Adult Education Quarterly recent issues

Philosophies of Adult Environmental Education

Walter, P. — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:20:59 PDT

This article offers a typology of philosophical traditions in environmental education for adults, based on five philosophical perspectives of adult education described by Elias and Merriam. These five traditions are liberal, progressive, behaviorist, humanist, and radical adult environmental education, respectively. A summary of each philosophy’s main tenets, including the aims of education, beliefs about the nature of learners, the role of educators, and instructional strategies and assessment of learning is given in the article. Limitations of the typology are also discussed. Prominent examples from the environmental movement and adult environmental education practice in North America are then presented to illustrate each philosophy. The article ends with a discussion of directions for future research and implications for practice.

What Happened to the Promise?: A Critical (Re)orientation of Two Sociocultural Learning Traditions

Niewolny, K. L., Wilson, A. L. — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:20:59 PDT

Cleary it is no longer possible to think about learning without context. Although context cannot be ignored anymore, educators often struggle to explain how people learn in and with various contexts. Situated cognition and cultural—historical activity theory (CHAT) hold promise for understanding how adult learners are cultural and historical agents embedded within and constituted by socially structured relationships and tool-mediated activity. This promise, however, is not yet realized as the politicized nature of learning in practice that is foundational to both situated cognition and CHAT remains overlooked in adult learning literature. To move toward fulfilling the promise, this literature review emphasizes the neglected dimensions of recursivity and power within situated cognition and CHAT frameworks.

Creative Expression as a Way of Knowing in Diabetes Adult Health Education: An Action Research Study

Stuckey, H. L. — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:20:59 PDT

This action research study explores the meaning-making process using forms of creative expression for eight women with insulin-dependent diabetes. The study is theoretically informed by arts-based ways of knowing and aspects of feminist poststructuralism, and explains the process of creativity used in the action research process. The findings center on the role of the created images and (a) the layered processes of meaning around those images as imaginal, individual, and social, (b) the images as embedded in other life contexts, and (c) how creative expression deconstructs and complements medical knowledge. Focusing on the construction of knowledge and the process of creative expression, the article highlights the importance of attending to creative expression as a way of knowing in adult and health education.

W. E. B. Du Bois's Basic American Negro Creed and the Associates in Negro Folk Education: A Case of Repressive Tolerance in the Censorship of Radical Black Discourse on Adult Education

Guy, T. C., Brookfield, S. — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:20:59 PDT

W. E. B. Du Bois, one of the brightest lights in African American history, wrote a sparkling critique of the American social and economic system originally planned as part of the Bronze Booklets series, edited and published by Alain Locke and the Associates in Negro Folk Education. The piece was never published and has, until now, been lost to the annals of adult education history. Using historical evidence, the authors examine Du Bois’s Basic American Negro Creed and the circumstances that led to its exclusion from the series. It is argued that the Creed was far too radical for the liberal minded Carnegie Corporation and its leaders who were only interested in accommodating adult education for Blacks through the AAAE funded Bronze Booklets. The exclusion of the Creed represents an example of repressive tolerance by the AAAE.

Organizing Project-Based Learning in Work Contexts: A Cross-Cultural Cross Analysis of Data From Two Projects

Poell, R. F., Yorks, L., Marsick, V. J. — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:20:59 PDT

The authors describe research aimed at developing a more comprehensive framework for project-based learning in work contexts. This grows out of a cross-cultural reanalysis of data from two previous studies using two different frameworks: actor-centered learning network theory and a critical pragmatist lens on action reflection learning. Findings are based on a cross analysis of a subset of one another’s data sets using the authors’ respective original frameworks, thus intending to build reflexivity into the latter. The study identifies strengths and weaknesses of each framework and discusses a more comprehensive framework that takes into account both individual and organizational learning at a time when learning in work contexts is increasingly driven by the learner and integrated with work.

Meaning, Internalization, and Externalization: Toward a Fuller Understanding of the Process of Reflection and Its Role in the Construction of the Self

Le Cornu, A. — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:11:09 PDT

The study of the process of reflection has a dignified history. However, few have linked reflection to the development of the self in such a way that the form of reflection is understood to influence the resultant type of self. This article explores the process of reflection using a framework of meaning making, internalization, and externalization to argue that reflection directly impacts on the development of the self. It draws links between the Western emphasis on critical reflection and the autonomous, independent self typical of Western cultures, and turns to the field of adult Christian, or religious, education to identify two alternative forms of reflection as well as types of self. It proposes a working model of the process of reflection in which the self is seen to be formed by both internalization and externalization and the way in which reflection takes place.

Complicated Simplicity: Moral Identity Formation and Social Movement Learning in the Voluntary Simplicity Movement

Sandlin, J. A., Walther, C. S. — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:11:09 PDT

This article examines the learning occurring within the voluntary simplicity social movement, focusing specifically on the learning and development of identity via "moral agency" in those individuals who embrace and practice voluntary simplicity. Four key findings are discussed. First, simplifiers craft new identities in a consumption-driven world that reject society's normative subjectivities and re-create more ethical ones. Second, simplifiers develop and reinforce their moral identities through participating in particular practices of the self and self-regulation. Third, simplifiers struggle with trying to balance an ethic of nonjudgment with the very real feelings of being morally superior. Finally, simplifiers face the difficulty of managing collective group identity because of their decentralized and stratified participant base and highly individualistic moral codes. Because collective identity is so closely linked to social movement success, it holds implications for the politics of social movements and their effectiveness in bringing about social change.

