Showing papers in "Australian Journal of Adult Learning in 2015"

Putting Transformative Learning Theory into Practice.

Abstract: This paper elaborates on a number of key criticisms of Mezirow's transformative learning theory as well as providing arguments that validate it. Our paper exemplifies how Mezirow's theory can help adult educators and prospective school teachers understand that social structures and belief systems can influence student learning, that learners make meaning of their experiences in various ways which influence the sort of value systems they develop and that disorienting dilemmas often challenge the validity of one's values and the assumptions that underpin them. It exemplifies how Mezirow's theory can be put into practice in Adult and Higher Education via three case studies undertaken by the authors in different places, at different times and with different sets of learners. These include mature aged women returning to study, PhDs at a Swedish Engineering University, and domestic and international students studying at an Australian regional university. The case studies make use of a values survey, interviews and subsequent focus groups. Data from the survey and interviews are analysed and used to argue that transformative learning (Mezirow, 1991) can be practiced, to good effect, in university staff development

The Quest for Authenticity: A Study of an Online Discussion Forum and the Needs of Adult Learners

Abstract: The objective of achieving a sense of 'authenticity' in an educational context is one that might have immediate appeal, though how this is defined, let alone achieved, remains contested. The concept of 'authentic discussion' has traditionally been used in the context of classroom English teaching in schools, but this paper explores its possible application to an online discussion forum at university. Participants in this forum were students in a program designed to prepare adult learners for higher education. Though communication in an online environment differs from face-to-face dialogue, it was found not to be a barrier to 'authenticity' in some respects. Multiple perspectives were evident with students building on the ideas of each other, but also being prepared to disagree. The level of support and respect was such that they were willing to tackle sensitive issues, and share in an honest and sometimes revealing way. The role of the lecturer emerged as a critical component in achieving such outcomes. Though claims of 'authenticity' are always difficult to substantiate, this study concludes that elements of an 'authentic discussion' can be achieved in an online environment and this objective has a particular salience in the context of adult learning.

Self-Advocacy and Its Impacts for Adults with Developmental Disabilities.

Abstract: The following review of literature illuminates self-advocacy from a North American transformational learning perspective via meaningful impacts, which arise for adults with developmental disabilities, as well as various communities and their members. For adults with developmental disabilities, increased leadership capabilities and the evolution of new self-concepts continue to be powerful examples of the impact of self-advocacy. For communities, a more prominent voice and personable research within the academic community, increased awareness for some boards and committee members, and the acknowledgement and support of local or online community members are broad examples of the impacts self-advocacy has on us.

What are the key ingredients for an effective and successful tertiary enabling program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students?: An evaluation of the evolution of one program

Abstract: Tertiary enabling programs have become an increasingly important part of the post-secondary schooling landscape. In recognition of the need for increased access for certain under-represented groups within the university population, enabling, bridging or foundational programs are offered by a large number of universities in Australia as alternative entry pathways. This paper explores the outcomes of an enabling program being offered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults who are arguably one of the most under-represented groups within the university system in Australia. It explores, in two parts, the combination of factors that are resulting in these positive outcomes. Part one explores the 'data story' of the course and the factors that support retention and completion. Part two explores the 'stories of transformation' as told by the students themselves, providing insider accounts of richness and depth about the things that truly enable success in a tertiary learning environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. While not ignoring the limitations of evaluating a course that is still in its infancy, the students undertaking this course are completing and moving on into higher education courses at an impressive rate, empowered by the skills, strategies and confidence they have developed through the course.

Adult Education and Radical Habitus in an Environmental Campaign: Learning in the Coal Seam Gas Protests in Australia.

