In March 2020 the See Her Elected (SHE) programme moved its political education platform online in an initiative named SHESchool. The purpose of this case study is two-fold. Firstly, it provides an account of how an ability to adapt swiftly to the COVID-19 crisis created a successful online element to a project with a strong community education…

In this article we reflect on the challenges we have encountered regarding our teaching and learning practices as adult educators during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through narrative reflections, we grapple with this rapidly changing teaching and learning environment. Our collection of adult and post-secondary programmes were designed to be delivered…

This paper draws on both a theoretical understanding and a semi-autoethnographic approach of the lived experience of working class adult learners in higher education during the COVID-19 global pandemic. In particular, the paper warns of the doxic notion of current working class struggles being singularly attributed to COVID-19. Rather it is vital…

COVID-19 and the looming economic recession threatens adult educators' long-fought battle to create dialogical spaces for transformatory learning. Previous experience of designing and delivering community programmes to marginalised, non-traditional students, has taught us the necessity of building strong tutor-student and student-peer…

The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed an unprecedented impact on our world. In a short period of time, it has exposed deep and entrenched inequalities between and within societies and has prompted a radical rethink of the purpose and function of education. It is clearly no longer sufficient to impart learners with mere curricular knowledge. It is…

This article has been created following a process of collaborative reflective dialogue and writing between members of the Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board Community Education Team. We reflected on the experience of providing community education during the COVID-19 pandemic and mapping the next steps as we navigated living with…

A synergetic partnership of the Maynooth University Department of Adult and Community Education and the Further Education Support Services identified an educational need among Further Education and Training (FET) staff. The outcome was a jointly developed and delivered Level 9 blended learning Postgraduate Certificate in Programme Design and…

This article reviews the adult literacy campaign in the 1970s in the United Kingdom (UK) and the influence of Paulo Freire's thinking on how we worked. We argue that much adult literacy provision had been designed to 'domesticate' rather than 'liberate'. The mid-1970s 'Right to Read' campaign in the UK rejected this approach (BAS, 1974). The use…

This paper draws on narrative inquiry research: an epistolary autoethnography from a daughter to her mother written to communicate a story of powerlessness and oppression and an immense desire for liberation. The researcher sought to make meaning from her personal experience and to understand the impact of the Direct Provision System on her life.…

This paper examines the experiences of one adult educator's engagement with Freire's praxis through teaching horticulture. The principal belief of the paper is that engaging in critical dialogue and reflexive action is an evolving journey of unlearning and hope for both learners and educators. The paper suggests that trusting in Freire's…

Climate breakdown is one of the greatest challenges our world faces. Driven by social, economic, political, environmental and ideological forces, the climate crisis necessitates critical, creative, inclusive and impactful action across multiple levels of society. Adult learning is a core element of societal transitions to a more sustainable future…

The HEI FET Forum was established in 2012 for the eight Higher Education Institutions who provide initial teacher education qualifications for those wishing to work as accredited teachers in the Further Education and Training (FET) Sector. Its remit is to advance teaching, learning and research in the FET sector and to widen the Forum's engagement…

In this paper we situate a discussion of the decolonial curriculum within the context of a Brazilian postgraduate programme (MPEJA) focused on adult and youth education (EJA). We draw on the work of Paulo Freire in our discussion of decolonial thinking and its pedagogical representation within EJA in Brazil. We suggest that engagement with the…

This paper harnesses the teachings of Paulo Freire in order to give a voice to Irish adult educators. The ontological aspects of Freire's theory are central to this task. Freire's ontological understanding of the human experience finds its fulfilment in his theory of conscientization. The two pillars of conscientization are personal and collective…

In response to the exponential growth in the prevalence of autism in Ireland and 95% of all children availing of the universal free pre-school scheme, AsIAm delivered a continuing professional development (CPD) programme, to 311 adult learners. The paper reports on a multi-method evaluation of the impact of the programme on early childhood…