This article examines the processes of knowledge acquisition and transmission among adults within two "communities of practice" in Humboldt Park/"Paseo Boricua," a Puerto Rican community located on Chicago's near-northwest side. In particular, we examine the ways in which two adult women engaged in learning processes and…

While official rhetoric of multiculturalism claims to value cultural diversity, everyday multiculturalism focuses on how people of diverse cultural backgrounds live together in their everyday lives. Research on everyday multiculturalism has documented ways through which people negotiate senses, sensibilities, emotionality, and relationality across…

Empirical models of transformative learning offer important insights into the core characteristics of this concept. Whereas previous analyses were limited to specific social groups or topical terrains, this article empirically typifies the phases of transformative learning on the basis of a comparative analysis of various social groups and topical…

Community wellbeing is a function of many factors working in concert to promote an optimal quality of life for all members of a community. It is argued here that the promotion of lifelong learning among older adults can significantly contribute to community wellbeing. The aging society is a worldwide phenomenon presenting both opportunities and…

Today's sociopolitical and economic conditions require adults to engage in informed, culturally sensitive coexistence. Correspondingly, adult educators need to design experiences that help prepare learners for cross-cultural collaboration and socially responsible careers in a global age. Framed through cosmopolitanism and situated learning…

Transformative learning theory and practice-based theory both offer compelling but distinct accounts of adult learning. The vicissitudes of individual meaning-making is the focus of transformative learning theory whereas practice-based accounts view participation in social practices as the key to understanding learning. Despite their differing…

As change agents in the community, community health advisors (CHAs) are a viable solution to bridge the gap between health service delivery systems and the community. With many CHAs members of the underserved and minority populations they serve, change and empowerment experienced by CHAs should be documented. This phenomenological study describes…

This article, based on an ethnographic study of an urban General Education Development (GED) program, suggests that for some marginalized young men of color, Adult education programs are counter-spaces of spatial justice in opposition to previous negative school spaces. Framed by critical race theory (CRT) and drawing on critical geography and…

The purpose of this article was to identify how differing cultural factors affect informal learning in the workplace. We have introduced concepts and reviewed studies on informal learning and national culture based on an extensive literature review on the factors influencing informal learning, particularly based on five Hofstede's dimensions…

Today's society, shaped by demographic changes and a global economy, has created different employment trends and work lives that result in adults' engaging in postretirement second careers. This phenomenon is a common occurrence in rapidly aging societies like Korea. This qualitative study examined the postretirement career transition…

Mission statements of universities in developing countries usually include serving the surrounding communities. Often this service does not reach beyond lip service. This article puts into context the experience of developing an adult education research program responding to the needs of the surrounding community in a historically disadvantaged…

This article looks at popular adult educators' care of the self practices within social movements in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It answers the following questions: How is popular adult education practiced amongst educators in social movements? What can studying popular adult educators' care of the self practices offer the field of adult…

Storyville, the legalized red-light district of New Orleans (1897-1917), was a designated space containing informal opportunities for learning in which its residents practiced the sex trade. Although Storyville was created to regulate prostitution, prostitutes and madams learned the city's legal system, politics, and economics to survive in a…

In work-related instrumental learning contexts, the role of reflective activities is unclear. Kolb's experiential learning theory and Mezirow's transformative learning theory predict skill adaptation as an outcome. This prediction was tested by manipulating reflective activities and assessing participants' response and error rates…

Adult learners comprise a significant portion of current undergraduate populations, and projections indicate steady or growing numbers of adult learners in the future. Previous research has suggested that adult learners possess lower self-confidence than and face barriers not experienced by traditional undergraduate students. These constructs have…