Abstract: This paper examines the adult learning dimensions of protestors as they participate in a campaign to stop coal seam gas exploration in Gippsland in Central Victoria, Australia. On a global level, the imposition of coal seam gas exploration by governments and mining companies has been the trigger for movements of resistance from environmental groups. They are concerned about the impact of mining on their land, food and water supplies. In central Gippsland a group of 'circumstantial activists' comprised of farmers, tree changers and other local residents are campaigning against coal seam gas exploration. This unlikely coalition of environmental action groups has made effective use of a variety of community education strategies. This paper commences by outlining some of the key literature on learning and activism drawing on the education tradition of adult learning. We then draw on key concepts from Bourdieu's writing on 'habitus' and 'field' to analyse the data from this research. We outline some of the learning practices of activists; through their involvement in this campaign, and the knowledge and skills they gain as they develop a feel for the game of protest. We argue circumstantial activists learn both formally and informally in the social environment of campaigning. Of particular interest is the role of more experienced activists from Friends of the Earth (FOE), a non-government organisation (NGO), as they pass on knowledge, experience, tactics and strategies to the novice and less experienced activists in this community campaign. We explore some of the contradictions of the protestors' identification as activists using Bourdieu's concepts of 'doxa' and 'Ilusio'. The paper concludes by arguing learning in activism is a rich tradition of adult education and practice. However, Bourdieu's writing on field and habitus makes an added contribution to interpreting the learning that occurs in the social space of a campaign or social movement.

Listening to Hear: Critical Allies in Indigenous Studies.

Abstract: This paper reflects on a particular class in an undergraduate seminar in Australian Indigenous Studies where anecdote played a crucial role and where both the teacher and learners were challenged to consider their implication as racialised subjects in the teaching and learning process. The paper argues that student anecdote can be a vital bridge between theory and practice in adult learning. It suggests that all learners in Indigenous Studies, and also in studies of race and difference more generally, need to undertake effective listening and hearing practices in order to consider, imagine and engage with experiences and worldviews other than their own. Drawing from work dealing with critical alliances, discomfort in pedagogical contexts, and effective listening practices, this paper provides a conceptual analysis of the seminar in question extrapolating from this to engage critically with broader issues concerning Indigenous Studies and non-Indigenous critical allies.

Motivating and Enabling Adult Learners to Develop Research Skills.

Abstract: Adult learners undertaking a coursework masters are understandably nervous about undertaking research projects. However if done well, such projects represent a way to encourage the quantity and quality of practitioner research, which is important in all management disciplines, not only the emerging discipline of coaching. This paper offers an alternative to the individual master-apprentice model to which many research students are still exposed. Addressing the motivational needs identified in self-determination theory (autonomy, competence and relatedness) as well as self-efficacy and incorporating good practices in feedback, it outlines a way to make the process of learning how to do research more engaging than sitting listening to lectures. The paper reports the findings of a survey of the participants in the 2012 cohort who were asked if their competence and confidence in undertaking a research project had changed before and after undertaking the class, and if so, to list what they, their peers or staff had done to contribute to this change. The paper concludes that the approach offers a useful way to help adult learners develop research skills.

Learning cities on the move

Abstract: The modern Learning City concept emerged from the work of OECD on lifelong learning with streams of Learning Cities and Educating Cities having much in common but having little contact with each other. While the early development of Learning Cities in the West has not been sustained, the present situation is marked by the dynamic development of Learning Cities in East Asia - especially in China, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan. In this context, the paper discusses the evolution of three generations of Learning Cities since 1992 and speculates on the future. The experience of the first generation is discussed in terms of development in the UK, Germany, Canada, and Australia where initiatives, with some exceptions, have not been sustained. Beijing and Shanghai are discussed as examples of the innovative second generation in East Asia, which is seen as a community relations model in response to the socio-economic transformation of these countries. International interest in Learning Cities has now been enhanced following a major UNESCO International Conference on Learning Cities in Beijing in October 2013, which is to be followed by a Second International Conference in Mexico City. The Beijing Conference adopted the Beijing Declaration on Learning Cities supported by a Key Features document. The paper speculates on possible future development post Mexico City, including the situation in Australia, which is seen as opening opportunities for innovative initiatives.

Connecting in Rhizomic Spaces: Peer-Assisted Learning (PAL) and E-Learning in Teacher Education.