Conceptualizing Training in the Radical Adult Education Tradition

Holst, J. D. — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:11:09 PDT

This article reviews contemporary definitions of training in adult education literature with a focus on the narrowing of what is generally considered and not considered to be training today. The article then provides a number of historical and contemporary examples of training within the radical tradition. It argues that in the radical tradition, training is not conceived so narrowly and the terms training and education are at times used interchangeably to refer to a democratic and participatory form of education. The article concludes with a thematic summary of training conceptualized within the radical adult education tradition.

"It Feels Like a Little Family to Me": Social Interaction and Support Among Women in Adult Education and Family Literacy

Prins, E., Toso, B. W., Schafft, K. A. — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:11:09 PDT

Supportive social relationships are an important dimension of marginalized women's participation in community-based adult education programs. However, policy makers and researchers often consider these social dimensions to be tangential or secondary to instrumental outcomes such as obtaining employment or increasing standardized test scores. Drawing on two qualitative studies of family literacy programs in the Northeastern United States, this article examines the importance of social interaction and support for women in poverty. The study reveals that, for women with limited social support and social ties, family literacy programs afforded a social space that enabled them to leave the house, enjoy social contact and mutual support with peers, establish supportive relationships with teachers, and pursue self-discovery and development. The article concludes that nonformal adult education and family literacy programs play an important role in helping women in poverty receive social support and in turn enhancing their psychosocial well-being.

Book Review: Burke, P. J., & Jackson, S. (2007). Reconceptualising Lifelong Learning: Feminist Interventions. London: Routledge

Stalker, J. — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:11:09 PDT

Book Review: Twale, D., & DeLuca, B. (2008). Faculty Incivility: The Rise of the Academic Bully Culture and What to Do About It. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Rowland, M. L. — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:11:09 PDT

Book Review: Ben-Moshe, L., Cory, R., Feldbaum, M., & Sagendorf, K. (Eds.). (2005). Building Pedagogical Curb Cuts: Incorporating Disability in the University Classroom and Curriculum. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press

Brown, T. L. — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:11:09 PDT

The Impact of Welfare State Regimes on Barriers to Participation in Adult Education: A Bounded Agency Model

Rubenson, K., Desjardins, R. — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:28:48 PDT

Quantitative and qualitative findings on barriers to participation in adult education are reviewed and some of the defining parameters that may explain observed national differences are considered. A theoretical perspective based on bounded agency is put forth to take account of the interaction between structurally and individually based barriers to participation. The Bounded Agency Model is premised on the assumption that the nature of welfare state regimes can affect a person's capability to participate. In particular, the state can foster broad structural conditions relevant to participation and construct targeted policy measures that are aimed at overcoming both structurally and individually based barriers. Features of the Nordic model of adult education and empirical results from the 2003 Eurobarometer are discussed in relation to this theoretical perspective.

Conflict and Collaboration: Providers and Planners Implementing the Workforce Investment Act (WIA)

Hopkins, J. L., Monaghan, C. H., Hansman, C. A. — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:28:48 PDT

This qualitative case study investigated the impact of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funding on the providers and planners of programs for incumbent workers in one Midwest WIA region. It examines the collaboration and power conflicts that are part of planning and implementing this legislation for the stakeholders. The study applied Matland's ambiguity/conflict framework to WIA implementation. The analysis revealed four themes that are important to policy makers and planners alike. The themes, change agent conflict, power broker conflict, policy interpretation conflict, and ambiguity of means, address the impact of the WIA and related processes on programs for incumbent workers. Conflicts over participants' roles, the interpretation of the legislation, and ambiguity about the process of implementation emerged. This article suggests methods for stakeholders to collaborate and address the needs of incumbent worker development.

The New, Modern Practice of Adult Education: Online Instruction in a Continuing Professional Education Setting

Donavant, B. W. — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:28:48 PDT

Within the field of adult education a paradigm shift, or at least a paradigm creep, is taking place as a result of advances in technology. This comprehensive, quasiexperimental study examining the efficacy of online education (OE) for professional development, conducted among American police officers, compares OE to traditional delivery methods, using quantitative methods and open ended questioning to determine whether the potential performance of adult learners in OE is related to various demographic factors, and evaluates the adult learners' perceptions of OE. Data analyses indicate no significant difference between the effectiveness of the delivery methods but they do reveal a statistically significant relationship between potential online learning success and a formal educational level. Although most participants in the study say they prefer traditional instruction, the majority feel that OE is an appropriate delivery method for professional development and that the use of OE for delivery of professional development provides increased training opportunities.

