adult classrooms. We begin with a review of the necessity of play for adult learners from the perspective of psychology. Then, we examine the relationship among creativity, imagination, and play. Finally, we look at the concept of play as it exists in practice in the adult classroom, and discuss its implications for adult educators.

Critical Perspectives on the Skills Debate: Implications for Adult Education

In this presentation I will raise some issues focusing on role of university adult education in educating the workforce. While many of my examples relate to the US American context, I think that European and US American universities are facing similar issues. More specifically, I will problematize the notion of “skills” and the complex choices adult educators face in addressing what at first glance seems to be a rather uncomplicated educational project: creating programs that teach work “skills.” It is my hope that reflecting on these issues will provide a basis for cooperation among university-based adult education in Romania and the US. I begin by addressing there interrelated questions: 1) Is their a skills shortage and how do we know? 2)What constitutes a skill and can they be objectively measured; 3) Who gets to determine what skills are and based on what assumptions?

Math Anxiety, Math Self-Concept, and Math Self-Efficacy in Adult Learners Compared to Traditional Undergraduate Students

Adult learners comprise a significant portion of current undergraduate populations, and projections indicate steady or growing numbers of adult learners in the future. Previous research has suggested that adult learners possess lower self-confidence than and face barriers not experienced by traditional undergraduate students. These constructs have not been explored specifically within mathematics, however, which was the purpose of the current study. Using data collected from 226 undergraduate students (60 traditional students, 166 adult learners), the current research found that adult learners self-report lower levels of math self-efficacy and higher levels of math anxiety than their traditional peers. Implications for adult education are suggested.

Capacity Building and Skill Development among Female Entrepreneurs in Ido Zone, Nigeria: Implication for Adult Education

About half the nation’s population are Females of which a good percentage engage in entrepreneurial activities of the informal sector because they lack relevant skills to increase their potentials and further break into the formal sector. The study investigated the impact of capacity building and skill development on 150 Female entrepreneurs in Ido Zone Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive research design of the survey type using multiple regression (F(3,131) = 9.467,R. 4.22,R2= 1.78, Adj,R2 = 1.59;p DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n11p680

Intuitive knowing and embodied consciousness

AbstractThis article explores the role of intuition as a preconscious embodied state and its implication for adult education.

Fromm and Habermas: Allies for Adult Education and Democracy

The legacy of the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research has been a powerful force for critically understanding social reality. Erich Fromm was one of the early and best known members of the Institute. Fromm emphasised the centrality of culture and interpersonal relations in the contruction of the psyche. The unconscious was not only the location for buried repressed matter but also for the imaginative potential of the human person. He is a forgotten and neglected contributor to the story of the Institute having been written out of this history. This retrospective of his ideas explores his work in the light of the recent work of Jurgen Habermas who is also an active but less controversial engager with the psychoanalytic tradition. The implications for adult education will be addressed. The paper outlines Fromm’s radical reinterpretation of psychoanalysis emphasising the importance of social existence as distinct from the impact of instincts; key concepts of the market, commodity fetishism and automaton conformity; The implications for adult education in the tradition of radical (Freire) and transformative learning theory (Mezirow) and addressed and make connections between Habermas and Fromm that further the project of critical theory. Both attempted in different times to identify and realise the potential of (though neither used the term) of lifelong learning as part of the process of bringing about a more just and caring society and a shared attention to the importance of having free conversations about how the emancipated life might be created and sustained.