Abstract: A PAL (Peer-Assisted Learning) project supported research that focused on e-learning and Web 2.0 technologies as part of a pedagogical approach in the context of a tertiary institution. This project responded to a call for a rejuvenation of conventional approaches to pedagogy while teaching an early childhood unit in a large Australian university. In the project a variety of methods, qualitative (interviews and focus groups) and quantitative (on-line survey), were used in order to explore the possibilities involved in learning together in innovative ways. The PAL project is connected here to a 'rhizome' (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987). A rhizome is a form of network; it is multiple; and, it is capable of producing surprises. This is reflected in the findings that support the use of technology to create an effective collaborative space and also show that there are advantages to destabilising conventional student/lecturer positions. Finally, this narrative account contributes to a growing literature that connects Deleuze and Guattari's (1987) philosophical ideas to education.

Remaking Education from Below: The Chilean Student Movement as Public Pedagogy

Abstract: This article considers the Chilean student movement and its ten-year struggle for public education as an example of public pedagogy. Secondary and university students, along with the parents, teachers, workers and community members who have supported them, have engaged in the most sustained political activism seen in Chile since the democratic movement against the Pinochet military dictatorship between 1983 and 1989. The students have successfully forced a nationwide discussion on education, resulting not only in significant educational reform, but also a community rethinking of the relationship between education and social and economic inequality in a neoliberal context. Framed through Giroux’s conceptual definition of public pedagogies and drawing on field research conducted throughout 2014 as well as existing literature and media sources, this article considers the role of the student movement in Chile in redefining the concept of ‘public’ and the implications for radical perspectives on learning and teaching.

Protest music as adult education and learning for social change: a theorisation of a public pedagogy of protest music

Abstract: Since the 1960’s, the transformative power of protest music has been shrouded in mythology. Sown by musical activists like Pete Seeger, who declared that protest music could “help to save the planet”, the seeds of this myth have since taken deep root in the popular imagination. While the mythology surrounding the relationship between protest music and social change has become pervasive and persistent, it has mostly evaded critical interrogation and significant theorisation. By both using the notion as a theoretical lens and adding to scholarship in the field, this article uncovers understandings of the public pedagogical dimensions of protest music, as it takes place as a radical practice and critical form of contemporary mass culture. In doing this, this article provides a theorisation of public pedagogy as it encapsulates protest music, and those who are conceptualised as the critical and radical public pedagogues who produce this mass cultural form.

Visual communication design as a form of public pedagogy

Abstract: This paper identifies visual communication design as a form of public pedagogy. Communication design practices aim to achieve the successful transmission of a message to a recipient in a visual mode. Understanding the theories and practices of visual communication design can assist in enhancing the reception of the communication, as these practices become a tool to increase the effectiveness of learning in a public space. To demonstrate this, I will use the example of museums as an informal place of public learning, and argue design, and in particular visual communication design strategies, are extremely important in the creation of successful learning. If participants are not engaged or entertained, their capacity for learning will diminish. Engagement depends on the representation of the information and the successful interpretation of that information by the visitor. Further, this paper will emphasise the vital role communication design plays in all forms of public pedagogy, not just within the museum context. However, non-designers create many public learning environments and although this paper argues the benefits of communication design to increasing the effectiveness of learning, it recognises the narrow opportunities of applying this knowledge.

A space for memory

Abstract: In this article I examine the possibilities of reparation in an era of privatisation and de-industrialisation. I examine the effect of a recent project Sunshine Memory Space, a space, designed to evoke memories of a de-industrialised urban Melbourne suburb Sunshine. This project offered the opportunity for the effects of industrial change to be publically represented, remembered and valued. I offer an analysis of the significance of relational localised curatorial work.

Targeting Assessment for Developing Adult Lifelong Learners: Assessing the Ability to Commit.

Abstract: In this article, I propose that neither traditional assessment nor alternative, competence-based assessment is adequate to meet the challenges of uncertain change. Existentialist assessment that focuses on developing learners' commitment, rather than their competence, may be more decisive in empowering learners who are facing adversity. Existentialist assessment shifts the focus from impersonality, achievement, and universalism to the inclusion of the adult learner's commitment to making meaningful connections between learning and his or her existence (being). These committed meanings are willed and produced by the learner, not only to bring to an end a disturbing situation and uncertainty but also to develop a sense of significance and sustainability when facing uncertainty and processes of change. To ascertain a learner's ability to commit, self-assessment, with its first-person perspective, must be taken into account. Implications include the alignment of assessment with pedagogy that facilitates the adult learner's commitment to connecting his or her existence with the world.

