Bullying is a serious problem in contemporary society because it negatively affects not only people who are victims of bullying and bystanders but also organizations and workplaces. It occurs almost everywhere including K-12 education, postsecondary education, and workplaces. Based on the author's narrative study, this article explores and…

America's adult populace has failed to keep pace with the rapid inundation of science-centric knowledge affecting nearly every facet of personal, familial, and communal life. With three out of every four American adults considered scientifically illiterate, adult civic science literacy (CSL) has reached alarmingly low levels. The purpose of…

As unemployment levels rise, so education and training move into the policy spotlight. For the government, this is a very uncomfortable place to be right now. A number of large companies have withdrawn from the flagship Work Programme--under which jobseekers are invited to take up unpaid work placements of between two and eight weeks--amid…

Good ideas have many parents, bad ones are often orphans. And since it is now 20 years since the first Adult Learners' Week in England, and the idea has been adopted and adapted to local circumstances in 55 countries, there must be something going for it. As the twenty-first Adult Learners' Week gets underway, the author reflects on the origins of…

Adult Learners' Week has whirled round again, but the author has been looking backwards. An invitation to speak at an event to mark the retirement of Richard Bolsin as General Secretary of the Workers' Educational Association prompted him at last to get hold of Jonathan Rose's "Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes." Rose's concern is…

In the current climate, the launch of the new National Careers Service in England is a cheering ray of light in a gloomy world. Despite fierce constraints on public spending, the government has secured the resources, and political will, and the Skills Funding Agency is now funding a service, which provides online and phone guidance to adults and…

The proliferation of postsecondary programs for working adults is not surprising, given the importance of a bachelor's degree to employment and higher earnings. However, the demographics of adult learners have changed significantly over the past 30 years, when degrees for adults targeted a middle-class population. Adults now return to college…

Numeracy is central to success at work and to educational progress. As "Numeracy Counts," the report of the NIACE Committee of Inquiry on Adult Numeracy Learning, pointed out, being numerate and understanding when to use maths is a vital part of being able to function in the world, as an employee, employer or entrepreneur, or as a citizen or…

The battle for an adequate careers guidance service for adults has been a long one. A succession of governments have been formally committed to lifelong learning, to broadening choice and diversity in education and training, and to asking individuals to take more control of (and pay more for) their education, but only in the last few years have…

The spending review brought a promise to protect adult and community learning as well as swingeing cuts to further and higher education and local government. In this article, some of the key players--Lynne Sedgmore, Christopher Brooks, Graham Hoyle, Maggie Galliers, Louise Hazel, Richard Bolsin, Maggi Dawson, Ruth Bond, Stuart Etherington, Brendan…

One of the most common characteristics prison inmates typically share is unsuccessful educational experiences including dropping out of school, repeating grades, and not gaining basic literacy skills. The most recent National Assessment of Adult Prison Literacy Survey (NAAPLS) by the U.S. Department of Education indicates that large disparities in…

In a country in which, even after the economic crash, there are plenty of resources to go around, people need to think hard about why inequality persists so much more strongly in Britain than anywhere else in Europe. The cause, the author wants to suggest, is a set of deep-rooted, hidden and unacknowledged beliefs, each unjustified yet passed off…

This article features Liverpool University's Go Higher, a one-year programme for adults who want to return to part-time education with a view to going on a degree course. For 10 years, Go Higher programme has been helping adults with few or no formal qualifications gain access to university-level study. The standards of learning and teaching on…

There is widespread agreement that participation in learning makes a difference to the economic and social wellbeing of individuals, families, communities and nations. Participation in learning through the life span matters. Yet, despite its clear benefits, active participation in learning remains a minority activity among adults in the United…

Since the 1980s, researchers have formed a much better understanding of how unemployment scars people's lives, not just in the short term, but sometimes for years ahead. Researchers differ on the details, but no one disagrees that the negative effects are serious and long term. In the recession of the 1980s, government schemes to improve people's…