The Adult Religious Education and Faith Development project (AREFD) was launched in 2018 at the Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education, DCU. As part of the study, the research team consulted variety of people involved in AREFD across a range of contexts. The purpose of these consultations was to harness their 'lived wisdom', showcasing the wide…

This article highlights the multiple crises experienced since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 that have encouraged adult educators to rethink and revitalize their professional practices to respond to learners with understanding and care as they work through their own challenges. The reflections and perspectives shared inform our own…

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has provided individuals across the world with unprecedented experiences and challenges. This perspective piece demonstrates how following the foundational theories of adult learning allows adult educators to create a positive environment for learners in the middle of a crisis. Three self-care tips are examined…

This article discusses the interwoven disruptions caused by the multiple crises of the COVID-19 pandemic, violent incidents against persons of color, social justice concerns, and political and civil unrest. Discussion will center on how these crises impacted and continue to affect careers, schools, workplaces, and personal lives. The chapter will…

In this response, Suzanne Smythe imagines the role of new technologies in community-based education as we settle into a "new normal." This article builds upon and extends Jen Vanek's suggestions in Part 1 by drawing upon research and practice oriented to digital justice. Smythe describes her experiences as an adult literacy researcher in…

Civil society organisations were well organised in the sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) held in Belém in 2009, and influential in framing a powerful agenda for transforming adult education. Despite some successes, however, there were also frustrations in the drafting of the Belém Framework for Action (BFA). Drawing…

The value of upholding individuals' rights in society especially in this post-COVID-19 era can never be over-emphasized. The economic, political, cultural, and social rights of citizens set the parameters of what is expected by citizens from the government as we exist and socialise in society. It is also what gives the legal backing to citizens…

Higher education in the United States is currently grappling with two significant challenges that threaten its sustainability: the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a decline in enrollments, and the 2023 Supreme Court decision to prohibit affirmative action in college admissions. This essay explores how these challenges…

COVID-19 has done significant damage to individuals, families, workers and the economy. What is not known about the virus is part of the problem, and the knowledge gap drives an unprecedented and urgent search for knowledge. This article explores the challenges for lifelong learning and the relevance of transformative learning. Disorientation,…

The Recreation Management program planning course unites students and community members to develop, plan, market, and facilitate a recreation program. In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shifted course delivery to an online platform requiring faculty and community partners to create a fully online experience. This paper highlights the changes…

Learning through life, for any reason and none, improves work, health, wellbeing and active citizenship. We've known the benefits of adult education for a long time -- at L&W we've been promoting them and making the case for widening access to learning for the past 100 years. Social prescribing to adult education could be a key tool to address…

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed several inadequacies among Nigerian adults which include poor digital skills and survival techniques for adaptability in crisis. It was observed in the outbreak of the pandemic that most Nigerians lacked digital skills that was required for survival during the lockdown plus poor survival and coping…

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…

University continuing and distance education is at a crossroads. This article asserts that a radical disruption in the competitive landscape for university-based continuing education (CE) is on the immediate horizon. University CE is threatened by external trends beyond its control and will likely not survive in its present form, or survive at…

Adaptive expertise (AE) and reflective practice (RP), two influential and resonant theories of professional expertise and practice in their own right, may further benefit health professions education if carefully combined. The current societal and systemic context is primed for both AE and RP. Both bodies of work position practitioners as…