Adult Education And Difference

The world ecological system is marked by difference throughout. There is social difference with different identities, shifting and transmuting, being forged, and extra-human differences. All these have implications for intra human and human/non-human earth relations. This aspect is not always recognised and valorised. Education, though not an independent variable, still can be mobilised, together with other sources of potential transformation, to redress this situation marked by aggressions, micro and macro, inertia and indifference. It represents a number of immediate challenges for Adult Education. This compendium is intended as a useful resource in this regard. It maps out a kaleidoscope of myriad differences and suggests options for overcoming the various obstacles that stand opposed to those who seek fulfilment in the way they are discursively located. The obstacles are a dent on efforts to living in communion with the rest of the cosmos. The utopian view is that of different species living in harmony with each other. This book emphasises social/ecological justice, intersectionality and relationality as the targets for Adult Education in this relatively still new millennium. Contributors are: Sharifah Salmah Binti Abdullah, Thi Bogossian, Lauren Bouttell, Lidiane Nunes de Castro, Anyela Nathalie Gomez Deantonio, Preeti Dagar, Raquel Galeano Giminez, Ksenija Joksimović, Kainat Khurshid, Robert Livingston, Peter Mayo, Sonia Medel, Yunah Park, Zainab Sa’id Sa’ad, Bonnie Slade, Gameli Kodzo Tordzro, Agnieszka Uflewska and Aisara Yessenova.

Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. This often happens in the workplace, through 'extension' or 'continuing education' courses at secondary schools, at a college or university. Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centres. The practice is also often referred to as 'Training and Development'. It has also been referred to as andragogy (to distinguish it from pedagogy). A difference is made between vocational education, mostly undertaken in workplaces and frequently related to up-skilling, and non-formal adult education including learning skills or learning for personal development. Educating adults differs from educating children in several ways. One of the most important differences is that adults have accumulated knowledge and experience that can add or hinder the learning experience. This new book presents recent studies on this topic from several perspectives.

This book explores the ongoing dilemma that has plagued many educators for generations - is adult learning and the teaching of adults the same or different from that of younger persons? Rogers examines what is meant by learning. He proposes that there are two distinct forms of learning common to both older and younger persons - 'task-conscious learning' and 'learning-conscious learning'. Expanding this concept, he argues that the uniqueness of adult teaching lies not in the different ways in which adults and children learn, but in the sense of identity that learners bring to their learning and the relationships between teacher and learner. Rogers believes that if we are to be effective in the way we teach adults, we need to understand and build upon adults' natural learning practices and processes and the identities they are creating. This book offers a distinctive approach to adult learning and the effects this could, or should have on teaching.

Who is the 'other' in adult education? The term is used here to refer to all those traditionally excluded from the full range of educational opportunities: women; adults with learning difficulties; members of ethnic minorities; older adults; people without conventional educational qualifications. Engaging with Difference is a fresh and stimulating attempt to overcome the worn-out polarities of recent educational thinking, and urges instead a much closer engagement with learners in all their diversity. Among the topics explored are accreditation; open and distance learning; computer assisted learning; learning contracts; community care provision; refugee education; and education for an ageing population. A central theme of the book is autonomy and power in the learning process, and this is reflected in the range of student and tutor voices which are not often heard in educational debate. Engaging with Difference will be of interest to all involved in delivering and planning adult education in further and community education and in university continuing education. It will also appeal to those working in community and social care.

Adults seek out learning for very different reasons in different contexts, and this book is intended to support adult educators’ development in responding to this rich array. There is no single way to be an adult learner, and so it should not be surprising that there is no single way to be an adult educator. However, the authors believe that all educators must demonstrate a commitment to meeting adult learners where they are. Adult educators should help learners move forward not only with new content knowledge, information, and skills, but also with new ways of making meaning and seeing themselves, their role, and the world. This volume introduces many theories and concepts that can help adult educators do this effectively.

As adults, we are all continually involved in learning, with increasing numbers of us engaged in more formalized forms of learning; that is, in education or training. All those involved in the broad field of adult education and training will come into contact with many specialist ideas or concepts. It is often assumed of students that they already have a general understanding of these concepts, their meanings, applicability and inter-relationships. This is not always the case. This book examines in detail over forty of these key concepts, ranging from community education and experiential learning to competence and access. It presents a clear, analytical discussion in jargon-free language. It is, therefore, indispensable to all students and practitioners of adult education and training.

Learning transfer is the use of skills and knowledge acquired in one situation or setting in a different environment. It is, fundamentally, the point of education. By consciously building it into our curricula, syllabi, and practice, we can greatly enhance the likelihood that students will integrate their learning and their lives. This issue examines learning transfer across the breadth of adult education. The authors approach the question practically, looking at techniques such as experiential or problem-based learning and the use of classroom technology as well as the perspectives of brain research, the effects of race and culture, and the context and complications of personal change. Each chapter offers practitioners a thoughtful outlook that will help them plan for and implement learning transfer in their particular area of focus. This is 137th volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. Noted for its depth of coverage, it explores issues of common interest to instructors, administrators, counselors, and policymakers in a broad range of adult and continuing education settings, such as colleges and universities, extension programs, businesses, libraries, and museums.