Showing papers in "Adult Education Quarterly in 2007"

Motivation, Interest, and Positive Affect in Traditional and Nontraditional Undergraduate Students:

Abstract: This study compares affective and motivational components of academic life for traditional and nontraditional university undergraduates. Traditional students are defined as those aged 21 and younger, who are most likely to have followed an unbroken linear path through the education system, whereas nontraditional students are defined as those aged 28 and older, for whom the undergraduate experience is not necessarily age normative. A total of 300 undergraduates ranging in age from 18 to 60 years were assessed on measures of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to learn, interest, and positive affect. Nontraditional students reported higher levels of intrinsic motivation for learning than did traditional students. Intrinsic motivation correlated with positive affect more strongly for nontraditional than for traditional students. For all students, interest and age emerged as significant predictors of intrinsic motivation to learn, and both interest and intrinsic motivation significantly predicted positive affect.

The Transition of Adult Students to Higher Education: Legitimate Peripheral Participation in a Community of Practice?:

Abstract: This article presents empirical research exploring adult students' transition to higher education (HE) through a program designed to enable that transition. Wenger's Communities of Practice theory has been applied to informal adult learning by Merriam, Courtenay, and Baumgartner (2003), who suggested its potential for understanding formal education. Using this theoretical framework, adults' transition to HE is explored in terms of learning, participation in practices, and identity. Students were interviewed, and qualitative data analysis revealed that although they perceived themselves to be peripheral participants in the community, university regulations, and academic procedures sometimes undermined their feelings of legitimacy. Their experiences of the community's practices were mediated by individual, shifting identities and a sense of belonging. Their experiences are discussed in terms of the power of practice to include or exclude, and the concomitant identity shifts which may lead to fuller particip...

What do you mean by "authentic"? A comparative review of the literature on conceptions of authenticity in teaching

Abstract: “Authenticity in teaching” has been recognized as an important yet under-researched phenomenon. To gain greater insight into the meaning of authenticity in teaching in adult and higher education settings, the authors delved into some of the philosophical and educational literature on authenticity, giving particular attention, but not confining their review, to the work of Taylor, Heidegger, and Noddings. This study is one of “making sense of authenticity in teaching” in light of the conceptions of authenticity underlying the reviewed texts. Authenticity in teaching emerged as a multidimensional phenomenon, and the findings are presented in the form of multiple features associated with it. Inspired by Taylor's concept of horizons of significance and Palmer's notion of the subject-centered classroom, the authors further propose that one dimension of authenticity in teaching relates to educators' care for the subject matter and thus engaging students in genuine dialogue around ideas that matter.

Social Change Education: Context Matters

Abstract: Social change educators challenge social, economic, and political injustices that exist locally and globally. Their students may be people marginalized by these injustices or conversely, people who benefit from unjust systems. Much of the current social change pedagogy derives from the foundational work of Paulo Freire, developed in Brazil in response to the stark economic and social inequities there. Freirean pedagogy is known in Latin America as “popular education.” In the West, social change education is often categorized under the broad heading of critical pedagogy and has been significantly influenced by Freire’s pedagogy. Applying Freirean pedagogy in contexts very different to its origins is problematic and may result in experiences that reinforce rather than challenge injustice. Rather than minimizing or even ignoring differences in context, this article seeks to analyze how social change pedagogy needs to take its shape in response to the context in which it is enacted.

Literacy for What? Literacy for Whom? The Politics of Literacy Education and Neocolonialism in UNESCO- and World Bank-Sponsored Literacy Programs.

Abstract: This article explores literacy education, especially the kinds practiced and promoted by organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as a form of neocolonialism. Although researchers in other educational contexts have examined how schooling and education operate as a form of neocolonialism, little research has been conducted exploring this connection within adult literacy education. Using postcolonial theory and Thomas and Postlethwaite's framework for analyzing neocolonialism in educational systems, the authors present findings from a qualitative textual analysis of UNESCO- and World Bank—sponsored publicity and policy documents in which they examined two dimensions of literacy programs sponsored by UNESCO and the World Bank: (a) the purposes of literacy and (b) the funding of programs. Despite progressive shifts in how literacy is defined and practiced from colonialist Western control to local governance, for these shifts to co...

