The current interest in the role of lifelong learning and cultural engagement for change is not new. This article looks at a most unusual precedent and a neglected area in the historiography of adult education--the use of cultural education provision in asylums in the nineteenth century to promote cure and restoration of the "insane" to society.…

This paper contextualizes and analyzes a study of an ongoing series of visual arts workshops for women, commissioned from the Centre for Continuing Studies, Edinburgh College of Art, by clients in Dubai. The focus of workshops was on women from the Gulf taking "leadership" courses in Dundee, but they were also vehicles for Gulf women to engage in…

This study aimed to assess how the university of Catania conceptualised its new role, considering the principal ways that other European universities are changing. The research was focused on assessing the level of awareness of the university's ability to spread and promote lifelong learning (LLL), its role in promoting awareness, innovation and…

This paper reports on research into community-based men's sheds in Australia, focusing on how regular activity in these sheds impacts on the informal learning experiences of the mainly older men who use them. It leads to an exploration and reflection on how men's learning experiences in such sheds might inform adult and vocational education in…

In New Zealand there are four university-based centres for continuing education which provide non-credit short courses. This paper presents data from a survey which was conducted with the intention of building understanding of the cohort of learners who attend short non-credit courses, to better understand their views and values and to determine…

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study that explored the impact of neo-liberal policy and ideology on educators and directors working in second-chance Private Training Establishments (PTEs) which were created at the height of the neo-liberal reforms in New Zealand. By examining the experiences of 14 educators and directors in four…

The aim of this paper is to focus on the development of HE/CE in Sweden as a transition from a non-academic context to an academic context and a current trend back to a non-academic context considering the nature of the transitions, facilitating factors in these processes and consequences of the transitions. Generally health professional higher…

This paper presents the initial findings from a study of education system in Nepal. This paper examines the adult learning opportunities within the educational and cultural contexts by reviewing available literature relevant to Nepal. Findings show that there are wider opportunities for adult learning than those considered from education and…

The Council of Europe's lifelong learning project affirmed the role of higher education in promoting social cohesion and equal access to lifelong learning opportunities. The need to change formal structures to accommodate nontraditional methods was recognized. The impact of information/communications technologies on educational processes and…

Review of adult education literature reveals the absence of the concept of whiteness and three types of responses: color- blind perspectives, multicultural education, and social justice issues. To widen access involves "barrier thinking": recognition of the implicit messages of discrimination the academy delivers to racial minorities. (Contains 28…

Seven adult learners in a facilitated learning center appreciated the learner-centered model focused on personal empowerment, literacy development, learning to learn, mastery, and independence/inclusion. Instructional design places learners' knowledge and experience ahead of curriculum and focuses on learning for life, not work. (SK)

The opportunities paradigm assumes that participation in lifelong learning is positive and voluntary, yet discourse analysis reveals pervasive pressure to be permanent learners. Recent research suggests that learners may switch between discourses of compulsion and self-realization, and they may combine participant and nonparticipant identities.…

The Dual System of apprenticeship in Germany is comprehensive, highly regulated, and highly regarded by participants. changes may include greater flexibility or differentiation. Modern Apprenticeship in Scotland is highly fragmented, voluntary, and held in low esteem. A legislative framework and consensual governance may be required. (Contains 60…

Describes action research conducted in a Partnership in Scotland designed to help local people improve their living conditions through economic, environmental, social, and educational efforts. Action research and the use of Quality Circles resulted in the identification of educational problem areas and a plan for educational improvement. (SLD)