Lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, through trial and error and sharing stories of succ... more Lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, through trial and error and sharing stories of successes and failures, have resulted in progress in the quest to resume what we refer to as normal or regular college life for students, faculty, and staff. However, it is doubtful that we will ever get back to the exact same situation that we were in prior to March of 2020, and that may not even be an appropriate goal for which to strive. We can learn from this pandemic and continuously improve what we do based on lessons learned rather than simply focusing on getting back to some sort of prepandemic "normal" state. This article and this entire edition of New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education are part of those efforts to document our experiences so we all can learn from them and move forward with that knowledge in mind. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
In contemporary times, undergraduate adult education programs have to respond to changing student... more In contemporary times, undergraduate adult education programs have to respond to changing student profiles and needs, institutional requirements, marketplace and workplace demands, and emerging technologies. Students in these programs tend to be non-traditional learners who are usually older and employed. They come with an array of prior learning experiences in life, work, and community contexts. These motivated learners have diverse reasons for wanting to engage in academic studies in adult education: They require knowledge of adult education to become trainers in business and industry; they have been educators, but they need to know what's new to enhance and update their everyday pedagogical practices; they seek a university credential to ensure a new future; they need new learning for job transitions; they need to learn new modes of assessment; they want to work with industry partners to write curricula. This list of reasons is far from exhaustive. Considering the kinds of no...
Purpose Jean Hunter Morrison (1915-1973) was a leading thinker and writer for the Canadian Associ... more Purpose Jean Hunter Morrison (1915-1973) was a leading thinker and writer for the Canadian Association of Adult Education (CAAE) in its formative years (1940-1950), yet her name and her contributors to adult education are basically unacknowledged. Like many of her female colleagues, her memory has been overshadowed by the male heroes of the 20th century adult education world. Histories of the field announce the charisma of Moses Coady (Dodaro & Pluta, 2011), the wisdom of Jimmy Tompkins (Lotz & Welton, 2000), and the leadership of Roby Kidd. Though there has been some cursory attention to women in the Antigonish Movement (Neal, 1998), by and large, the women from the early days have been forgotten or indeed were never well known. Jean was one of these women—intellectual, gifted, industrious; this paper analyses her contributions through a critical gendered lenses to highlight how she contributed to the building of the CAAE in its early years. Theoretical Framework and Sources. This ...
Nowadays, anyone who wishes to combat lies and ignorance and to write the truth must overcome at ... more Nowadays, anyone who wishes to combat lies and ignorance and to write the truth must overcome at least five difficulties. He must have the courage to write the truth when truth is everywhere opposed; the keenness to recognize it, although it is everywhere concealed; the skill to manipulate it as a weapon; the judgment to select those in whose hands it will be effective; and the cunning to spread the truth among such persons. (Brecht 1966, 133)
Van der Pijl, K. (1993). The sovereignty of capital impaired. Social forces and codes of conduct ... more Van der Pijl, K. (1993). The sovereignty of capital impaired. Social forces and codes of conduct for multinational corporations. In H. Overbeek (Ed.), Restructuring hegemony in the global political economy: The rise of transnational neo-liberalism in the 1980s
B o o k r e v i e w s I have been teaching qualitative research methods for more than four decade... more B o o k r e v i e w s I have been teaching qualitative research methods for more than four decades. I offered my first course to undergraduate sociology majors at the University of Illinois in the fall of 1966. The next year I began teaching a course called ‘Field Methods’ to graduate students. I have taught an evolving version of this course, now called ‘Advanced Interpretive Methods’, every year since (except for sabbaticals). In 1966 there were no qualitative research methodology textbooks. There was a large body of work connected to the Chicago School on case study, life history, participant observation, interviewing, analytic induction, naturalistic observation, ethics, and an emerging discourse on triangulation and the use of multiple methods. Grounded theory was on the horizon. My lectures from these two courses became The Research Act (Denzin 1970). Students did field projects, interviewing, taking notes, and observing behavior in public places—drug stores, taverns, fraternities, sororities, athletic events, buses, classrooms. They turned in their research reports and I graded them in terms of completeness, and attention to detail. They took three essay exams over the logic of different methods of inquiry. I saw myself training a new generation of Chicago school sociologists, and used the works of Blumer, Hughes, Strauss and Becker as my models. I had no teaching model to draw upon, other than books and articles on specific methods. I did not understand that I was teaching students methods for representing social action and making the world visible. Fast forward to the present. Rosalind Hurworth’s opens her wonderful new book with these lines:
New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2016
This chapter proposes a spiritually relevant and social justice pedagogy that assists learners in... more This chapter proposes a spiritually relevant and social justice pedagogy that assists learners in making the transition to the workplace. Key elements of this spirituality include religion, cultural diversity, identity, health, and social class. Pedagogical strategies for infusing this spirituality in the curriculum are given.
