Pub Date : 2024-02-13DOI: 10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4841
Ted Fleming
Two research projects undertaken ten years ago explored the experiences of mature students’ access, progression and drop-out in higher education, relying on Habermas and Honneth for sensitizing concepts. This paper explores the implications of undertaking this research today adopting a different set of sensitizing concepts and in the process transforming the identity of the researcher. To this end, this paper moves beyond Habermas and Honneth to the critical theory of Negt and Kluge as a source of new sensitizing concepts informing a reimagined researcher and research project. Their work on experience, its dialectic nature, imploitation, obstinacy – as an alternative to resilience – and a sociological imagination are explored in order to identify possible new sensitizing concepts for researching adults returning to higher education. Implications for transformative adult education will be identified.
{"title":"Transformative Learning Transforming Research","authors":"Ted Fleming","doi":"10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4841","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4841","url":null,"abstract":"Two research projects undertaken ten years ago explored the experiences of mature students’ access, progression and drop-out in higher education, relying on Habermas and Honneth for sensitizing concepts. This paper explores the implications of undertaking this research today adopting a different set of sensitizing concepts and in the process transforming the identity of the researcher. To this end, this paper moves beyond Habermas and Honneth to the critical theory of Negt and Kluge as a source of new sensitizing concepts informing a reimagined researcher and research project. Their work on experience, its dialectic nature, imploitation, obstinacy – as an alternative to resilience – and a sociological imagination are explored in order to identify possible new sensitizing concepts for researching adults returning to higher education. Implications for transformative adult education will be identified.","PeriodicalId":43613,"journal":{"name":"European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139839588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-13DOI: 10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4733
Samantha Jane Broadhead, Sharon Hooper
This article considers an arts-based project, Learning Returns (2023), that seeks to capture the experiences of adults who have returned to arts study after some time away from formal education. The aims of the project are twofold: firstly, to evaluate the combination of narrative inquiry and digital film-making hosted on YouTube as a method of investigating adult learning and secondly, through an analysis of the Learning Returns content, to discover what themes the participants considered important to communicate to an imagined, virtual audience. The findings suggested that the aesthetics of the videos/films interconnect with the lived experiences of the participants. The participants were able to give an account of their experiences spontaneously, and at the same time communicate messages of hope to prospective adult returners. It was also discovered that the editing process offers a means of analysing the content of the films that is analogous to the approaches associated with qualitative research.
{"title":"How can arts-based methods support narrative inquiry into adult learning in the arts?","authors":"Samantha Jane Broadhead, Sharon Hooper","doi":"10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4733","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4733","url":null,"abstract":"This article considers an arts-based project, Learning Returns (2023), that seeks to capture the experiences of adults who have returned to arts study after some time away from formal education. The aims of the project are twofold: firstly, to evaluate the combination of narrative inquiry and digital film-making hosted on YouTube as a method of investigating adult learning and secondly, through an analysis of the Learning Returns content, to discover what themes the participants considered important to communicate to an imagined, virtual audience. The findings suggested that the aesthetics of the videos/films interconnect with the lived experiences of the participants. The participants were able to give an account of their experiences spontaneously, and at the same time communicate messages of hope to prospective adult returners. It was also discovered that the editing process offers a means of analysing the content of the films that is analogous to the approaches associated with qualitative research.","PeriodicalId":43613,"journal":{"name":"European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139779767","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-13DOI: 10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4733
Samantha Jane Broadhead, Sharon Hooper
This article considers an arts-based project, Learning Returns (2023), that seeks to capture the experiences of adults who have returned to arts study after some time away from formal education. The aims of the project are twofold: firstly, to evaluate the combination of narrative inquiry and digital film-making hosted on YouTube as a method of investigating adult learning and secondly, through an analysis of the Learning Returns content, to discover what themes the participants considered important to communicate to an imagined, virtual audience. The findings suggested that the aesthetics of the videos/films interconnect with the lived experiences of the participants. The participants were able to give an account of their experiences spontaneously, and at the same time communicate messages of hope to prospective adult returners. It was also discovered that the editing process offers a means of analysing the content of the films that is analogous to the approaches associated with qualitative research.
