Political Sociology Of Adult Education

Critical Theorist Carlos Alberto Torres offers a political sociology of adult learning and education, based on Critical Social Theory and the always inspiring work of Paulo Freire. Empirically grounded and theoretically sophisticated, this new book follows the footsteps of his classic book published in the early nineties The Politics of Nonformal Education in Latin America. Torres book offers comparative and international sociological analyses of adult learning and education, an area in which there is an obsession with ‘practice’ and an aversion to theory, with some notable and laudable exceptions, but which has the potential to provide avenues for social justice education in ways that no other systems and policies can. This book revitalizes social theory in education, and provides ample evidence of the power of adult learning and education, examining a variety of policy documents connected with the various adult education congresses promoted by the UNESCO, which are thoroughly scrutinized for what they bring to or omit from the policy agenda. In the context of new developments in adult learning and education, particularly the impact of multiple globalizations, neoliberalism, and the new role of international organizations in reconceptualizing lifelong learning, new evidence-based research, new narratives, and the vibrancy of social movements striving for a new and possible world, it is clear that new theoretical designs were needed making this is a must-read book.

A European Politics of Education proposes a sociology of education establishing connections between empirical data coming from European-scale comparative surveys, normative assumptions structuring actors’ representations and interpretative judgements, and a specific focus on Lifelong Learning policy areas. It invites readers to think about the place of standards, expertise and calculations in the European space from a common perspective, supported by a tradition of critical sociology and European political studies. The book: Addresses an important agenda: how the policies and politics of supranational Europe are making a European educational space Contains a response to the emergence of new epistemic governance and instruments at European level Contains contributions from the EU and the UK which give a comprehensive selection of perspectives and analysis of the field as it concerns Europe The complexity of the contemporary European education policy space is addressed here with new lines of inquiry as well as a reflexive outlook, on standardization, policy-making and actor engagement. Students and researchers of European policy studies, education policy analysts and theorists will all be particularly interested readers.

Discussion of the sociology of adult education (nonformal education) - examines social theory approaches; looks at the functions and role of the curriculum; provides a cost benefit analysis of educational innovations; outlines the scope of distance study with examples; reviews adult education and modernization in developing countries with case studies of Botswana; makes a comparison of formal and nonformal education models. Bibliography.

"The single most important contribution to our field's knowledgebase in the past two decades. The authors have managed to shift thefocus of adult education back to the social concerns that weretaken for granted when the field was founded. We are ready for thislong overdue book. Indeed, we have been yearning for this book. Itwill tilt our field back towards its moral center." --B. Allan Quigley, chair, Department of AdultEducation, St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia "Power in Practice is a wonderful book--full of case studies,updated theories, new perspectives, and evidence that adulteducation can and does change people's lives." --Michael Newman, senior lecturer in adult education,University of Technology, Sydney, Australia Adult educators know that they can no longer focus solely on theneeds of learners without responsibly addressing the political andethical consequences of their work. Power in Practiceexamines how certain adult education programs, practices, andpolicies can become a subtle part of power relationships in widersociety. It provides a rich array of real-world cases thathighlight the pivotal role of adult educators as "knowledge andpower brokers" in the conflict between learners and the socialforces surrounding them. The authors discuss how to teachresponsibly, develop effective adult education programs, andprovide exemplary leadership in complex political contexts,including the workplace and higher education. Educators in themiddle of power struggles will learn how to become more politicallyaware while actively shaping their enterprises to meet importantsocial needs.

Provides educators and facilitators with a comprehensive overview of the historical underpinnings and philosophical orientations of adult education and adult learning while attending to the various roles individuals play both within and beyond the formal constraints of the classroom. Pathways of Adult Learning opens up a dialogue about the many possible avenues toward knowledge sharing.

This book provides a comprehensive sociological overview of adult and continuing education. It draws on all branches of sociology rather than advocating one approach. It examines the theories of all the significant sociological writers in the field such as Knowles, Marx, Freire and Gramsci and sets them in the broader intellectual context. It also considers the content of the curriculum in adult education and the place of adult education in society at large. The author indicates the strengths and weaknesses of the different sociological perspectives and demonstrates how they can be used to analyse the function and purpose of adult and continuing education.

Power has been a defining and constitutive theme of adult education scholarship for over a century and is a central concern of many of the most famous and influential thinkers in the field. Adult education has been particularly interested in how an analysis of power can be used to support transformative learning and democratic participation. In a fragile and interdependent world these questions are more important than ever. The aim of this collection is to offer an analysis of power and possibility in adult education which acknowledges, analyzes and responds to the complexity and diversity that characterizes contemporary education and society. Power and Possibility: Adult Education in a Diverse and Complex World explores the topic of power and possibility theoretically, historically and practically through a range of perspectives and in relation to varied areas of interest within contemporary adult education. It is concerned with addressing how power works in and through adult education today by exploring what has changed in recent years and what is shaping and driving policy. Alongside this the book explores ways of theorizing learning, power and transformation that builds and extends adult education philosophy. In particular it takes up the themes of diversity and solidarity and explores barriers and possibilities for change in relation to these themes.

Bringing together the sociology of knowledge, cultural studies, and post-foundational and historical approaches, this book asks what schooling does, and what are its limits and dangers. The focus is on how the systems of reason that govern schooling embody historically generated rules and standards about what is talked about, thought, and acted on; about the "nature" of children; about the practices and paradoxes of educational reform. These systems of reason are examined to consider issues of power, the political, and social exclusion. The transnational perspectives interrelate historical and ethnographic studies of the modern school to explore how curriculum is translated through social and cognitive psychologies that make up the subjects of schooling, and how educational sciences "act" to order and divide what is deemed possible to think and do. The central argument is that taken-for-granted notions of educational change and research paradoxically produce differences that simultaneously include and exclude.