International Encyclopedia of Adult Education, 2005
The process of un/making an encyclopedia is inherently and deliberately complex and ambiguous. Ye... more The process of un/making an encyclopedia is inherently and deliberately complex and ambiguous. Yet, the gaze of academic readers and the ever-vigilant eye of the marketer/publisher suggest that such ambiguity is theoretically sanctioned but practically outlawed. The predilection of many readers for false clarity and of many publishers for “accessible” work is in itself a contestable political position (Lather, 1996). Yet, the un/makers of this encyclopedia have resisted simplicity in favor of a more complex re-reading of our field of adult education. Indeed, our entire process has been an unfolding one that has invited many voices and challenging points of view, all of which confer value on the nuanced readings that ambiguity affords.
Abstract Spirituality has become an important area of study and practice for those interested in ... more Abstract Spirituality has become an important area of study and practice for those interested in adult education. Yet, the interest of scholars and practitioners is often confined to the positive aspects of the topic and is often devoid of questions, challenges and criticality. This essay carefully examines the notion of spirituality and argues that a robust, critical and engaged understanding of the topic needs to incorporate insights from religion and the critical social sciences, insights that are necessarily difficult to manage and negotiate. The author offers cases of the intersection of spirituality and gender, race and conflict, as a way to highlight the complexity of spirituality, and to argue for continuous engagement with its contradictions and challenges.
European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 2014
By Leona M. English and Peter Mayo. (Rotterdam: Sense Publishers., 2012) 269 pp., ISBN 9789460917... more By Leona M. English and Peter Mayo. (Rotterdam: Sense Publishers., 2012) 269 pp., ISBN 9789460917684 (electronic bk.)
The authors draw upon their earlier research examining how feminists have negotiated identity and... more The authors draw upon their earlier research examining how feminists have negotiated identity and learning in international contexts or multisector environments. Feminism in Community focuses on feminist challenges to lead, learn, and participate in nonprofit organizations, as well as their efforts to enact feminist pedagogy through arts processes, Internet fora, and critical community engagement. The authors bring a focused energy to the topic of women and adult learning, integrating insights of pedagogy and theory-informed practice in the fields of social movement learning, transformative learning, and community development. The social determinants of health, spirituality, research partnerships, and policy engagement are among the contexts in which such learning occurs. In drawing attention to the identity and practice of the adult educator teaching and learning with women in the community, the authors respond to gender mainstreaming processes that have obscured women as a discernible category in many areas of practice.
Lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, through trial and error and sharing stories of succ... more Lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, through trial and error and sharing stories of successes and failures, have resulted in progress in the quest to resume what we refer to as normal or regular college life for students, faculty, and staff. However, it is doubtful that we will ever get back to the exact same situation that we were in prior to March of 2020, and that may not even be an appropriate goal for which to strive. We can learn from this pandemic and continuously improve what we do based on lessons learned rather than simply focusing on getting back to some sort of prepandemic "normal" state. This article and this entire edition of New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education are part of those efforts to document our experiences so we all can learn from them and move forward with that knowledge in mind. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
In contemporary times, undergraduate adult education programs have to respond to changing student... more In contemporary times, undergraduate adult education programs have to respond to changing student profiles and needs, institutional requirements, marketplace and workplace demands, and emerging technologies. Students in these programs tend to be non-traditional learners who are usually older and employed. They come with an array of prior learning experiences in life, work, and community contexts. These motivated learners have diverse reasons for wanting to engage in academic studies in adult education: They require knowledge of adult education to become trainers in business and industry; they have been educators, but they need to know what's new to enhance and update their everyday pedagogical practices; they seek a university credential to ensure a new future; they need new learning for job transitions; they need to learn new modes of assessment; they want to work with industry partners to write curricula. This list of reasons is far from exhaustive. Considering the kinds of no...
Purpose Jean Hunter Morrison (1915-1973) was a leading thinker and writer for the Canadian Associ... more Purpose Jean Hunter Morrison (1915-1973) was a leading thinker and writer for the Canadian Association of Adult Education (CAAE) in its formative years (1940-1950), yet her name and her contributors to adult education are basically unacknowledged. Like many of her female colleagues, her memory has been overshadowed by the male heroes of the 20th century adult education world. Histories of the field announce the charisma of Moses Coady (Dodaro & Pluta, 2011), the wisdom of Jimmy Tompkins (Lotz & Welton, 2000), and the leadership of Roby Kidd. Though there has been some cursory attention to women in the Antigonish Movement (Neal, 1998), by and large, the women from the early days have been forgotten or indeed were never well known. Jean was one of these women—intellectual, gifted, industrious; this paper analyses her contributions through a critical gendered lenses to highlight how she contributed to the building of the CAAE in its early years. Theoretical Framework and Sources. This ...