{"title":"How can arts-based methods support narrative inquiry into adult learning in the arts?","authors":"Samantha Jane Broadhead, Sharon Hooper","doi":"10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4733","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4733","url":null,"abstract":"This article considers an arts-based project, Learning Returns (2023), that seeks to capture the experiences of adults who have returned to arts study after some time away from formal education. The aims of the project are twofold: firstly, to evaluate the combination of narrative inquiry and digital film-making hosted on YouTube as a method of investigating adult learning and secondly, through an analysis of the Learning Returns content, to discover what themes the participants considered important to communicate to an imagined, virtual audience. The findings suggested that the aesthetics of the videos/films interconnect with the lived experiences of the participants. The participants were able to give an account of their experiences spontaneously, and at the same time communicate messages of hope to prospective adult returners. It was also discovered that the editing process offers a means of analysing the content of the films that is analogous to the approaches associated with qualitative research.","PeriodicalId":43613,"journal":{"name":"European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139839687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-13DOI: 10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4844
José González-Monteagudo, Teresa Padilla-Carmona, María A. Tenorio-Rodríguez
This paper investigates the characteristics and both material and emotional costs of upward social mobility through university education in Spain and the Dominican Republic. A comparative qualitative study has been carried out, based on biographical-narrative interviews, with a sample of 6 Dominican students and 9 Spanish students coming from an economically disadvantaged background. The results show the social mobility experiences and expectations of the participants and their families, with different nuances in the two contexts. The need to combine study with work is one of the main costs of university. The primary coping strategy in both countries is material and symbolic family support, but additional coping mechanisms to persist in studies are also evident. The conclusions highlight both the perspectives developed by the participants and the critical role of structural dimensions (social background, national context, recent history, economy, social values, culture, religious beliefs) in understanding their experiences in the university context.
{"title":"Perspectives, aspirations and perceived support students with low economic and cultural capital in the university in Spain and Dominican Republic","authors":"José González-Monteagudo, Teresa Padilla-Carmona, María A. Tenorio-Rodríguez","doi":"10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4844","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4844","url":null,"abstract":"This paper investigates the characteristics and both material and emotional costs of upward social mobility through university education in Spain and the Dominican Republic. A comparative qualitative study has been carried out, based on biographical-narrative interviews, with a sample of 6 Dominican students and 9 Spanish students coming from an economically disadvantaged background. The results show the social mobility experiences and expectations of the participants and their families, with different nuances in the two contexts. The need to combine study with work is one of the main costs of university. The primary coping strategy in both countries is material and symbolic family support, but additional coping mechanisms to persist in studies are also evident. The conclusions highlight both the perspectives developed by the participants and the critical role of structural dimensions (social background, national context, recent history, economy, social values, culture, religious beliefs) in understanding their experiences in the university context.","PeriodicalId":43613,"journal":{"name":"European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139781332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-15DOI: 10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4695
Johanna Kallio
This article presents ecological thinking of the Finnish educational philosopher, Urpo Harva (1910–1994). Harva's theories of adult education are strongly linked to the theory of self-cultivation developed in Finnish educational theory particularly in the early 20th century, according to which adults need to develop themselves as moral agents in their relations with others and the ecological environment to reach mature adulthood. In addition to his work as a professor, Harva was an active social debater, writing a significant number of columns and essays for Finnish magazines. The present article uses abductive content analysis on 31 of these columns and essays written between 1971 and 1994 to uncover the basics of Harva’s environmental adult education theory. The analysis showed that readers are encouraged to adopt a “biophilic” or nurturing attitude towards nature, as this will provide the necessary skills for ensuring a more sustainable future.
