With high unemployment and structural changes to industry, workforce development in the United States is a growing concern. Many semiskilled workers lack knowledge, skills, and abilities to be competitive for reemployment to green jobs. Nebraska's syNErgy research grant was introduced to address the training needs of unemployed and…

Within the last decade, the Community of Inquiry framework (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) has received increased attention in the field of online learning, yet little is known about applying key tenets of Community of Inquiry while leading a hybrid professional development initiative. This study describes how I established teaching and…

This mixed-methods study illustrates the implementation of Malcolm Knowles's 1986 model of learning contracts in a current Italian University context. The study attempted to improve and adapt the tool to a master's degree course at the University of Padua. Three professors conducted the integrated course, making extensive efforts to…

Humphries first defined the term "audism" as "the notion that one is superior based on one's ability to hear or behave in the manner of one who hears". Audism is a prejudice related to the physical hearing condition of the human body. The point of this article is not to substantiate or negate the term's importance but…

This study investigates the situation and practices of adult education in Turkey in terms of (a) participants, (b) providers, and (c) program areas. The data were derived from published statistical data and one-to-one interaction with adult education providers when such data are unavailable. Turkey has a long tradition of adult education with…

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…

Adult learning today takes place primarily within walled classrooms or in other indoor settings, and often in front of various types of digital screens. As adults have adopted the digital technologies and indoor lifestyle attributed to the so-called "Net Generation," we have become detached from contact with the natural world outdoors.…

"Scholar-Craftsmanship" (SC) is a quadrant methodological framework created to help social science doctoral students construct first-time dissertation research. The framework brackets and predicts how epistemological domains, cultures of inquiries, personality indicators, and research question--types can be correlated in dissertation…

The changes in the way our work is created, published, and disseminated have implications for our own professional development and require us to be aware of the necessary skills. In this article, I identify three important skills scholars need to have and tools to be effective, efficient, and productive scholars in the 21st century: information…

The new "green economy" affects adult education and workforce development as adult workers seek skills and knowledge that will help them find success in work and life. Recent years have brought about increased interest in and discussion of training for green jobs. Since the introduction of the Green Jobs Act in 2007, questions about how exactly to…

Purdue University--Mechanical, Engineering, and Technology (MET) faculty and Purdue Technical Assistance Program (TAP) staff partnered with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) to create a new workforce training program and certificate exam in the field of green manufacturing. This article describes how the body of knowledge for the…

Green jobs are currently a much-discussed topic in political, economic, and educational forums. Millions of Americans would be very glad to have one. But what are they exactly? Or more pointedly, what should they be and how can the field of adult education support their development? From the perspective of a community educator who has worked in…

The body of literature on adult learning and education for and about the environment has grown over the decades since 1970, the year of the first Earth Day. However, more than 40 years later, the question must be posed: "Are we really making the momentous progress that is essential for an ecosustainable future?" At least a partial answer may lie…

As formal learning communities, colleges and universities can readily integrate social, economic, and environmental considerations in day-to-day operational practices and curricular offerings. Moreover, a college or university can work with, and model for, the local community, implementing ideas that then can be adopted by the surrounding…

This journal issue about green jobs resulted from a preconference held at the 2011 American Association for Adult and Continuing Education Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. Interested in exploring the ways that green jobs training is being approached in the United States, this preconference seemed like an excellent way to introduce two new…