Adult education is often referred to as an emerging field of practice and studyť' Precisely when and how such an emergence is to be deemed complete is a matter of considerable discussion within the field (Cotton, 1964; Griffith, 1989; Lewis, 1989; Ohliger, 1989; Spear & Mocker, 1989), but there can be little doubt that the emergence of the discipline of adult education thus far has meant that certain bridges have been burned or at least been sorely neglected. One of the most obvious among these is the little-used bridge between the fields of adult and public school education. Although this is a frequent observation in the adult education literature, little has actually been done on either side of the learning gap to address this concern. Adult education researchers working in the area of race and ethnicity, for instance, have noted that Attitudes toward learning in formal institutions may be formed early in development, and there may very well be some direct connection between these early and nonparticipation in adult years (Briscoe & Ross, 1989, p. 585). A few working in adult development, learning to learn, and adult cognition have attempted to bring child learning development and adult learning development closer together (see, e.g., Mezirow, 1990; Smith, 1990). However, the crossover points are so few and the followup research so minimal that one must agree with Gerry Apps's (1986, p. 585) conclusion: our zeal for adult we magnify our uniqueness, and thus we see no connection between what we do as educators of adults and what first grade teachers do. In fact, taking education as a prism, the kaleidoscope of lifelong learning, lifelong education, cradle to grave
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Jan 1, 1993
