This article provides a comparative analysis of the ways in which learners are portrayed in researchers' descriptions of adult literacy education policy. Although adult learners are rarely referred to directly in policy or in policy research, a range of assumptions about them may be inferred through close analysis of related research literature.…

This article considers the contributions of Indigenous knowledges to educational research. It proposes the term "comparative Indigenous education research" (CIER) in an effort to promote Indigenous-centred research approaches in comparative and international Indigenous education studies. Through CIER, Indigenous peoples and communities…

The demand for literacy in sub-Saharan Africa -- as throughout most regions of the world -- is directly linked to the uses to which those skills can be put in everyday life. Although educators know a good deal about the dynamics of learning itself, many are typically much less familiar with the detail of literacy's actual usages in the labour…

Spurred on by rapid advances of technology, massive open online courses (MOOCs) have proliferated over the past decade. They pride themselves on making (higher) education available to more people at reduced (or no) cost compared to traditional university schemes and on being inclusive in terms of admitting vast numbers of students from all over…

The idea of "sustainability" as a core value has slowly permeated policy and practice at governmental and institutional levels, in public and private policy. However, at times when social and economic crises have revealed the fragility of existing institutions and policies, it is important to consider how sustainability is -- and could…

This article begins by looking at two reports, commissioned in the second half of the 20th century to investigate the impact of social change on education and to propose strategies for tackling new challenges arising from this. The first report, published in 1972, was the so-called Faure report (named after French lawyer and politician Edgar…

This reflective think-tank contribution begins by comparing advocacy and research as distinct modalities of professional and social action. In practice they frequently elide and merge into one another. While alliance and complementarity between the two modalities is constructive for shaping policy and practice, it poses risks when governments and…

The issue of language of instruction (LOI) and its effects on education in Tanzanian secondary education has been widely researched since the early 1980s. In 2009, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training proposed a new education and training policy that allows English to be used as LOI from nursery school to tertiary education. The…

The national language of Tanzania is Kiswahili. However, Tanzania has two official languages: English, introduced in colonial times, and Kiswahili, the actual "lingua franca" spoken by 99 per cent of the population. Kiswahili websites and internet content are gradually increasing, and equipment is becoming more affordable. The research…

The "Belem Framework for Action" underlines, among many other issues, that quality in adult learning and education must be holistic and multidimensional both as a concept and in practice, using various tools such as partnerships with higher education institutions. Bridging adult and higher education is difficult, but the lifelong…

This paper considers the question of what education for sustainable development (ESD) research might signify when linked to the concept of "retention", and how this relation (ESD and retention) might be researched. It considers two different perspectives on retention, as revealed through educational research trajectories, drawing on existing…

Addressing the central theme of the XIII World Congress, the paper explores a number of contemporary theoretical, methodological and organisational developments in the field of comparative education. In doing so it draws upon the author's recent work and a selection of studies carried out in the South Pacific, the Caribbean and Africa. It is…

The aim of this article is to make initial suggestions as to how certain aspects of adult literacy and numeracy education would benefit from research resources. The author identifies several issues affecting literacy research, such as limited research capacity and lack of a shared international forum. He then discusses four aspects in more detail:…

Between 1970 and 1973 the Comparative Research Unit at the University of London King's College investigated the social and educational implications of rapidly increasing full-time enrollments at the upper secondary level in England, Germany, France, Italy and Sweden. The methods and results of investigation are summarized in this paper. (Editor/RK)

Evidence from an investigation of Australian adolescents in school is used to clarify the concept of alienation which has been used to describe students' attitude to school. Article further considered the role of the student and the role of the worker, the world of school and the world of work. (Editor/RK)