{"title":"Cultivating the biophilic self","authors":"Johanna Kallio","doi":"10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4695","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4695","url":null,"abstract":"This article presents ecological thinking of the Finnish educational philosopher, Urpo Harva (1910–1994). Harva's theories of adult education are strongly linked to the theory of self-cultivation developed in Finnish educational theory particularly in the early 20th century, according to which adults need to develop themselves as moral agents in their relations with others and the ecological environment to reach mature adulthood. In addition to his work as a professor, Harva was an active social debater, writing a significant number of columns and essays for Finnish magazines. The present article uses abductive content analysis on 31 of these columns and essays written between 1971 and 1994 to uncover the basics of Harva’s environmental adult education theory. The analysis showed that readers are encouraged to adopt a “biophilic” or nurturing attitude towards nature, as this will provide the necessary skills for ensuring a more sustainable future.","PeriodicalId":43613,"journal":{"name":"European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139273454","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The theme of social exclusion has gained visibility in recent years through political discourse. This paper problematises the issue of social exclusion by analysing the hegemonic discourse in public policies and the alternative discourse grounded on the policies of an association, a civil society organization, facilitated by migrants and their descendants. The analysis is the result of a participatory research study based on the collection of documentation and semi-structured interviews. The hegemonic discourse on social exclusion was analysed through empirical data from the perspective of those who inhabit and/or intervene in a neighbourhood that is the object of public policies targeting the so-called 'excluded'. Several paradoxes were identified between the social exclusion discourses conveyed in public policies and in the micropolitics of this association. The discourse, goals and working methods that characterise the micropolitics of the association contribute to the emergence of new forms of singularisation, through adult education initiatives.
{"title":"Social exclusion in public policies and the micropolitics of an association founded by migrants","authors":"Cármen Cavaco, Catarina Paulos, Rita Domingos, Emília Alves","doi":"10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4699","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4699","url":null,"abstract":"The theme of social exclusion has gained visibility in recent years through political discourse. This paper problematises the issue of social exclusion by analysing the hegemonic discourse in public policies and the alternative discourse grounded on the policies of an association, a civil society organization, facilitated by migrants and their descendants. The analysis is the result of a participatory research study based on the collection of documentation and semi-structured interviews. The hegemonic discourse on social exclusion was analysed through empirical data from the perspective of those who inhabit and/or intervene in a neighbourhood that is the object of public policies targeting the so-called 'excluded'. Several paradoxes were identified between the social exclusion discourses conveyed in public policies and in the micropolitics of this association. The discourse, goals and working methods that characterise the micropolitics of the association contribute to the emergence of new forms of singularisation, through adult education initiatives.","PeriodicalId":43613,"journal":{"name":"European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135854332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-13DOI: 10.3384/rela.2000-7426.5028
Danny Wildemeersch, Paula Guimarães, A. Fejes
{"title":"Editorial: Inclusion, adult education and social justice","authors":"Danny Wildemeersch, Paula Guimarães, A. Fejes","doi":"10.3384/rela.2000-7426.5028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.5028","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43613,"journal":{"name":"European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139319694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-13DOI: 10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4651
Alexis Oviedo, Karem Roitman
Access to education is a matter of individual and communal justice and development. However, simple access to education, and simple inclusion as often noted in DEI, fail to capture the structures of power and inequality that limit the potential of education. It is not enough to be in education, we must aim for an education adult students can belong to. This requires that we re-conceptualize belonging as complex, non-binary, and multifaceted, acknowledging the struggles of our adult students to participate in education. For this re-conceptualization, we call upon theories of liminal belonging, in particular Anzaldúa's idea of mestiza consciousness. We use adult education students in Ecuador as a case study to reflect on the gender and identity struggles to belong and conclude with some recommendations of how pedagogy and institutions can be adapted to foster belonging for adult learners.
