Recent years have witnessed a renewed interest in the role of museums and cultural festivals in adult learning. Once considered the keepers of physical and cultural history, there was only limited concern for if and how adults learned from these settings. The conventional view held that museums provided knowledge, and it was an individual's…

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…

Teachers' lounges are often thought as places that breed negativity. This two-year ethnography conducted in the United States explored teachers' interactions within teachers' lounges and congregational spaces. This article discusses that an important occurrence in these spaces, professional knowledge sharing, took place instead of perpetual…

The Government says it wants to see a "revolution" in informal adult learning. It is calling on universities to take "a more strategic approach to the current and future needs of the economy". Yet, as it sets out its plans for both these objectives, higher education institutions across England are contemplating the closure of…

This "at a glance" publication investigates the idea of "informal learning", which has been described as an iceberg: "mostly invisible at the surface and immense in its mostly submerged informal aspects" (Livingstone 2000). It does so in order to offer some definitional clarity for those needing to uncover that…

This comprehensive exploration of theoretical and practical aspects of out-of-class teaching and learning, from a variety of perspectives and in various settings around the world, includes a theoretical overview of the field, 11 data-based case studies, and practical advice on materials development for independent learning. Contents of this book…

The Government's informal adult learning consultation attracted 5,500 responses. Last month it published a reaction promising to work closely with partners to develop a strategy. Some of those partners were asked what they wanted to see in the strategy and their responses are presented in this article.

Policy interest in international surveys on Adult Learning (AL) has increased strongly. AL survey data are used as benchmarks for a country's educational system. However, results of key indicators like participation in learning activities often vary remarkably between different data sources. Stating that these differences are due to varying…

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…

In this article, the author introduces Vox, Norwegian Institute for Adult Learning, an agency of the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research that focuses mainly on improving basic skills in the adult population in the areas of literacy, numeracy and the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT). Vox is responsible for curriculum…

The taking up of an "educative" mantle has proven to be a complex task for museums, filled with many unknown and/or misunderstood factors. Of the vast assortment of educational opportunities museums afford their adult patrons and staff, the majority fall into one or two learning categories: either they are nonformal or informal. In effort to…

In this article, the authors set the scene for this research volume. They sought to emphasize and broaden their interest and concern about their "Learning to be drier" theme in this edition to the 77 per cent of Australians who live within 50 km of the Australian coast, the majority of whom also live in major cities and urban complexes.…

The topic of informal learning and work has quickly become a staple in contemporary work and adult learning research internationally. The narrow conceptualization of work is briefly challenged before the article turns to a review of the historical origins as well as contemporary theories and methods involved in researching informal learning and…

This article aims to develop a paradigm of lifelong learning situations. The starting point is the EU-Commission policy document where three kinds of learning situations are identified: formal, non-formal and informal. The article tries to deepen this categorisation by searching for the underlying ontological and epistemological dimensions. The…

In this article, the authors write about the myth of the "silver surfers"--those third-age learners adept at using the internet and other technologies for a mixture of formal and informal learning episodes. The notion of the silver surfer has endured since the latter half of the 1990s. It is sustained by the annual Silver Surfer week, media…