Epistemological Development and Critical Thinking in Post-Secondary.

Abstract: Using Kegan's constructive-developmental theory, this study explores to what extent epistemological development is a factor in critical thinking performance and learning in reading and writing among a diverse group of six adult learners. Analysis of a developmental interview, a summative assessment and participant surveys indicated that learners constructing meaning from earlier developmental perspectives demonstrated lower critical thinking in reading and writing, and expressed successes and challenges in accordance with their developmental perspectives. Implications are discussed for supporting critical thinking growth for developmentally diverse adult learners.

Developing and Using Green Skills for the Transition to a Low Carbon Economy.

Abstract: One of the strategies being advocated in response to climate change is the need to transition to a low carbon economy. Current projections show that within this transition, new jobs will be created, some eliminated and most others subjected to change. This article reports findings from interviews with a selection of twenty participants who are involved in the formation and/or deployment of green skills. The participants were asked about their perceptions of (1) how jobs are changing in the transition to a green economy (2) how are adult learners developing and using green skills, and (3) what are some of the main drivers and blockers to the development and use of green skills. The data are presented as vignettes from various positions of supply and demand within the emerging green economy. The findings of this study report that the organisations and the training providers are motivated to develop and/or deploy green jobs and green skills for a range of different reasons. These include the making of a favourable business case, environmental beliefs about conserving the finite resources of the planet and, for health and wellbeing reasons. Some blockers that have been identified are the initial capital outlay for any changes, and the need to address some inconsistencies that arise over time in the financial arrangements when trying to work out the business case. This has led the designers and contractors working in renewable energy to call for a level playing field with those who provide and utilise finite resources and non-renewable energy. Overall transition to a low carbon and green economy is shown to be supported and occurring with some limited success. However there is a need for further larger scale research into this area of skill formation and deployment.

Literacy Mediation in Neighbourhood Houses.

Abstract: Interactions between staff in Neighbourhood Houses, and the socially and educationally disadvantaged community members who visit Neighbourhood Houses, have been viewed through many lenses, including community development, social support, caring and compassion. This paper looks at Neighbourhood Houses as sites of pedagogical practice. More specifically, it explores the role of Neighbourhood House administrative staff as literacy mediators - as people who assist others with reading and writing. Literacy mediation has gained attention as part of a focus amongst New Literacy Studies researchers on the social uses of literacy. In this case study of four staff members working across two neighbourhood houses, I identify that literacy mediation in the neighbourhood houses is common, complex and growing in demand. A further area of focus of the paper is the invisibility of the literacy mediation in Neighbourhood Houses - to funding bodies, committees of management and even to other staff. It also identifies the role of emotional labour in both facilitating mediation but also as a contributing factor to the lack of recognition of informal literacy work in Neighbourhood Houses.

Work-Based Researchers and Communities of Practice: Conceptual and Gestational Dilemmas.

Abstract: Drawing on a presumption that a Community of Practice (COP) can add significant value to the situated learning development of adults in any context, this paper exposes and analyses the challenges faced in facilitating the development of a COP involving part-time work-based researchers. Using an empirical case example involving a collaborative research network of five industry organisations and a university, the specific purpose (and outcomes) of this paper are to (a) conceptualise a researcher COP involving part-time work-based PhD and Masters of Philosophy candidates (b) examine the pragmatic dilemmas these part-time researchers face in seeking to develop such a supportive social learning construct in respect to their research activities (c) tentatively indicate some challenges that higher education institutions and industry organisations confront in facilitating and nurturing such learning structures which span industry and academia contexts. Through its analysis, this paper draws attention towards the complex issues involved in developing a functioning rather than the often idealised COP in the part-time work-based researcher space.

