The authors argue that the aim of research should be to improve practice through a process of critical reflection. Focusing clearly on the everyday concerns and problems of practitioners, they emphasize the importance of practical knowledge. Their definition of ‘practice’ is wide, and includes the generation of theory and the doing of research as well as front-line teaching. They show how notions of ‘adult learning’ and ‘the adult learner’ have been constituted mainly through theory and research in psychology and sociology, and examine action research as a mode of understanding. They conclude by looking at the curriculum implications for the teaching of adult education as reflective practice.

Mini-set G: Higher and Adult Education re-issues 11 volumes originally published between 1974 and 1992. They discuss and analyze adult education from both theoretical and practical standpoints and look at the challenges facing adult education during the 1970s and 80s as well as examining the history of higher & adult education in the UK. The mini-set includes one volume which although previously available with another publisher (and out of print for some years) is now available for the first time from Routledge.

'This is an impressive book that will be of wide interest to adult educators everywhere.Many of the book's contributors work at the University of Technology, Sydney - surely the world's pre-eminent institution for the study of adult learning, and the most open and generous location for debate. Its virtues are the book's.' Alan Tuckett, National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, UK 'I am happy to endorse this book enthusiastically as being appropriate for a North American audience of adult educators.Though it's an intentionally introductory survey, it never talks down to readers, never condescends. On the other hand, it's not so intenationally erudite that it collagpses into theoretical posturing; it stays firmly grounded in and connected to practice.' Stephen Brookfield, University of St. Thomas, USA Understanding Adult Education and Training offers a broad overview of the field for adult educators and workplace trainers. It introduces the keys issues, debates and theories in a way which is relevant to practice. Its aim is to deepen readers' understanding of adult learning and education so that they can be better practitioners. Adult education is a diverse field so there is no single body of knowledge which is appropriate for all adult educators. Understanding Adult Education and Training introduces a wide range of formal theory from adult education and associated fields, and shows readers how they can use it their own circumstances. The first edition of this book has become a standard reference for students and professionals in Australia. This edition is fully revised and updated for an international readership.

Adult Education and Lifelong Learning is regarded as one of the most widely used textbooks about adult education. Now part of the Routledge Education Classic Edition series, this key title combines the practical and philosophical to cover all areas related to the topic, including how we understand people as learners, how to teach adults, curriculum planning, distance education and assessment. It doesn’t shy away from complexity and asks difficult questions to provoke the reader into thinking about what lifelong learning really means. Not your basic ‘how-to’ book, it combines practice with theory and points the way to further studies and engagement in the field. With a new introduction by Professor Sam Duncan to contextualise the work, this is a must-read text for all education students as well as practitioners and researchers in adult education and lifelong learning.

Adult education has never been more important or urgent than it is today Few educators have had the impact on adult education of Griff Foley. Professor Peter McLaren, University of California, Los Angeles This timely and valuable book makes an important contribution to our understanding of key recent developments in adult education and their significance. Reflecting the increasingly global nature of scholarship in the field, well-respected international contributors analyse issues facing practitioners today, and consider how these can be most positively embraced to further the international cause of adult learning and social justice. Janet Hannah, University of Nottingham Learning is central to all aspects of human life, and failure to learn brings dire consequences. As our world becomes more integrated and complex, adult learning has become more important. Dimensions of Adult Learning offers a broad overview of adult learning in the workplace and community. Written by a team of international experts, it introduces the core skills and knowledge which underpin effective practice. It examines adult education policy and research, and highlights the social nature of adult learning. It also examines adult learning in different contexts: on-line learning, problem-based learning, organisational and vocational learning. Dimensions of Adult Learning is an essential reference for professionals and students. Griff Foley is Research Associate in Adult Education at the University of Technology, Sydney. He is author of Learning in Social Action and Strategic Learning.

Until relatively recently, adult learning in the UK was largely recognised as being situated mainly within the LEA adult education centre, university extra-mural departments and the WEA. However, this picture has changed. The major change has been a shift from 'education' to 'learning' as the key organising concept. A greater range of settings are now recognised as sites producing learning, and alongside this has grown a debate about the purpose and form of study within adult learning. This has led people to question both the concept of adult learning and the boundaries of its provision. This book reviews and assesses the changes which are taking place. It explores the disputes surrounding adult learning, discussing how boundaries have blurred thereby creating new opportunities such as APL and credit transfer, and including a significantly wider range of activities within the definition of learning. It also assesses the extent to which, despite the changes in boundaries, inequalities in learning opportunities still persist.

This book offers some suggestions as to ways forward from this dilemma. Drawing on the new intellectual frameworks of critical pedagogy, feminism and postmodernism and their impact upon educational theory, practice and research, the book focuses on the changing contexts of adult education. By building on the notion of going beyond the limits of certain current adult education orthodoxies, the authors try to provide alternatives for practice. The final three chapters deal with research, focusing on a critical macro-analysis of mainstream paradigms, a review of alternative approaches, and a more micro-analysis centering on the role of the socially-located self in the research process.

The opportunity for a "second chance" is a growing phenomenon. Some members of the Adult Learners Consulting Group, a dozen or so faculty and graduate students at the University of Dakota, who have a general interest in the related processes of learning and teaching, investigated the specific concern about the ways older-than-average students learn and the instructional methods most appropriate for them. They recognized that for both the older student and the teacher of the older student there are problems and issues that are different from the average student or student/teacher relationship. In addition to presenting an integrated picture of adult learners on campus, this book also provides some teaching techniques that can be used in the classroom tomorrow.; It is aimed at teachers in further and adult education, trainers in all disciplines, researchers in adult and continuing education.

"Each chapter covers part of the Further Education National Training Organisation Standards for teaching and supporting learning in further education." --p. xiv.

A collection of 46 articles from the diverse and still emerging field of adult education.