America's adult populace has failed to keep pace with the rapid inundation of science-centric knowledge affecting nearly every facet of personal, familial, and communal life. With three out of every four American adults considered scientifically illiterate, adult civic science literacy (CSL) has reached alarmingly low levels. The purpose of…

Rural community colleges have an often understated impact on the communities they serve, especially in regard to their role in developing the identity of individuals. The ability of the rural community college to influence individual identity development is often exasperated due to the challenges associated with rural American life. The role of…

Nonformal education is learner-centered and provides knowledge in a practical manner to participants. Master Gardener is a nonformal extension horticultural program that includes extensive requirements to earn certification. The purpose of this study was to examine the Mergener Education Participation Scale (M-EPS) to evaluate adult motivations to…

"I Wonder" boards are a teaching strategy that can be used in the classroom, as well as during science learning opportunities in nonformal settings, such as after-school science programs or summer camps.This simple strategy has led to deeper science exploration in 4-H, as young people learn alongside program staff, teachers, or…

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore docents' perceptions of their interpretive role in art museums and determine how those perceptions shape docents' practice. The objective was to better understand how docents conceive of their role and what shapes the interpretation they give on tours to the public. The conceptual…

Definitions, differences and relationships between formal, non-formal and informal learning have long been contentious. There has been a significant change in language and reference from adult education to what amounts to forms of learning categorised by their modes of facilitation. Nonetheless, there is currently a renewed interest in the…

This qualitative phenomenological study engaged 20 young, low-income credit union members who participated in financial education classes at Denver Community Credit Union. The study explored learning experiences that generated changes in money management behaviors and sought evidence of transformational learning in a nonformal education setting.…

This article considers the value of flexibility and free choice in learning, and examines the increasing recognition of the evolving and wide range of appropriate environments for learning, such as the workplace, the home, the community, and the virtual world. This "Lifeplace Learning" is compared to the requirements and visions of the…

In the following case study, we examine the interplay between self-perception, environmental perception, and the interests and practice of volunteer trail guides who were recruited to provide educational services for visitors to a natural reserve in Northern California. Through semi-structured interviews with 15 guides and observations of training…

The promotion of adult functional literacy programs per se, neither creates the necessary motivation for learning, nor enhances the participation of adult learners in work-oriented or socio-cultural functional literacy programs. The task in learning-teaching transaction is to create the enabling environment for harnessing and enhancing…

Human capital and the ability to innovate and to adapt to the demands of modernization are closely linked with levels of education, and especially of involvement in continuous education. A study of the situation in Russia suggests that for the immediate future it is more important for Russia's modernization development to give priority to catching…

The "Belem Framework for Action" underlines, among many other issues, that quality in adult learning and education must be holistic and multidimensional both as a concept and in practice, using various tools such as partnerships with higher education institutions. Bridging adult and higher education is difficult, but the lifelong…

Many state FFA associations conduct summer camps focusing on leadership and personal development for FFA members. Interestingly, little research has been conducted on the impact or outcomes of these common activities. The purpose of this split-plot factorial repeated-measures experiment was to assess the level of campers' learning of the…

Community based learning and outreach is a strategy through which academic institutions worldwide including University of Ghana have successfully stayed relevant to less privileged communities; they exist in bringing benefits of education to their (less privileged communities) doorstep. Learner's participation has been an objective that any adult…

Trade unions and other sites of community-labour organizing such as workers centres are rich, yet contested spaces of education and knowledge production in which both non-formal and informal / incidental forms of learning occur. Putting forward a critique of dominant strands of worker education, the authors ask what spaces exist for social…