Wrapping the Curriculum Around Their Lives: Using a Culturally Relevant Curriculum With African American Adult Women:

Abstract: This study examines how African American adult female students respond to a culturally relevant curriculum. Research confirms that adults enter college classrooms with a variety of experiences that...

A Developmental Re-Forming of the Phases of Meaning in Transformational Learning.

Abstract: In this study of peer instructors in three Learning in Retirement Programs, the constructivist elements embedded in Mezirow's theory of transformational learning are examined at the theoretical intersections of transformational learning and developmental constructivism, specifically the work of Robert Kegan, resulting in a suggested developmental reforming of the phases of meaning in transformational learning.

Adult Learning in New Social Movements: Environmental Protest and the Struggle for the Clayoquot Sound Rainforest:

Abstract: During the summer of 1993, some 10,000 people, young and old, joined logging road blockades to protest the clear-cutting of old-growth temperate rainforest in Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia, Canada. By the end of the summer, more than 900 protestors had been arrested for acts of civil disobedience in refusing to leave the road. In subsequent mass trials, many were then convicted of criminal contempt of court and sentenced to jail terms and steep fines for their activism. Led primarily by women and espousing feminist principles of nonviolence and consensus decision making, the 1993 protests and Clayoquot Peace Camp became the focal point of an environmental movement that eventually spread far beyond the Sound. Framed by the field of adult learning in new social movements and environmental adult education, this article examines the history of Clayoquot Sound protest, its philosophy and practices of learning, education and activism, and its outcomes and significance to adult education.

Rhizoactivity: toward a postmodern theory of lifelong learning

Abstract: Although the loss of certainty in the age of postmodernism is questioning knowledge production in general, the emerging discourse of lifelong learning demands a different theory of adult learning in particular. This article aims to offer a conceptual tool for describing learning in adulthood in terms of postmodern and lifelong learning conditions. It approaches the problem from the images of learning and learner that adult education scholarship has produced and identifies that adult learning theory attempts to signify foundational certainty by using binary-trapped adjectives. The author argues that insofar as we continue with the adjective-plus-learning theory, we cannot escape binary thought. The author proposes a new concept, rhizoactivity, to navigate multiplicity of learning in a postmodern world. Anticipated benefits of employing rhizoactivity in understanding learning are discussed in terms of postmodern and lifelong learning conditions.

Cultural competence of international humanitarian workers

Abstract: As global interaction and cultural diversity become prominent, cultural competence has received more attention. To understand nonprofit organizations' (NPO's) international workers' learning process in terms of cultural competence, this study used a cultural competence attainment model as a theoretical framework, enlisted 10 Taiwanese international humanitarian workers, and explored how their expatriate experiences of local service influenced their cultural competence. This study identified three levels of influence, namely, the peripheral, cognitive, and reflective levels. Based on these findings, this study suggests the practice of designing related developmental activities in accordance with the three levels and more future research focusing on the process of acquiring cultural competence.

Using Freirean Pedagogy of Just IRE to Inform Critical Social Learning in Arts-Informed Community Education for Sexual Minorities:

Abstract: The authors work in the intersection of theorizing, experience, and research in this article as they explore a critical social model that they created to guide an informal, arts-informed, community education project for sexual-minority youth and young adults As they consider the influence of arts-informed education and Freirean pedagogy of indignation or just ire in framing this model, the authors consider possibilities for informing and transforming adult education as a field of study and practice

The Meaning and Use of Intuition in Novice Nurses: a phenomenological study

Abstract: The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to determine the meaning and use of intuition in novice nurses with an above-average self-perception of intuitiveness in their 1st year o...