Dealing With the Stress of College: A Model for Adult Students

Kohler Giancola, J., Grawitch, M. J., Borchert, D. — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:28:48 PDT

With an increase in nontraditional students attending college, there is a need to understand how work/school/life stress affects adult students. The purpose of this study is to test a comprehensive stress model that posits appraisal (cognitive evaluation) and coping as mediators between stressors/interrole conflict and psychosocial outcomes. The model proposes that higher levels of stressors/interrole conflict will be associated with lower positive and higher negative appraisals. The model also predicts that positive and negative appraisals will predict specific adaptive and maladaptive coping behaviors. Adaptive coping results in positive outcomes, whereas negative coping leads to negative outcomes. The results support appraisal and coping as partial mediators with positive appraisal and adaptive coping having the hypothesized positive effects. Family—school conflict and school—work conflict and work stressors, in particular, emerge as key stressors for the adult student. This study provides direction for future researchers and implications for adult higher education.

Book Review Essay: Faculty of Color in Academia: Stanley, C. A. (Ed.). (2006). Faculty of Color: Teaching in Predominantly White Colleges and Universities. Boston, MA: Anchor. Hendrix, K. G. (Ed.). (2007). Neither White Nor Male: Female Faculty of Color: New Directions for Teaching and Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Ray, N. M. — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:28:48 PDT

Book Review: Anfara, V. A., Jr., & Mertz, N. T. (Eds.). (2006). Theoretical Frameworks in Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Reybold, L. E. — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:28:48 PDT

Book Review: Merriam, S. B., & Associates. (2007). Non-Western Perspectives on Learning and Knowing. Malabar, FL: Krieger

Seepersad, R., Banerjee, R. — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:28:48 PDT

Book Review: Thompson, J. (2007). More Words in Edgeways: Rediscovering Adult Education. Leicester, UK: NIACE

Nesbit, T. — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:28:48 PDT

One Foot on the Dock and One Foot in the Canoe: How Does a Feminist Academic Fit Into Fire Service Education?

Barg, R. — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:35:02 PST

This art-informed, reflexive, autobiographical inquiry explores the struggles of a feminist academic committed to transformative adult education and subsistence learning, while engaged in program planning for fire service education. The author chronicles how her approach within the applied practice in a traditional, male dominant workplace setting is shaped by her rural Canadian heritage, the move from an isolated rural location to an urban setting followed by academic research in motherwork as a site of adult learning. By looking for day-to-day opportunities to promote equity, increased tolerance and mutual respect, the author describes the struggles and joys of her lived experience within a workplace where oppression is prominent, while seeking to contribute to the transformation of societal structures that create barriers, exclude or oppress.

Cult TV, Hip Hop, Shape-Shifters, and Vampire Slayers: A Review of the Literature at the Intersection of Adult Education and Popular Culture

Wright, R. R., Sandlin, J. A. — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:35:02 PST

In this article, we examine adult education literature as it relates to all aspects of popular culture. After an extensive literature review we found that, increasingly, adult educators are investigating popular culture's connection with adult education and learning; however, we argue that much more work needs to be done in this area, specifically with regard to what and how adults are learning from popular culture. The research revealed that the adult education literature in this broad area has focused on six areas of research and practice: (a) representations of adult learning and adult development in popular media, (b) self-reflexive practices of adult educators who consume popular culture, (c) effective classroom practices involving the popular, (d) analyses of popular culture products and processes as adult education curriculum, (e) the impact of adults' learning from popular culture, and (f) community-based "popular" culture as resistance. This article explores the literature in each of these six areas of inquiry.

The Role of Learning in the Development of Expertise in Museum Docents

Grenier, R. S. — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:35:02 PST

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine how docents developed expertise within the context of their work with history museums. Twelve expert docents from four history-themed museums were interviewed to discover how expertise is developed by volunteers working in nonformal settings. Interpretation of the data revealed two primary means of preparation. First, formal training and continuing education were initially used by docents for learning their craft; and second, informal and incidental learning were critical to expertise development in museum docents. Based on the findings that emerged, implications for museum education and volunteer practice and the wider field of adult education are presented.

An Antiracist Feminist Analysis for the Study of Learning in Social Struggle

Gouin, R. — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:35:02 PST

This article outlines, critiques, and revises Griff Foley's analytical framework for the study of informal learning in social action. This reformulation is prompted by the author's own research on young women's experiences and learning in social struggle, and by the need to take into account the interdependence of systems of domination underlying their actions. She draws on anticapitalist and antiracist feminist theory to integrate an analysis of White supremacy and patriarchy within a Marxist political economy. This article helps to reconceptualize the study of learning in social movements so that it may contend with the complexity of society, social struggles, and the contexts in which learning takes place.

Book Review: Reissman, C. K. (2008). Narrative Methods for the Human Sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 264 pp

Drake-Clark, D. — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:35:02 PST

Book Review: Illeris, K. (2007). How We Learn: Learning and Non-learning in School and Beyond. London: Routledge. 289 pp

Mott, V. W. — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:35:02 PST

Book Review: Rose, M. (2004). The Mind at Work: Valuing the Intelligence of the American Worker. New York: Penguin

Smith, J. E. — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:35:02 PST

Book Review: Rowden, R. (2007). Workplace Learning Principles and Practices. Malabar, FL: Krieger

Sligar, S. R. — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:35:02 PST