Author/s: Roger Harris and Anne Morrison
Edition: Volume 51, Special edition, December 2011
Summary: In this paper we review fifty years of articles published in Australian Journal of Adult Learning in its various iterations. We examine the different roles of the journal: to illuminate the history and trends of adult education authors; to be the flagship of the adult education profession in Australia; to reflect on significant national events; and to mirror the changing knowledge base of the discipline. We analyse the authorship of the articles of fifty years, and determine patterns in contribution to the journal by gender, location, institutional affiliation and author numbers. We also examine key themes that have surfaced in the writings on adult education. The articles published in the journal are significant because they are the primary source of the day, unfetted by the perspectives, viewpoints and standards of later periods. Our paper serves as a useful glass through which we might be able to view more clearly the shifting research interests of the past and the challenges in the future for the adult and community sector.
Keywords: adult education, 50 years, history, trend
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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 51_4_Special Edition. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.