This article discusses the findings of qualitative case-study research that looks at pedagogical contexts of adult education programs for migrants in Cyprus, Scotland, Malta, and Estonia. The goal of this research is to understand how Learner-Centered Education (LCE) is promoted within a human-rights framework and implemented as an approach to…

Scholars have demonstrated that a range of institutions, organizations, and "social movement schools" aimed to advance the civil rights movement through education. What remains unclear is how those institutions balanced conversation, direct instruction, role-play, and other pedagogical methods. This article focuses on the Highlander Folk…

Citizenship education played a crucial role in the 19th century transition from royal sovereignty to democracy in the Nordic region, with folk high schools (FHS) playing an important role. While established to empower the people ("folk") for active participation in society, the contemporary folk high schools have reoriented from their…

This article presents evidence of the links between human rights education and social change by analyzing the long-term effects on 88 trainers engaged in a non-formal adult training program sponsored by a women's human rights group in Turkey, Women for Women's Human Rights--New Ways. In this article, I show the transformative impacts of carrying…

This chapter considers Theme 4 of the "Hamburg Declaration": Adult learning, gender equality and equity, and the empowerment of women. It has a fourfold purpose. It begins with a review of the balance of progress to date in conceptualizing gender. Second, it examines the objectives of CONFINTEA V and VI from a gender perspective. Third,…

This article analyzes the participation of civil society in the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education held in Belem do Para, Brazil, 1-4 December 2009. As a foundation, the discussion first illuminates the important role that civil society in general plays in democratic issues and the relation between the state and society followed by…

This article presents the International Council of Adult Education (ICAE) 8th World Assembly Declaration (June 2011). This declaration focuses on adult educators' conviction in the possibility of a "world worth living in," and their declaration of their collective determination to work towards making it a reality all around the planet.

This case study analyzes the introduction of democracy and human rights into the educational program of Tostan, a nongovernmental organization working in Africa. The authors show how Tostan's original educational approach created a meaningful context for integrating democracy and human rights into its curriculum, a process that took place from…

Influenced by Myles Horton's vision and leadership, the Highlander Folk School became an adult education program centered on social change via the labor and civil rights movements. In this article, I examine the pedagogy and practice of Myles Horton and the Highlander Folk School and identify the key themes that guided their educational approach…

Literacy by itself cannot change oppressive conditions. It can only be an instrument in the struggle against social, economic, and political oppression. Examples of literacy as a political act may be found in the work of Paulo Freire and in projects that follow the tradition of the Highlander Folk School. (SK)

These five papers represent original research on various issues important to the field of adult education that draws on Syracuse University's collection of adult education materials. "Back to the Future with C. Wright Mills and the Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults" (Ollie Owen) provides background on Mills, the…

In this paper we provide a North American perspective as we explore the formation and comprehension of queer knowledge in adult education and in larger sociocultural contexts. We consider the need to position queer in adult education mindful of how queer is historically and currently positioned in culture and society. In doing so, we articulate…

Social movements in South Africa, often organized around class-related issues, provide rich material to illustrate how class, intertwined with other social categories, shapes organizational and educational practices.

As a leader of social change in the South, Myles Horton (1) unionized southern textile workers and coal miners and advanced civil rights through his Highlander school; (2) conducted Highlander workshops for black leaders; (3) first popularized the song "We Shall Overcome"; and (4) initiated Citizenship Schools to help blacks register to…

May Justus started teaching at elementary schools in Appalachia in the 1930s. She believed that mountain schools were the center of community life and drew subject matter from the needs of the students rather than imposing a curriculum designed by professional educators. Teaching arts and crafts and operating a communal soup pot at the school, she…