Mobile and participatory cultures have led to widespread change in the way we communicate; emphasizing user generated content and digital multimedia. In this environment, informal learning may occur through digital and networked activities, with literacy no longer limited to alphabetic and character-based texts. This article explores adult…

This paper reports on the rehabilitation of ex-offenders through non-formal education. It examines how non-formal education has addressed the ex-offenders' adaptive and transformative needs. Using an interpretive paradigm and qualitative approach, individual interviews were conducted with five ex-offenders who were chosen through purposive and…

This paper examines the adult learning dimensions of protestors as they participate in a campaign to stop coal seam gas exploration in Gippsland in Central Victoria, Australia. On a global level, the imposition of coal seam gas exploration by governments and mining companies has been the trigger for movements of resistance from environmental…

Science hobbyists engage in self-directed, free-choice science learning and many have considerable expertise in their hobby area. This study focused on astronomy and birding hobbyists and examined how they used organizations to support their hobby engagement. Interviews were conducted with 58 amateur astronomers and 49 birders from the midwestern…

Flexibility and change are typically viewed as endemic features of late modernity, leading to increased emphasis on the importance of transition during the adult life course. The paper examines experiences of transition for eight contributors to a research project that collected and analysed life histories as the basis for an understanding of…

The Digital Family Oral History Pilot (DFOHP) data were collected and catalogued on a private website blog for family members to learn about their grandfather (ALP) who died without telling his own story. This study examined the outcomes and perceptions of the family members who were engaged with the pilot. A self-selected sample of 17 family…

This paper presents the findings from a multiple-case study which has investigated the impact of mobile Web 2.0 technologies on self-directed learning (SDL) of workplace learners by exploring participants' learning experiences with a mobile App. Drawing on existing literatures, we examined learners' SDL personal attributes and process in the…

Through presenting empirical research exploring the connections between popular culture and informal learning, we argue that, as predicted by concepts such as self-directed learning and transformational learning, the experience of transition has a meaningful impact on adult learning. Specifically, transitions encourage adults to engage in learning…

The problem to be investigated by this study is whether museum visitors' history content knowledge is enhanced by their museum experience and whether their lived experiences played a role in their learning. The study is based on the theories of experiential, informal and free-choice learning. A qualitative design examined the lived experiences of…

This paper explores learner progression for participants in community-based adult learning (CBAL) provision in Scotland. It focuses on learners' perceptions of progression drawn from analysis of life history interviews carried out with ten adults who had participated in community-based adult learning. The analysis of data was undertaken in three…

This paper explores the informal and social learning dimensions of activists as they learn skills and knowledge through participating in social action. In doing this I draw on Lave and Wenger's epistemology of situated learning and Bourdieu's theory of "habitus". I argue activists learn an array of community development skills in the…

This qualitative study, which takes place in a free medical clinic for low-income and uninsured patients, addresses the patients' health literacy and access to health information inside and outside of the clinic setting, as well as the strategies clinic providers use to effectively communicate health information. This study is based on participant…

This research report investigates the links between formal, non-formal and informal learning and the differences between them. In particular, the report aims to link these notions of learning to the field of sciences and engineering in Canada and the United States, including professional development of adults working in these fields. It offers…

The purpose of this interpretive qualitative research study was to explore how adult learners perceive they construct knowledge in connection to their participation in educational outreach programs, encompassing a continuum of formal, non-formal, and informal learning experiences. The study context involved three world affairs outreach education…

This qualitative case study was designed to explore whether and how a sample of domestic and international managers use two key adult education concepts--critical reflection and experiential learning--to influence changes in individual employees whom they coach. The study is based on the primary assumption that although managers do not…