Nowadays, anyone who wishes to combat lies and ignorance and to write the truth must overcome at ... more Nowadays, anyone who wishes to combat lies and ignorance and to write the truth must overcome at least five difficulties. He must have the courage to write the truth when truth is everywhere opposed; the keenness to recognize it, although it is everywhere concealed; the skill to manipulate it as a weapon; the judgment to select those in whose hands it will be effective; and the cunning to spread the truth among such persons. (Brecht 1966, 133)
Van der Pijl, K. (1993). The sovereignty of capital impaired. Social forces and codes of conduct ... more Van der Pijl, K. (1993). The sovereignty of capital impaired. Social forces and codes of conduct for multinational corporations. In H. Overbeek (Ed.), Restructuring hegemony in the global political economy: The rise of transnational neo-liberalism in the 1980s
B o o k r e v i e w s I have been teaching qualitative research methods for more than four decade... more B o o k r e v i e w s I have been teaching qualitative research methods for more than four decades. I offered my first course to undergraduate sociology majors at the University of Illinois in the fall of 1966. The next year I began teaching a course called ‘Field Methods’ to graduate students. I have taught an evolving version of this course, now called ‘Advanced Interpretive Methods’, every year since (except for sabbaticals). In 1966 there were no qualitative research methodology textbooks. There was a large body of work connected to the Chicago School on case study, life history, participant observation, interviewing, analytic induction, naturalistic observation, ethics, and an emerging discourse on triangulation and the use of multiple methods. Grounded theory was on the horizon. My lectures from these two courses became The Research Act (Denzin 1970). Students did field projects, interviewing, taking notes, and observing behavior in public places—drug stores, taverns, fraternities, sororities, athletic events, buses, classrooms. They turned in their research reports and I graded them in terms of completeness, and attention to detail. They took three essay exams over the logic of different methods of inquiry. I saw myself training a new generation of Chicago school sociologists, and used the works of Blumer, Hughes, Strauss and Becker as my models. I had no teaching model to draw upon, other than books and articles on specific methods. I did not understand that I was teaching students methods for representing social action and making the world visible. Fast forward to the present. Rosalind Hurworth’s opens her wonderful new book with these lines:
New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2016
This chapter proposes a spiritually relevant and social justice pedagogy that assists learners in... more This chapter proposes a spiritually relevant and social justice pedagogy that assists learners in making the transition to the workplace. Key elements of this spirituality include religion, cultural diversity, identity, health, and social class. Pedagogical strategies for infusing this spirituality in the curriculum are given.
International Encyclopedia of Adult Education, 2005
The process of un/making an encyclopedia is inherently and deliberately complex and ambiguous. Ye... more The process of un/making an encyclopedia is inherently and deliberately complex and ambiguous. Yet, the gaze of academic readers and the ever-vigilant eye of the marketer/publisher suggest that such ambiguity is theoretically sanctioned but practically outlawed. The predilection of many readers for false clarity and of many publishers for “accessible” work is in itself a contestable political position (Lather, 1996). Yet, the un/makers of this encyclopedia have resisted simplicity in favor of a more complex re-reading of our field of adult education. Indeed, our entire process has been an unfolding one that has invited many voices and challenging points of view, all of which confer value on the nuanced readings that ambiguity affords.
Abstract Spirituality has become an important area of study and practice for those interested in ... more Abstract Spirituality has become an important area of study and practice for those interested in adult education. Yet, the interest of scholars and practitioners is often confined to the positive aspects of the topic and is often devoid of questions, challenges and criticality. This essay carefully examines the notion of spirituality and argues that a robust, critical and engaged understanding of the topic needs to incorporate insights from religion and the critical social sciences, insights that are necessarily difficult to manage and negotiate. The author offers cases of the intersection of spirituality and gender, race and conflict, as a way to highlight the complexity of spirituality, and to argue for continuous engagement with its contradictions and challenges.
European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 2014
By Leona M. English and Peter Mayo. (Rotterdam: Sense Publishers., 2012) 269 pp., ISBN 9789460917... more By Leona M. English and Peter Mayo. (Rotterdam: Sense Publishers., 2012) 269 pp., ISBN 9789460917684 (electronic bk.)
The authors draw upon their earlier research examining how feminists have negotiated identity and... more The authors draw upon their earlier research examining how feminists have negotiated identity and learning in international contexts or multisector environments. Feminism in Community focuses on feminist challenges to lead, learn, and participate in nonprofit organizations, as well as their efforts to enact feminist pedagogy through arts processes, Internet fora, and critical community engagement. The authors bring a focused energy to the topic of women and adult learning, integrating insights of pedagogy and theory-informed practice in the fields of social movement learning, transformative learning, and community development. The social determinants of health, spirituality, research partnerships, and policy engagement are among the contexts in which such learning occurs. In drawing attention to the identity and practice of the adult educator teaching and learning with women in the community, the authors respond to gender mainstreaming processes that have obscured women as a discernible category in many areas of practice.
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