So, what exactly is narrative learning? And why should adult educators know about it and use it in practice? Well, the short answer to both questions is that one makes sense of all experience by narrating it (constructing it as a kind of story), so understanding how narrative works will make the practice of adult educators more effective. But…

Instructors in academic settings may be naturally inclined to view their students from the outside, their style of communication, their level of competence and engagement, or their punctuality with attendance and assignments. Consequently, they risk missing the rewards afforded by the view from the inside. Autobiography can be an important means…

By honoring the narrative complexity of personal identity, adult educators can assist older persons in the process of autobiographical learning, that is, learning about themselves and from themselves by reflecting on the stories through which they have defined themselves across the years. In this chapter, the author aims to sketch a conceptual…

Digital storytelling is a dynamic and beautiful marriage of narrative and technology that is proving to be a potent force in educational practice. Interest in the multiple applications of digital storytelling has burgeoned in recent years. A growing body of literature has explored the ways in which digital storytelling is being employed in various…

This chapter critically examines six political television narratives: The Weather Channel, The Fox News Channel, "24," "The Rachel Maddow Show," "The Daily Show," and "Torchwood." The implications of those television narratives, their impact on adult learners, and suggestions for classroom practice are discussed.

The author has felt for many years that stories and dialogue are at the heart of good teaching and learning environments. In the classes that have shaped her learning and development the most, the teaching and learning roles were shared and interchangeable. These environments were rich with narrative, voice, dialogue, and spaces for all to speak…

Narratives are seen as intimate expression, a form of revelation, and a way of constructing a bridge of understanding between the narrator and the audience. However, narratives are also a way of understanding the world, the communities, and one's families. In this chapter, the author first examines how narratives can be used for personal…

Democracy is the most venerated of American ideas, the one for which wars are fought and people die. So most people would probably agree that leaders should be able to lead well in a democratic society. Yet, genuinely democratic leadership is a relative rarity. Leading democratically means viewing leadership as a function or process, rather than…

The author describes how the political struggles of immigrant domestic workers challenge the destructive logic of a global capitalist patriarchy. She uses her involvement in the political struggles of immigrant domestic workers as the foundation of both a critique of the destructive logic of global capitalist relations as well as a description of…

Every human enterprise is governed, including graduate programs in adult education. To govern is to conduct the policies, actions, and affairs of that enterprise. But who governs a graduate classroom, how will the apparatus of government be formed, and whose interests will that government serve? These questions are at the core of any program…

Many colleges and universities across the country are dealing with fiscal crises and other pressures by renewing their commitment to strategic planning and clarifying their institutional missions and visions. In times of upheaval and change, attention is inevitably drawn to how decisions are made and by whom. By focusing on those who have nurtured…

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the intersection of three facets of the Community Writing Project's (CWP) small writing workshops that are at the core of its democratic practice: (1) legitimating the experiences and stories of ordinary people as expressions of their cultural work in the world; (2) fostering a mutual relationship of the…

The Open Book, an adult literacy program in Brooklyn, from 1985-2002, remains, for many of the students and staff involved, a defining experience in their lives, a time that allowed them to see different possibilities, for themselves and society. In an attempt to preserve the field's collective historical memory, the authors in this chapter…

The adult basic education field in the United States has experienced an ebb and flow of interest and investment in "worker education" over the past three decades. Although the rhetoric around workplace basic skills tends to focus on such outcomes as productivity and competitiveness, some proponents of worker basic education see it as a…

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…