Welfare Reform and Black Women's Economic Development

Abstract: In 1996, the United States Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, placing emphasis on individuals to take responsibility for separating themselves from governmental dependence by becoming economically self-sufficient through employment. Using a qualitative approach, this study explored the experiences of 15 African American women as they transitioned from welfare to determine the extent to which they were developing economic sufficiency as a result of their labor force participation. It also sought the perspectives of employers on the work-first approach to economic development among former recipients and their chances of becoming self-sufficient through employment. The study found three systems of barriers to impede the participants' economic progress: the “work-first” philosophy, labor market conditions and employment practices, and personal history and individual responsibility. These findings suggest that a more integrative approach is necessary, one that ...

University Extension and Social Change: Positioning a University of the People in Saskatchewan

Abstract: There are two predominant interpretations of the history of Canadian university extension. The “liberal or institutional” perspective argues that extension has been a means for universities to disseminate resources, foster progress in society, and meet the learning needs of individuals. The “critical or nostalgic” perspective claims that university extension once resisted dominant forms of power relations but now supports such relations. This article challenges these two interpretations through exploring the sociological concepts of subjection and modes of production and through presenting a historical case study of extension at one Canadian university. The article narrates the evolution of official claims made regarding extension at the University of Saskatchewan from 1908 to 2007 and argues that this evolution was influenced by changes to the mode of production in the province. This argument encourages adult educators with interests beyond university extension to reflect on their agency as scholars and ...

Seeking Authenticity: Women and Learning in the Catholic Worker Movement.

Abstract: Oral history interviews form the basis of an investigation into both the context and the everyday actions that contributed to the learning environment for women within the Catholic Worker Movement during the 1930s and 1940s. Findings reveal that narrators (a) were grounded in a variety of learning environments including family, Catholic Church, and school contexts; (b) sought adventure and authenticity as young adults; (c) practiced compassionate and critical-systemic faith within the Catholic Worker, which resulted in a new framework or way of seeing; (d) developed significant relationships that fostered learning in new ways; and (d) despite oppressive narrowing of opportunity for some because of their gender, learned to trust personal conscience as it guided them into positions of leadership that were unusual at the time within their local parishes. This study contributes to the expanding boundaries of the history of adult education by addressing issues of gender, spirituality, and learning in social mo...

The Untold Story of “Foreign Devil” Adult Educators in Shanghai Silk Factories (1920 To 1949)

Abstract: From the 1920s until 1949, foreign adult educators (mostly women) in the Shanghai YWCA worked to foster labor unrest and build a better world. Many started out as liberal Christians but ended up supporting Chairman Mao. They used street theater, mass singing, games, pageants, structured exercises, and “bible classes,” where learners read Communist literature. Their extraordinary efforts are largely unrecognized because many self-identified as homosexual and Communist. This study involved interviews and a close reading of English- and Chinese-language materials. Its purpose was to document revolutionary adult education (mostly for young women) in the Shanghai silk filatures (1920 to 1949) and to create an understanding of the work of foreigners such as Rewi Alley and Maud Russell and visiting luminaries such as John Dewey and R. H. Tawney. In China, there is a tendency to ignore the past. Yet 21st century adult education could be improved by understanding adult education in 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s Shanghai.

Book Review: Teaching Defiance: Stories and Strategies for Adult Educators

Abstract: are attributed to learners, as well as derived from them, and in this attribution power reveals itself. It is in the face of this power that we must clarify and make explicit management and political objectives, not merely learning objectives, because it is these that are the pivot connecting needs assessment and instructional design. Through the theoretical framework of the authors, the reader reexamines the overarching function of program administration, under which the planning function may be subsumed. This provides a clarifying vantage point for understanding the frequently noted marginality of adult education in which planners find themselves “low on the organizational hierarchies of responsibility and authority” (p. 191). In response to this self-defined marginality, planners are challenged to “work their messages” (p. 192) at the planning table to offset the complex and undemocratic influence of institutions in which they are employed. This book provides a unique perspective on planning through a critical review of more than 80 years of planning literature. Building, as it does, on real-life experiences of planning, a view of planner emerges as strategic organizer in the struggle for knowledge and power. It is the constant presence of power that presents the planner with both opportunities and barriers to democratic action. Working the Planning Table, which includes both scholarly and practical material, addresses a wide audience. Abundant theoretical material will make this the text of choice for graduate programs in program planning and administration. On the other hand, the framing of this material in the context of three well-developed examples will speak well to practitioners. In this book planning literature finds a new level of depth, critique, and practicality.

