Author/s: Tony Brown
Edition: Volume 50, Number 3, November 2010
Summary: Adult education’s continuing purpose has been questioned by writers for over twenty years and today the re-organisation and closure of some University departments brings this issue to the fore. This paper takes up the theme of really useful knowledge in a changing world from the standpoint of teaching adult education history to graduate students. Many enter their new field of practice unaware of the specific social contexts of the foundations of adult education in different places, or the genealogy of its current manifestations. Examining these different contexts, traditions, practices and practitioners can enable students to better locate themselves, connect with different traditions, understand the past and position themselves for their future. Secondly, the paper considers the idea of locating oneself in a rapidly changing political economy that has emerged from the global economic crisis and recession, the effects of which are expected to continue into the next decade.
Keywords: adult education, history, graduates, social context, political economy
Share a copy of this abstract.
This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.