Most administrators of adult learning programs are hired with the expectation that they will be leaders and managers. Leadership and management are two disparate points on a continuum with a fair amount of overlap in the middle. (Author/JOW)

"Learning for Life--a New Framework for Adult Skills," a thought-provoking report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), manages to be both passionate and well argued. Resulting, in part, from a series of policy seminars during 2006, it makes an interesting contribution to current debates. Simone Delorenzi advocates the…

The author asks whether adult education tutors for the Open University should undertake educational counseling of their students. He points out that most tutors would require some formal training in counseling before they would be qualified to do so. (Author/CH)

Managers have been conceptually deskilled, including social skills. Definitions of social skill are formulated by the administrative and social sciences, often in response to organizational problems. Thus, the management process is shaped by the current managerial ideologies embraced by organizational leaders. (Author/CH)

Forces that will affect trainers into the next century include rapid change, information overload, globalization, downsizing, empowerment, and remote worksites. Key characteristics of a 21st-century trainer include performance orientation, technical skills, social skills, self-employability, bilingualism, and international competence. (JOW)

This document addresses the recommendation on developing teacher certification that is appropriate to adult education that was made in California's 1989 Strategic Plan for Adult Education. Following an executive summary, chapter 1 offers a history and summary of the recommendation and lists its objectives. Chapter 2 is a review of relevant…

Examines professional certification and its definitions and purposes. Implications of professional certification for adult education are provided as well as a list of important questions regarding certification that adult educators should critically analyze. (CT)

The author observes that the report from the Council on the Continuing Education Unit, "Principles of Good Practice in Continuing Education," is a list of reductive, formal stipulations that imply that adults are not capable of self-directed learning. (CT)

Criteria for judging the professional status of continuing education include clarification of professional mission, mastery of theoretical knowledge, practical knowledge, self-improvement, credentialing/assessment, public acceptance, and ethical practice. (SK)

Describes major trends in adult learning; i.e., expanded focus on career choice and preparation, changing roles in the workplace, skills training in the community, and changing lifestyles. Views positive communication skills, group skills, career balance, wholistic thought, creative management, and educational brokering skills as essential…

The strengths of continuing education academic programs--offering courses in nontraditional patterns to attract adult students--bring them into conflict with the traditions of a research university. At issue are the qualifications of the faculty, the students, the quality of the education, and the appropriateness of continuing education's…

Issues to be resolved in the professionalization of adult education include (1) identification and quantification of practitioners and programs; (2) identification of professional competencies and practice standards; and (3) certification--whether, how, and by whom. (SK)

Suggests that "competence" is a component of power-knowledge practices that regulate adults through a process of self-regulation. Argues that competency-based education is a means of producing consent without using oppression or force in reproducing the social order. (SK)

This document is a summary of the collective product of a session at an adult education seminar. It lists first reasons why individuals attended the session. Next, characteristics of a good teacher are listed. Other lists cover these topics: techniques to improve teaching, characteristics of adult learners, reasons adults return to school, and…

The emergence of the European Union challenges adult education, the aims of which are relevant to the union--peace, democracy, and human rights. Adult education must be made a priority beyond the narrow confines of vocational training. (SK)