This paper focuses on learning that takes place outside formal classrooms within groups or teams. Based on the conceptual framework of informal learning, adult learning and lifelong learning, it investigates how two contrasting groups of adult learners in Vietnam, Mekong doctors and Hanoi hairdressers, learn, interact, and collaborate through…

Adult education is a significant feature of the Taiwanese education landscape and is recognized as significantly contributing to national economic development. Given the importance of adult education in Taiwan, an investigation of teaching approaches and an understanding of interplay of teaching approaches with Taiwanese culture is worthwhile…

Active Aging Learning Centers (AALCs) are scattered across various townships and districts in Taiwan and attract students with diverse backgrounds. Therefore, cultivating positive learning environments at AALCs is crucial. Influenced by Confucianism, ethnic Chinese societies emphasize interpersonal relationships, and traditional Confucian…

The authors of this article consider Western teaching and learning alongside Confucian teaching and learning through reviewing the literature. The paper emphasizes that we must teach lower order thinking skills first before we teach higher order thinking skills, and confirms that rote learning and memorization precede critical thinking and…

In this essay Charlene Tan offers a philosophical analysis of the Singapore state's vision of shared citizenship by examining it from a Confucian perspective. The state's vision, known formally as "Our Shared Values," consists of communitarian values that reflect the official ideology of multiculturalism. This initiative included a White…

This paper presents a critical analysis of the transnational interplay of cultural, educational and economic forces that culminated with the establishment of a Chinese language and cultural centre in Peru, the Confucius Institute. Confucius Institutes are government-sponsored cultural centres devoted mainly to Chinese language education around the…

Globalization and technology advancement are creating more biculturalism at workplaces and learning settings. However, little is known about acculturation experience and its influence on a person's cultural values and learning preference. The research reported in this study investigates the impact of acculturation experiences upon the relationship…

In order to analyze the impact of human capital theory on contemporary Chinese education, this paper first draws a conceptual outline of how this theory was introduced and interpreted to suit the Chinese quest for modernization. The study then adopts a comparative historical approach to the points of similarity between Neo-Confucian educational…

With respect to leadership for social justice in education, Korea needs to take a proactive approach to support the development of an educational infrastructure for a multicultural society. The testing culture of education within Korea also needs to be considered with social justice consequences in mind. Through these measures, Korea can…

The philosophy and practice of lifelong learning has a long history in China, being traceable to Confucius's idea (circa 500 BC) of "education for all". However, very little research has been done on the development of the Confucian idea of lifelong learning in ancient China, or on its influence on current practices of lifelong learning…

This article reports the results of a study designed to determine whether the teachings of Confucius (liberal and behavioral teaching approaches) or Western teaching approaches (humanistic, progressive, radical and analytic teaching approaches) shaped adult education in Taiwan. Thirty-nine randomly selected adult educators from three premium…

The experiences of Chinese learners on two e-learning programmes in China were investigated, focusing particularly on the formation of learning communities. Data were collected using a range of instruments to access the learners' perspectives in depth and detail. Archer's account of reflexivity as the mediating power between structure and agency…

Drawing from Bloom's 1956 Taxonomy and Western theories on adult learning, the authors argue that adult teaching methods in China feature a teacher-centered, information-based and test-driven instructional format. An author-designed survey instrument called Lower-Order Thinking Skills and Higher-Order Thinking Skills (LOTSHOTS) was used to…

As our understanding of learning focuses on the whole person rather than individual aspects of learning, so the process of learning is beginning to be studied from a wide variety of perspectives and disciplines. This handbook presents a comprehensive overview of the contemporary research into learning: it brings together a diverse range of…

The Commission on International Adult Education (CIAE) of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) provides a forum for the discussion of international issues related to adult education in general, as well as adult education in various countries around the globe. The following purposes summarize the work of the…