On September 22, 2011, Sharan Merriam visited Brock University to give a Distinguished Speaker Lecture. Based on her research about the future of adult education within a global context, Merriam's lecture sets the tone for this special issue on the impact of globalization for adult education and higher education. Subsequently, the authors of this…

This profile of Howard Yale McClusky depicts his pioneering role in adult education as statesman, spokesman, interdisciplinary bridge-builder, teacher, scholar, and role model. (SK)

Proposes a second, noncommodified sector in which citizens receive wages for socially essential activities. Suggests that those completing two years in the second sector would acquire vouchers for vocational training and further education. (SK)

The process of adult transformation should be the focus of environmental adult educators. Examination of the life histories of adults reveals what, where, and how they learn about the environment, what they do with this information, and how this learning contributes to adult transformation. (SK)

Malcolm Knowles' career in human resource development has spanned more than 50 years. This article describes some of his achievements in adult education and presents tributes from colleagues. (JOW)

Basic methods of learning, most of which have been used through centuries of recorded thought, are discussed, along with learning as a lifelong process, and ways to enhance and diversify modern education. Numerous learning processes are studied by examining the lives of great individuals who have exemplified innovative and multifaceted approaches…

In opposition to the dominant economic agenda in adult education, a new cultural psychology of learning and development emphasizes learning as a social goal and fosters understanding of how people survive, rebuild, and learn through difficult times. Reflective conversations with an unemployed man illustrate the emotional and social processes of…

The biographical method derives information from life histories to understand how and why adults transform themselves. Three types of transformation are (1) old-new, transforming new information to a familiar, safe environment; (2) home-abroad, achieving emancipation by exploring unfamiliar environments; and (3) inside-outside, elaborating a…

These papers on adult education in Australia are grouped into four parts: (1) articles concerning some directors of university extension and adult education; (2) a paper entitled "Who Killed the WEA (Workers Educational Association)--A Footnote to History"; (3) two papers called respectively "Sir Keith Hancock--A Tribute from a…

Discusses the life of Bengt Skytte, the Swedish supranationalist in education, science, and culture; the assumptions about knowledge upon which higher education policy in Sweden is based; self-evaluation in higher education; adult Swedish education; and new rules for study circles which are widely used in adult education in Sweden. (RM)

The "biography of place" can be available in the objective (currently valid and predominant) history of a given region of residence or it can be created by individuals in the process of reflections on their own social identity, which is defined by their place of living. Each perspective is conditioned by an epistemological and…

These 11 papers consider the older learner as a consumer of education and examine how the concepts of education, educators, institutions, and learners must be revised if educational involvement in later life is to be regarded as the norm. Following a prologue, "Education and the Interpretation of Life Experience" (Michel Philibert), the…

The Life History Project at Denmark's Roskilde University is a 5-year research project that was initiated in 1998 to examine learning and participation in adult and continuing education from a life history perspective. The project was designed to build on a broad range of qualitative interview studies and case studies into learning processes. The…

The question of how to theorize the subjective side of work within a life history perspective was explored. The findings of a study on engineers' subjective recognition of their lives, their education and jobs, and their life perspectives and the findings of a study of continuing education within a number of white-collar and semiprofessional work…

The question of where "women returners" to education are returning from was examined through an exploration of the life histories of 18 women in southern England. The study focused on the biographies of women who regarded themselves as primarily responsible for the care of others and yet whose aspirations involved some form of continuing…