{"title":"Adult education and belonging","authors":"Alexis Oviedo, Karem Roitman","doi":"10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4651","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4651","url":null,"abstract":"Access to education is a matter of individual and communal justice and development. However, simple access to education, and simple inclusion as often noted in DEI, fail to capture the structures of power and inequality that limit the potential of education. It is not enough to be in education, we must aim for an education adult students can belong to. This requires that we re-conceptualize belonging as complex, non-binary, and multifaceted, acknowledging the struggles of our adult students to participate in education. For this re-conceptualization, we call upon theories of liminal belonging, in particular Anzaldúa's idea of mestiza consciousness. We use adult education students in Ecuador as a case study to reflect on the gender and identity struggles to belong and conclude with some recommendations of how pedagogy and institutions can be adapted to foster belonging for adult learners.","PeriodicalId":43613,"journal":{"name":"European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135854508","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-13DOI: 10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4662
Patricia Gouthro, Susan Holloway
In recent years, issues of inclusion within the field of adult education have garnered increasing attention and have expanded to consider various equity and social justice concerns. Frequently, however, these concerns are considered in a piecemeal fashion, either with a narrower focus on a particular equity issue, or as a simplified add-on to wider debates about educational design, delivery modes, or policy structures. To deepen the discussion around inclusion in lifelong learning, it is important to draw upon critical social theory to explore not only particular circumstances and challenges faced by different groups seeking equity and inclusion, but also to consider the broader frameworks in which adult teaching and learning happens. Despite challenges such as neoliberalism, adult educators need to retain Freire’s belief in the possibilities offered by a pedagogy of hope and the belief that humans have the capacity to make positive changes.
{"title":"Critical social theory, inclusion, and a pedagogy of hope","authors":"Patricia Gouthro, Susan Holloway","doi":"10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4662","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4662","url":null,"abstract":"In recent years, issues of inclusion within the field of adult education have garnered increasing attention and have expanded to consider various equity and social justice concerns. Frequently, however, these concerns are considered in a piecemeal fashion, either with a narrower focus on a particular equity issue, or as a simplified add-on to wider debates about educational design, delivery modes, or policy structures. To deepen the discussion around inclusion in lifelong learning, it is important to draw upon critical social theory to explore not only particular circumstances and challenges faced by different groups seeking equity and inclusion, but also to consider the broader frameworks in which adult teaching and learning happens. Despite challenges such as neoliberalism, adult educators need to retain Freire’s belief in the possibilities offered by a pedagogy of hope and the belief that humans have the capacity to make positive changes.","PeriodicalId":43613,"journal":{"name":"European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135855179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-13DOI: 10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4525
Danny Wildemeersch, George Koulaouzides
In our contribution we investigate firstly the general discussion on inclusion in education that had its origins in educational reform movements and in special needs education policies and practices. In line with this, we describe the growing interest in international organizations, resulting into varied attempts on national and local levels to create equal opportunities for all, with particular attention for students with special needs. We furthermore analyse how these concrete policies and practices of inclusive education often coalesced with deficit approaches, resulting into the above-mentioned paradox of exclusion through inclusion. In a next step, we explore how and why inclusive practices keep on reinforcing existing dependencies and possible ways out of the dilemma. In a final section we analyse how in adult education research literature, this paradox of exclusion through inclusion is dealt with and what answers are developed in this particular field of research.
{"title":"The paradox of exclusion through inclusion","authors":"Danny Wildemeersch, George Koulaouzides","doi":"10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4525","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.4525","url":null,"abstract":"In our contribution we investigate firstly the general discussion on inclusion in education that had its origins in educational reform movements and in special needs education policies and practices. In line with this, we describe the growing interest in international organizations, resulting into varied attempts on national and local levels to create equal opportunities for all, with particular attention for students with special needs. We furthermore analyse how these concrete policies and practices of inclusive education often coalesced with deficit approaches, resulting into the above-mentioned paradox of exclusion through inclusion. In a next step, we explore how and why inclusive practices keep on reinforcing existing dependencies and possible ways out of the dilemma. In a final section we analyse how in adult education research literature, this paradox of exclusion through inclusion is dealt with and what answers are developed in this particular field of research.","PeriodicalId":43613,"journal":{"name":"European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135854850","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}