This paper focuses on the power dimension of social practices. The study sought to understand the literacy-related practices of a retired woman without a high-school diploma in everyday life and community activities. It drew on social practice theories, the New Literacy Studies, and transformative learning. The ethnographic approach chosen to…

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are a relatively new form of education, offered by some of the best-known universities and attracting many hundreds of thousands of students. The authors describe MOOCs and the claims made about them and analyze two major impacts of these programs based on the first MOOC offered by McGill University. The first…

The study of workplace learning and informal learning are not new to adult education and pedagogy. However, the use of mobile devices as learning tools for informal learning in the workplace is an understudied area. Using theories on informal learning and constructivism as a framework, this paper explores informal learning of registered nurses…

This empirical study uses auto-ethnography to describe a higher education pedagogical process that facilitated largely doctoral students in preparing their candidacy proposals through the use of specific adult learning principles. Students' experiences and points of view of such a learning environment were explored, including: (1) how they…

This literature review shows that independent learning and self-improvement were promoted in early nineteenth-century Canada. However, learner autonomy in the working classes faltered in the face of lack of resources and political opposition. (SK)

In January 1980, TVOntario, a television network operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, introduced a new concept in adult learning, the TVOntario Academy. It consists of a combination of high broadcast-quality television programming, a computer-managed learning (CML) system, and especially designed courseware aimed at…

The extent and distribution of self-reported learning activities in the current Canadian adult population was estimated on the basis of data collected during a 1998 telephone survey of a sample of 1,562 Canadian adults. Random digital dialing was used to give all provinces, households, and individuals within households an equal chance of…

Project REDEAL (Research and Evaluation of Distance Education for the Adult Learner) has designed a three-semester system for distance education. Design features have been recommended to maximize personal learner success as well as to have an impact on indicators of success. The individualized instructional environment recommended is a specific…

An adult literacy program at M'Chigeeng First Nation (Manitoulin Island, Ontario) helps learners become aware of themselves, their skills, family dynamics, and community involvement. The holistic approach uses the Seven Grandfathers' teachings of the Ojibway to develop mind, body, spirit, and emotions. The program is defining self-management and…

This paper on adult informal learning is divided into four sections. Section 1 examines different conceptions of informal learning and the issues and limitations associated with alternative definitions of informal learning. Section 2 is a review of empirical research on the estimated extent, role, and outcomes of informal learning and posited…

These 16 papers provide as complete a picture as possible of the current efforts in self-directed learning (SDL) application and research. The papers are: "Challenging Some Myths about Self-Directed Learning Research" (Long); "Childhood Experiences as Origins of Self-Directed Learning Experiences" (Long, Stubblefield);…

A study to explore organizational conditions that facilitate workplace learning involved 35 resource development consultants in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and line staff from 22 organizations in a 9-hour participatory research workshop using Appreciative Inquiry--a technology emphasizing the positive or "life-giving" forces which…

A description is provided of the training and counseling materials and methods prepared by the Saskatchewan NewStart and the Training Research and Development Station. Following a brief review of the concept of social inventions, summary descriptions are provided of nine adult education courses. These are: 1) Life Skills, which focuses upon…

This book contains nine case studies of collaboration in distance education. The case studies focus on such aspects of collaboration in distance education as the following: roles of individual institutional partners; importance of personal relationships; benefits of collaboration to individual partners; conflicts between collaboration and…

A common pattern in all studies of adult learning is that informal learning seems to be a very normal, very natural human activity. A 30-year old study and the 1998 Livingstone study show parallel findings. One of the most important findings is that about 90 percent of people had done some sort of intentional learning in the last year. The 10…