The concept of organizational culture has been central to the development of concepts, such as the learning organization and organizational learning, which are important within the field of adult education. However, the functionalist models of organizational culture, which have often relied on ethnographic and/or anecdotal studies of organizations…

A 3-year research program on workplace learning was based on action research and involved the gradual implementation of "Work Activity Briefings" every 2 weeks or whenever a major task was to be undertaken at selected construction sites managed by an Australian mining and construction company. The briefings were regular meetings between…

The different views regarding what constitutes learning success and progression in England's post-16 learning sector and the problem of meeting current policy and funding priorities stressing tangible and measurable outcomes while simultaneously responding to learners' needs and preferences were examined in a discussion that drew upon policy…

Experiences with computer education at the Bank of America suggest that, when educating nontechnical people to use computers, formal learning environments are not as effective as informal learning environments. It has become increasingly necessary to use informal training to educate the approximately 4,000 people who need the training because of…

This document provides European social partners' responses to the Commission's memorandum on lifelong learning. Part 1, Opinion of the European Center of Enterprises, makes comments and proposals related to the memorandum's six key messages, which are new basic skills for all; more investment in human resources; innovation in teaching and…

To take community seriously in the conduct of educational research, the researcher should consider taking down epistemological walls and the "real" ones that confine the processes and products of academic labor to artificially isolated settings. Epistemologically, the question of walls relates to the kinds of knowledge competed over,…

The 12 articles in this monograph discuss the value of informal learning for children, and suggest how basic skills can be reinforced at school, home, and within community groups and institutions. Promising programs, practices, and activities for children are highlighted. Topics addressed include: (1) a rationale for a rededication to a holistic…

The French employers federation (MEDEF) has taken the initiative to develop a joint inter-sectoral mechanism for accreditation of occupational competences. The approach analyzes occupations at a more abstract level than the tasks performed within a specific job to facilitate comparison of different occupations from different sectors and allow…

The pilot project, "A Pedagogy of the Land" (POL), provides an opportunity to ponder the relations between aboriginal community/university knowledges in this case, the relations between an Anishinaape land-based pedagogy and the developing theorizing around formal and informal learning. Traditional aboriginal education is not limited to…

This document contains six papers about and from a roundtable discussion of poverty alleviation, work, and adult learning. The "Introduction" (Madhu Singh) presents an overview of the roundtable. "Work-Related Adult Education: Challenges and Possibilities in Poverty Areas" (Enrique Pieck) describes work-related adult education…

This document contains three papers on transfer of training and human resources. "The Effect of Organizational Support, Management Support, and Peer Support on Transfer of Training" (Susan E. Cromwell, Judith A. Kolb) reports on a longitudinal study of work environment factors that affect transfer of training in a university supervisory…

Recent empirical and theoretical literature was reviewed to examine how the dynamics of class, gender, and race affect adult learning in nonformal and informal settings. The following were among the key findings: (1) social dynamics such as class, gender, and race influence individuals' development of their self or subjectivity, which in turn…

The term "cooperative and mutual enterprises" (CMEs) was developed in 1999 by a mutuality task force in Oxfordshire, England, as a modern way of reasserting the notion of the adult education movement as a cooperative movement for social (democratic) inclusion. CMEs recall the tradition of learning through clubs, unions, mechanics'…

This paper attempts to raise awareness and stimulate debate about the family as a focus for developing learning in the United Kingdom (U.K.). The discussion focuses on the following aspects of the issue: the nature and scope of family learning; families as a place for learning; context; development of family learning; patterns of provision;…

We reflect on methodological issues arising in two of our own research projects as a form of practice, as a way of engaging in a praxis of project research. The projects chosen for this purpose are themselves concerned with teacher education and curriculum development in environmental education: they include participatory "reflective…