In recent years, technological advancements have enabled higher-learning institutions to offer millions of independent learners the opportunity to participate in open-access online courses. As this practice expands, drawing considerable media attention, questions continue to arise regarding pedagogical methodology and the long-term viability of…

This paper explores the professional development literature in the educational setting. The different literature pieces are aligned to a framework that requires effective professional development to focus on three concepts: content, context, and process. The content focuses on the "what" question in the programs while the context aims to…

Home-based, early intervention programs as a preferred delivery model are widely endorsed, heavily funded and highly utilized as prevention and remediation initiatives for families with young children (Eckenrode, et al., 2010; Karoly, Killion, & Cannon, 2005). Of concern, is that while an estimated 40 billion dollars are spent annually between…

Leadership programs have been extensively promoted in rural communities in Australia. However, few have been evaluated. The results of the evaluation of a rural leadership program provided in this paper highlight the need for adult learning theories to be more overtly identified and utilised as the basis of planning and implementing leadership…

This paper discusses fundamental theoretical issues in relation to education on inclusion. These issues inform core decisions about initial teacher education courses and in-service teacher-training programmes on inclusion. International and local discussions and research in this area formed the background for the design and implementation of a…

People over 65 (or older people) are a growing proportion of the population in many developed countries including Australia. In the last 10 to 12 years interest from this group in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the Internet has also grown considerably. ICT has much to offer older people as a means of keeping in…

This article analyzes teacher professional development (PD) mandated by the implementation of portfolio-based language assessment (PBLA) in government-funded adult language learning programs in Canada. Through the lens of conceptualizations of teacher learning (TL), the study examined PBLA teacher-training materials, 247 teacher surveys, and…

This study explores the similarities and differences between adult language learners' and their teachers' attributions of perceived success and failure in learning English as a foreign language in an intensive program. It examines attributions along with three dimensions: locus of causality, stability and controllability. 319 students and 81…

This year's conference theme, "Informing, Reforming, and Transforming: The Vital Role of Adult Education in Challenging Times," challenged conference leaders to examine adult education from a different lens and consider new opportunities for research and practice that support the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education's…

This paper elaborates on a number of key criticisms of Mezirow's transformative learning theory as well as providing arguments that validate it. Our paper exemplifies how Mezirow's theory can help adult educators and prospective school teachers understand that social structures and belief systems can influence student learning, that learners make…

Building on narratives of students in adult education in Sweden, where the majority of the students are young adults, this paper argues that adult education has both negative and positive aspects in helping individuals to be recognised as valuable. Students, often part of the precariat class, have not always been able to survive in the job market…

Several usability issues were encountered during the design of a blended e-learning program for a course in evidence-based medicine for general practice trainers. The program was developed in four steps. We focused in this article on step 2 and 3. Step 2 focused on which educational principles to apply, that is, which learning theories,…

This qualitative study illustrates how complex perceptions of identity influence the community college experience for student veterans who have been in combat, creating barriers to their overall persistence. The collective experiences of student combat veterans at two community colleges in northwestern Massachusetts are presented, and a Combat…

The 25th anniversary of the founding of ACT UP provides a moment to reflect on the group's unquestionably profound effects on the management of HIV/AIDS, the queer community, the history of social movements in this country, and even the development of queer theory in the academy. But it should also encourage individuals to consider the ways in…

There are many treatments currently available for stuttering, for both children and adults. These range from direct interventions intended to reduce the severity and/or frequency of the speech behaviors of stuttering, to those intended to alleviate the anxiety and other mental health issues that can accompany the disorder. However, as there are…