Adult education programs should turn to the deliberative democracy movement in order to help their communities better address the "wicked problems" they face. The authors contend that due to the "wicked" nature of problems in the diverse democracies, communities must develop and sustain their capacity for deliberative democracy and collaborative…

In the United States there is such incredible complacency about both the meaning of democracy and America's position as the great democratic nation that there is very little, if any, public debate on what is meant by democracy and what responsibilities Americans bear as a democratic nation. In response to the editors' growing recognition of the…

According to Colin and Lund, there is no debate regarding the fact that many white adult educators make decisions that privilege members of their racial group, peoples of European descent, over the "other." As to whether it is a conscious or unconsciousness decision on the part of white practitioners not to accept responsibility is open for future…

Today recent polls have indicated that the Canadian public considers the environment and climate change as their top concern (De Souza, 2007), perhaps eclipsed only by recent economic fears. In keeping with the historical responsiveness of adult educators, environmental adult education (EAE) is widespread across North America. However, this area…

The authors speak broadly to how the preceding chapters contribute to a description of the Canadian mosaic of adult education. They point also to further reading, as well as remaining questions about the uniqueness of our nation's field.

Ethical issues in adult education are often open-ended, complex, problematic situations. The real question is not which side is right, or to which moral choice principle practitioners must appeal, but simply how they can engage those situations intelligently and constructively. In this article, the author proposes a "meta-ethical reorientation,"…

"Fairness" and "justice" are, according to Gallie (1964), essentially contested concepts--concepts for which there are common understandings in the abstract, but disagreements over the application of these concepts to specific instances. Contested terms are often critical in ethical dilemmas--those times when practitioners are faced with choices…

This article discusses three broad themes--reflection, power, and negotiation--that are evidenced in all of the articles in this issue. In this article, the author tries to transgress the articles at some middling altitude to seek some broader thematics. His observations about reflection, power, and negotiation do transcend individual efforts,…

In this article, the author states his belief that community based learning among adults can be a powerful force for encouraging personal development and for strengthening democracy in this multicultural, globally interdependent, battered world. To do so, however, it needs to pervade all the curricula, degree programs, learning contracts, and…

This article concludes a volume on emotions and adult learning with a conversation about the book itself. In this article, the authors reflect on the ways in which the preceding articles contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of emotions in adult learning.

The French philosopher Michel Foucault asks, "What's going on just now? What's happening to everyone? What is this world, this period, this precise moment in which everyone is living? Answers to these questions have a profound impact on learning. Before probing Foucault's questions regarding the nature of this precise moment and how they relate to…

Discussion boards have the unique capacity to support higher-order constructivist learning and the development of a learning community, This chapter provides ten conditions that support the effective use of an online discussion.

This chapter uses the classroom experiences of two black women professors as a lens to examine how transformational theory affects learning and teaching. It also explores the ways in which dimensions of power have an impact on student-teacher interactions.

This chapter addresses ethical issues that can arise for an educator who ascribes to and practices from the theoretical perspective of transformative learning.

In summarizing the shared themes of the authors of the previous chapters, this chapter explores the role of the transformative educator, the transformative classroom environment, the transformative text, and the student when teaching for change.