This article presents a general and overarching view on partnerships between adult education and STEM disciplines. Drawing from their individual STEM backgrounds, personal perspectives and experiences with such partnerships, and the science of team science, the authors consider the benefits of adult education for STEM, the benefits of STEM for…

In "Digital Immigrants: Leveraging the Technology Acceptance Model to Increase Digital Literacy in Older Adults," the authors delve into the vital importance of digital literacy for supporting older adults in living independently and staying connected with their community. They explore how the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which…

Mathematical dispositions, or an individual's behavioral (i.e., things they say and do), cognitive (i.e., attention and memory), and affective (i.e., emotions and beliefs) tendencies related to mathematics, are critical to the learning of mathematics and choices related to STEM. Previous research has suggested that adult learners may possess…

This article explores the design and development of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on inclusive teaching. Released in the Fall of 2023, the MOOC is particularly unique because of its intentional use of ethnically diverse voices and multimodal content to include art, music, spoken word, and storytelling. Modules range from Self and Empathy to…

Rural agriculture retailers, or those engaged in the production of food, fiber, and fuel, are pressed to find just-in-time solutions for continual learning with their adult employees, specifically millennials, the generation who will assume future leadership roles. Adult educators in rural settings, or lower populated areas, are encountering rapid…

Artificial intelligence (AI) influences many aspects of modern life and has multiple applications in the delivery of healthcare. AI is designed to mimic human capabilities including pattern recognition, data analysis, and decision-making and perform tasks more efficiently. It is capable of detecting patterns in large datasets that might elude…

This article takes an international perspective on adult learning and disinformation, exploring how they have recast the global landscape. In particular, we address former president Trump's naming of certain Caribbean and African nations as "shithole countries," as well as other related experiences, and work to locate these comments…

Digital literacy is a crucial skill set within the social, political, and economic contexts of 21st-century society. Around the world, governments are making a concerted effort to develop digital literacy within adults, as indicated through Sustainable Development Goal 4. However, working learners from a variety of backgrounds and geographies…

This chapter highlights several of the significant design and facilitation considerations used to support adult working learners pursuing online learning across educational contexts. These include the integration of inclusive online learning practices, the design and facilitation of quality interactions in the online environment, and application…

This paper explores the impact of technological advances and digital transformations, with a particular focus on the "future of work" and its implications for lifelong learning and adult working learners. We emphasize the pressing need for human-centric solutions to address complex human challenges that technology alone cannot resolve,…

Along with the rapidly changing social and economic context accompanied by COVID-19, concerns have been raised for the less-educated, low-wage workers who disproportionately experienced disadvantages in accessing workplace learning or training opportunities essential for job placement or career development. In response to the challenges of…

This article focuses on adult working learners who attend postsecondary institutions in Canada and the United States. We identify how these institutions deliver curriculum and instruction in the form of career-technical education (CTE) and vocational education offering occupational credentials. In British Columbia and the U.S., most vocational…

This article aims to examine how to improve the support for working learners in their learning and education based on the findings of the issue's articles. For this, I focus on describing what can be learned from the articles' findings and, based on that information, discuss directions and practices necessary to support adult working learners. I…

Climate change denial is often rooted in an array of conspiracy theories with climate change itself viewed by some as the real conspiracy. While not all of us are climate change conspiracy theorists, it is upsetting for most of us to learn and accept that our climate is changing, that it is primarily human-caused, and that it is harming people,…

In this article, I discuss the academic field of adult education as it relates to critical media literacy, critical public pedagogy, social and civic activism, and higher education in this era many have labeled "post-truth." I ask readers to reconsider the traditional university tenure process and the academic publishing industry as…