This article demonstrates that the presence of radical discourse in an educational field is not necessarily evidence of criticality in practice. Appropriated by policy and practitioners within a web of power relations, radical discourse may come to act on practice in ways which are antithetical to its theoretical origins. To illustrate this…

This article offers an ethnographic case study of two Adult Basic Education (ABE) teachers' characteristics and their literacy instruction. It draws on the New Literacy Studies tradition and used ethnographic tools (in-depth interviews, classroom observation and the think-aloud protocol) to explore the characteristics of two ABE teachers and…

This article investigates the role of the arts in enabling prisoners to engage with learning and improve their literacy, and the impact this has on their rehabilitation and desistance from crime. It draws on data collected from prisoners who participated in arts interventions in three different Scottish prisons. It argues that participating in the…

This paper explores three different ways in which workers experience and react to managerial attempts to mould and shape their identities. It provides illustrations of three theoretically-derived identity modalities: "dramaturgical selves"; "conformist selves"; and "resistant selves". The paper shows how the relationship between personal and…

This article describes an innovative continuing professional development (CPD) programme for experienced English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers, and a research study into its impact. The programme incorporates the principles of Practitioner Research (PR) and focuses in particular on the skills of data analysis and situated…

This paper introduces the significant body of research on everyday literacies that has developed over the last 20 years and links it with the concerns of those working in the field of lifelong learning. It starts by briefly introducing debates about adult informal learning. It goes on to discuss ethnographic and interview studies of everyday…

This paper arises out of recognition of the shared importance of psychodynamic theory in our approaches to teaching and research. We demonstrate how psychodynamic ideas--broadly defined as encouraging people to engage more closely with thoughts and feelings that may be hidden from the conscious mind--can be applied in many, diverse, and radical…

Examines the problem-based perspective and the pedagogy of problem-based learning. Outlines alternative philosophical perspectives for professional education. (SK)

Assesses the contributions of Paulo Freire and considers whether his philosophy and approach can be applied in adult and community education today. Suggests that so-called radical education has not addressed epistemological questions, leaving the nature of knowledge unquestioned. (SK)

Explores the topics of power and authority, teaching style and method, intention, and the personhood of participants. Concludes that, if power is misused or the teaching-learning relationship is inauthentic, then teaching can symbolically violate the autonomy of the individual. (SK)

This narrative of group processes in an adult education class explores the role of facilitator and group; the anxiety, discomfort, and satisfaction of group membership; maintenance and task functions of the group; and the inherently ambiguous nature of group process. (SK)

The learning process may be described as personal maps of reality--the way in which individuals construct knowledge and how new experiences change the maps. When new material is encountered, learners place it somewhere on their maps; the teacher's role is to relocate it closer to the learner. (SK)

Reviews the life and work of British adult educator Raymond Williams, including his ideological bases, teaching methods, and publications post-World War II to 1960. Includes 195 reference notes. (SK)