Book Review: Capitalists and Conquerors: A Critical Pedagogy Against Empire, by Peter McLaren. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. 368 pp., $29.95 (paper)

Abstract: In sum, Cranton’s second edition is a wonderful resource for adult educators. Her accessible writing style and her practical suggestions for promoting transformative learning in the classroom make this book a must-read for adult educators. If the literature on transformative learning continues to expand, I anticipate that any future editions of this text will include more information on sociocultural perspectives to transformative learning.

Book Review: Widening Access to Education as Social Justice: Essays in Honor of Michael Omolewa, edited by Akpovire Oduaran and Harbans Bhola. Amsterdam: Springer, 2006. 490 pp., $34.95 (paperback):

Abstract: materials are needed, and so forth; to more complex teaching methods such as how to use the Socratic method in the classroom, how to facilitate group learning, and how to develop learning contracts with participants. Even though the authors emphasize the pragmatic elements of educational programs, they recognize that adult educators’ responsibilities transcend educational methods and classroom activities. For example, they encourage educators to “undertake a continuous process of analysis and reflection on what you do and how you do it” (p. 43), to be aware of marginalized learners and advocate for them, and to facilitate adult learners’ personal growth and development. This is especially evident in the final chapter, titled “Observing Teaching and Learning: Being Visited,” which focuses on assessment and evaluation of teachers and learners. Although this chapter is written to address compliance to government standards in effect in the United Kingdom, it reminds all educators to evaluate how their practice reflects their educational philosophy; to assess and reflect on how their practice meets the goals and objectives of the learners and the institution; to seek feedback from students, peers, and supervisors; and to consistently evaluate their practice and students’ learning through formal and informal means. Adult Learning, Adult Teaching is an excellent resource for adult education practitioners and those who teach adult educators even though its simplistic nature and exhaustive lists may cause experienced adult educators to dismiss its value. It provides a tangible “how to” guide based on adult education principles that practitioners so often request when taking adult education courses. It also encourages educators to engage in critical reflection and ongoing evaluation of educational practice. Because of its practical nature, it can provide an impetus for students to make the connection between theory and practice. The authors’ goal of providing a practical resource for adult educators was met. In addition, this book serves to remind scholars of the complex nature of putting adult education principles into action while meeting the needs, expectations, and demands of the multiple stakeholders involved in the funding and evaluation of educational programs.

Book Review: Understanding and Promoting Transformative Learning (2nd ed.), by P. Cranton. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006

Abstract: In Understanding and Promoting Transformative Learning (2nd ed.), Cranton situates transformative learning within the adult learning literature and details several lenses through which transformative learning can be viewed including the individualistic perspectives of Mezirow, Daloz, and Boyd and the sociocultural approaches of Freire and O’Sullivan (Taylor, 2005). She investigates individual differences in the transformative learning process and provides concrete suggestions for fostering transformative learning in the classroom based on her many years of experience in the field of adult education. Last, she focuses on adult educators as transformative learners. This review will explore the purpose of the book, describes its contents, and offer a critique. The purpose and audience for the second edition remains the same as the first edition. Cranton’s book is written for adult educators who want to “understand what transformative learning is, distinguish it from other forms of learning, and foster it in their practice” (p. vii). In the second edition, Cranton describes Mezirow’s conceptualization of transformative learning and adds the affective/extrarational perspectives of Dirkx (2000) and Belenky and Stanton (2000) who emphasize “the role of spirituality in transformation and the importance of affect in the process” (p. viii). In chapter 1, Cranton states that adult learning is distinctive because it is self-directed, voluntary, experiential, and problem based. She situates transformative learning within adult learning theory and explains that transformative learning theory is somewhat selfdirected but not necessarily practical, problem based, or experiential. Next, Cranton presents an accessible and comprehensive view of Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning using his updated terminology (e.g., habits of mind instead of meaning perspectives), although she uses the term rational discourse instead of the more current term reflective discourse in the book (Mezirow & Associates, 2000, p. 11). Third, Cranton delineates several lenses through which to view transformative learning. She deftly describes Mezirow’s approach. She introduces Boyd’s (1989) extrarational approach that stresses the importance of feelings, imagination, dreams, and the unconscious; mentions Freire’s (1970) social-emancipatory approach that emphasizes the importance of social change in the transformative learning process; and touches on O’Sullivan’s (1999) planetary view of transformative learning. She urges readers to integrate the extrarational approach with Mezirow’s rational approach to strive for a more holistic theory of transformative learning. In chapter 4, Cranton considers the role of empowerment, the disorienting dilemma, critical questioning, dialogue, time, and the extrarational perspective in the learner’s transformative learning process. Next, she examines the place of Jung’s psychological-type theory

