This article addresses the position of community art practices and the role of practitioners in urban cracks. Community art practices raise possibilities for a reconceptualisation of the concept of community and an extension of the concept of art in public space. Urban cracks are conceptualised as spatial, temporal and relational manifestations of…

The research reported in this paper is an investigation of the application of adult learning principles in designing learning activities for teachers' life-long development. The exploration is illustrated by qualitative data from a case study of adult educators' and adult learners' insights and experiences of a teacher development course organised…

This paper advocates for policy recognition of lifelong learning by institutions of higher learning and governments in Eastern Africa. Lifelong learning and lifelong education are two concepts that aim at widening access to and the participation of adult learners in the acquisition of new knowledge, skills, values and attitudes. There are many…

This article examines the conflicts and challenges that student leaders in adult basic education and literacy programs experience in balancing their leadership responsibilities with academic endeavours. Based upon a case study of an adult basic education student leadership council in New York City, the article shows that leadership activities can…

The purpose of this article is to analyze interpersonal problems among adult learners in three family literacy programs and to identify how these tensions were connected to place or distinctive community contexts. Drawing on the critical geography literature, the article argues that interpersonal problems must be understood in light of…

What kind of workplace has the so-called "new economy" created? What problems are Canadian workers experiencing? How effective are Canada's lifelong learning policies that focus on high skills development for global competitiveness? These questions were explored as part of a three year research program. During the 2003-2004 academic year, using a…

This article probes the ethics of one of the more controversial as well as exciting forms of adult education--the mode of theatre of the oppressed called "invisible theatre". Looking at claims made by practitioners--Augusto Boal's especially--and drawing on concrete theatre pieces, the author asks: What are invisible theatre's claims to…

In this paper a critical feminist theoretical framework is used to explore the challenges of creating democratic learning spaces that will foster active and inclusive citizenship for women. Three democratic considerations are addressed to assess how adult educators can create more inclusive opportunities for lifelong education for women. The first…

As part of a larger research project examining the biographies of university adult educators who entered the field between 1975 and 1985, the aim of this paper is to highlight a number of themes that have emerged from this investigation around the issue of sustaining commitment to social purpose. Our objective was to find out whether those in the…

It has long been acknowledged that adult and lifelong educators have exercised little influence over national education policies. This article addresses the issue, with particular reference to the research elements of policy advocacy. Researchers and policy-makers are distinguished and related as communities of practice and intellectual categories…

This paper is based on research into the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in South Africa. The research investigated whether, through being active members of this social movement, HIV-positive activists learn things they could not otherwise learn about their status and the epidemic, and how they put such knowledge to use. We show how activists…

Understanding the influences upon curriculum formation is an ongoing challenge for adult educators. This discussion describes one approach to curriculum analysis--the aspirational myth--based on the notion that instructors and learners co-construct an idealized identity representing the end point of learning. The aspirational myth is described…

In the context of research that reports weaknesses in adults' critical thinking skills, the primary aim was to examine adults' use of critical thinking skills that are described in taxonomies and to identify areas for development. Position papers written by an opportunity sample of 32 experienced adult educators formed the data for a descriptive…

Early school experiences of 16 adult educators indicated that past positive teacher models mirrored present concepts of ideal teachers and of themselves as teachers. Conceptions of themselves as students, formed in early experiences, influenced expectations of adult students. Teaching beliefs seem rooted in childhood or adolescent experiences and…

Analysis of Tanzanian educator Julius Nyerere's works concludes that his philosophy of adult education and lifelong learning was very progressive and his ideas on education for liberation were consistent with Paulo Freire's. He provided a sustained critique of colonialism and racism and linked principles of education for liberation to the goal of…