Educating Australian adults in an era of social and economic change

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Author(s)
Billett, Stephen
Dymock, Darryl
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2020
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The origins and focuses of adult education across Western countries are often about meeting adults’ needs, and for purposes they have nominated, not those compelled by others. Unlike other sectors (e.g.schools, vocational colleges and universities) that were mainly initiated and sustained by church or state, adult education has long been grounded in communities and provided through hybrid institutions. Across Western countries, the term ‘movement,’ is often associated with adult education’s origins, and it is sometimes regarded as a ‘fourth sector’ of education, apart from schools, vocational education and training and ...
View more >The origins and focuses of adult education across Western countries are often about meeting adults’ needs, and for purposes they have nominated, not those compelled by others. Unlike other sectors (e.g.schools, vocational colleges and universities) that were mainly initiated and sustained by church or state, adult education has long been grounded in communities and provided through hybrid institutions. Across Western countries, the term ‘movement,’ is often associated with adult education’s origins, and it is sometimes regarded as a ‘fourth sector’ of education, apart from schools, vocational education and training and university studies. In recent times, the concept has expanded and diversified, however, making it more amorphous and less distinctive as an educational ‘sector’. Nevertheless, one of the continuing features of ‘adult education’ has been its concern for adults’ learning needs and preferences. This paper proposes that the formation and continuity of adult education have been based particularly on three key premises: i) meeting adults’ specific but heterogeneous learning needs; ii) educational purposes and purposes being understood in the local context; and iii) the enactment of adult education being shaped by local considerations. Furthermore, the values underpinning ‘traditional’ adult education have not only been sustained in what is now more commonly known as Adult and Community Education (ACE) but have expanded into other educational contexts. Informed by considerations of selected research projects the authors have been involved with in recent years, this paper identifies how the three premises have emerged as features of other educational provisions for adults.
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View more >The origins and focuses of adult education across Western countries are often about meeting adults’ needs, and for purposes they have nominated, not those compelled by others. Unlike other sectors (e.g.schools, vocational colleges and universities) that were mainly initiated and sustained by church or state, adult education has long been grounded in communities and provided through hybrid institutions. Across Western countries, the term ‘movement,’ is often associated with adult education’s origins, and it is sometimes regarded as a ‘fourth sector’ of education, apart from schools, vocational education and training and university studies. In recent times, the concept has expanded and diversified, however, making it more amorphous and less distinctive as an educational ‘sector’. Nevertheless, one of the continuing features of ‘adult education’ has been its concern for adults’ learning needs and preferences. This paper proposes that the formation and continuity of adult education have been based particularly on three key premises: i) meeting adults’ specific but heterogeneous learning needs; ii) educational purposes and purposes being understood in the local context; and iii) the enactment of adult education being shaped by local considerations. Furthermore, the values underpinning ‘traditional’ adult education have not only been sustained in what is now more commonly known as Adult and Community Education (ACE) but have expanded into other educational contexts. Informed by considerations of selected research projects the authors have been involved with in recent years, this paper identifies how the three premises have emerged as features of other educational provisions for adults.
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Journal Title
Australian Journal of Adult Learning
Volume
60
Issue
3
Publisher URI
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Adult Learning Australia. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal link for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Education systems
Continuing and community education
Curriculum and pedagogy
Specialist studies in education