Book Review: Building Professional Pride in Literacy, by B. Allan Quigley. Melbourne, FL: Krieger, 2006. 244 pp., $32.50 (hardcover):

Abstract: Salmon’s five-stage model for implementing asynchronous computer conferencing (developed through research on adult Open University students) in guiding practice for a blended program integrated into a traditional higher education institution. Of particular personal interest to me as an online instructor and student of language was the chapter by David Rowsell and Tim Jackson (University of the Arts, London) on synchronous computer conferencing or “chat.” Contextualizing chat within a social learning framework, Rowsell and Jackson examine issues such as problematic exchanges and chat management. They offer an interpretive framework based on conversational analysis that could provide a good foundation for an iterative practice-research-improved practice cycle, particularly for practitioner-researchers. Technology Supported Learning and Teaching offers a useful introduction to the challenges and opportunities involved in integrating technology applications into highereducation contexts. Although most reports are of implementation in undergraduate programs, the consistent focus is on the academic staff’s (i.e., the teaching faculty’s) perspective, making the authors’ observations and conclusions broadly applicable. Several chapters focus specifically on use of VLEs in adult education contexts. The combined research and practice focus make it useful for instructors, researchers, technology-support staff, and administrators in a variety of higher-education and adult-education contexts.

Comparison of several Talent Cultivation Models of Advanced Vocational Education of Foreign Countries

Abstract: The article analyses the similarities,differences of several talent cultivation models of advanced vocational education of foreign countries,and researches the trend of the foreign talent cultivation model,trying to provide some references for the reformation of advanced vocational education in China.

Book Review: Bringing Transformative Learning to Life

Abstract: subject to issues of privilege. Privilege is “any unearned asset or benefit received by virtue of being born with a particular characteristic or into a particular class . . . often becoming part of our implicit knowledge” (Rocco & West, 1998, p. 173). One such benefit is the ability to speak about defiance. In the United States, if you are White and you speak about defiance, you are more likely to be perceived as exercising your constitutional rights. Speaking or writing about defiance is easier to do from a relatively safe position of power and privilege. If you are a racial or ethnic minority and you speak or write about defiance, you risk being labeled a radical, a troublemaker, or more likely hypersensitive and playing the race card. Positionality, which is partly determined by privilege, may lead to biased perceptions about scholarship, objectivity, and practice (Johnson-Bailey & Cervero, 2000). Despite these concerns, given the volatile state of affairs domestically and internationally, Teaching Defiance is a must-read for any adult educator. It is about staying true to the field of adult education by reclaiming choice, personal control, and power through our stories. This book keeps you engaged long after you put it down.

On the Imperial Examination's Fetter to the Development of Ancient China's Vocational Education

Abstract: The imperial examination had mainly these fetters to the development of ancient China's vocational education:The examination's purpose was to choose political talents,it ignored the cultivation of natural science and production of technician talents,so the vocational education was in very unfavorable social status all the time.The imperial examination caused the forming of the social values of “ official standard”,which had influenced the value orientation of vocational education and impelled people to pour into the official career one after another.Unity of the examination content and limitation of the examination function excluded the content of the vocational skills,which affected the advancement and development of ancient China's vocational education.