Assessing the Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign: A developmental evaluation

Abstract: In this article we explicate our way of assessing the South African Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign, and in particular its impact in the Eastern Cape. We provide an account primarily of focus group sessions conducted in 2013 and again in 2014 with volunteer educators and past learners in the campaign. We concentrate on the way in which relationships with these participants and with coordinators in the province were established towards the creation of findings. We outline how our evaluative purpose could be seen as incorporating a social justice agenda (as in developmental evaluation) in that it was aimed at strengthening literacy initiatives as a human right. We conclude with some considerations around catalytic validity as a criterion for judging research practices. We reflect upon how this notion of validity can justify our research as being directed towards potentially activating further options for literacy initiatives to contribute to personal and community development.

The Meaning of Learning on the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of travellers on the Camino de Santiago in order to find out the pattern of their travel lived experience and the meaning of learning experience. For this purpose, eight Korean travellers were selected for the study; the study was performed using the hermeneutic phenomenological method. The findings are as follows: First, the pattern of lived experience -'the four Existentials, lived time, space, body and human relation'- on the Camino de Santiago was summarized into 'slow and composure', 'meditation and spirituality', 'companionship', and 'the dance of self-mortification through physical pain' in the four existential aspects of time, space, relationship, and body. Second, the lived experience of participants had profound meaning as a learning experience in terms of biographical learning, the theory of autopoiesis, and spiritual learning.

1974-1976: the seeds of longevity in a pathway to tertiary participation at University of Newcastle, NSW

Abstract: By the 1960s equality of opportunity was a dominant theme in social science research, and in keeping with this trend, the Whitlam Labor Government abolished university fees in 1974 to open university access, especially to talented women and men who otherwise would not contemplate a university career. In the same year also the University of Newcastle instituted a radical new plan to open up its doors to the wider community of 'non traditional students'. This paper explores the history of the enabling program that resulted, the Open Foundation Program, focusing on the 1974 pilot program and its first two years of full operation. Thought at the time likely to 'drain its market' within five years, the Open Foundation Program has flourished and grown for 40 years. The analysis focuses on hitherto unexplored aspects of the program and canvasses three key themes: curriculum and pedagogy, access and success, and support and retention, in order to understand the seeds of this longevity.

"Come in and look around." Professional development of student teachers through public pedagogy in a library exhibition.

Abstract: This paper describes a public pedagogy project embedded into "The Global Teacher", a subject within the Bachelor of Education program for student teachers at an Australian university. The subject provides a global perspective on socio-political issues that shape education. In 2013, The Global Teacher introduced an approach that asked student teachers to create a museum-style exhibition depicting six global education themes. This exhibition was displayed in the State Library and the public were invited to engage with the installations and the student teachers who created them. Our paper describes how the project was implemented by means of close collaboration between the QUT teacher educators, curators at the State Library of Queensland (SLQ), and student groups working on visually translating their understandings of global educational issues into a public exhibition. We discuss what was learned by our students and ourselves, as teacher educators, by engaging in this public pedagogy.

Reaching for the Arts in Unexpected Places: Public Pedagogy in the Gardens.

Abstract: What constitutes public pedagogy? The term is broad and can be applied in so many situations and settings to the learning that occurs outside of formal schooling. In this article, the author explores how a community event - a painting competition held in a Melbourne suburb's botanic gardens - constitutes public pedagogy. The event centres on appreciation of the gardens, and on fostering the arts in the community. Local schools and residents have shown their appreciation of the competition through increased participation over the past five years. However, there is much learning that is unexpected and far less tangible, which flourishes beneath the surface of the event. Capturing a collective memory of the suburb is one aspect of such learning that is historically significant. The author argues that the event can also be seen as activist in a political sense, through the way it has restored the arts to the community in a way that education in a neo-liberal climate is currently unable to do.

Memories in motion: Learning, process, history and art in public space

Abstract: This essay presents an art project as an example of two aspects of public pedagogy. The first, is that the project critically examined how history is made, and through art-making and installation it performed an alternative publishing of history. Secondly, the art project was utilised as both a process and outcome within public space, and through this contributed to raising awareness for both participants and audience about the politics of public space. Through both aspects the project shed light on acts of public pedagogy as a process of questioning our normal relationships with history and public space. Memories in Motion was a project where learning took place within a particular public space by moving through, documenting and researching it. This learning was generated into artworks, which were then taken and placed back into that space. These actions disrupt the normal conventions of learning about history and of public space, and shift the agency of telling history and using public space to the students.