How pluralistic is the research field on adult education? Dominating bibliometrical trends, 2005-2012

What the field of adult education research is and how it can be described has been a debated issue over the decades. Several scholars argue that the field today is heterogeneous, borrowing theories and methods from a range of disciplines. In this article, we take such statements as a starting point for empirical analysis. In what ways could it be argued that the field is pluralistic rather than monolithic; heterogeneous rather than homogenous? Drawing on bibliographic data of the top cited articles in three main adult education journals between 2005 and 2012, we illustrate how the citation patterns have tendencies of homogeneity when it comes to the geographical country of authorship, since the USA, UK, Australia and Canada dominate, as well as the research methods adopted, since qualitative approaches have near total dominance. Furthermore, there is a tendency to adopt similar theoretical approaches, since sociocultural perspectives, critical pedagogy and post-structuralism represent more than half of the articles in our sample. At the same time, the results of our analysis indicate signs of scholarly pluralism, for instance, in terms of authorship, since both early career researchers and established researchers are represented among the top cited publications. We conclude the article by arguing that empirical analysis of publication and citation patterns is important to further the development of reflexivity within the field, not least for early career researchers, who might benefit from knowledge about what has been recognized among peers as worth citing in recent times. (DIPF/Orig.

Popular education and the digital citizen: a genealogical analysis

This paper historicises and problematises the concept of the digital citizen and how it is constructed in Sweden today. Specifically, it examines the role of popular education in such an entanglement. It makes use of a genealogical analysis to produce a critical ‘history of the present’ by mapping out the debates and controversies around the emergence of the digital citizen in the 1970s and 1980s, and following to its manifestations in contemporary debates. This article argues that free and voluntary adult education (popular education) is and has been fundamental in efforts to construe the digital citizen. A central argument of the paper is that popular education aiming for digital inclusion is not a 21st century phenomenon; it actually commenced in the 1970s. However, this digitisation of citizens has also changed focus dramatically since the 1970s. During the 1970s, computers and computerisation were described as disconcerting, and as requiring popular education in order to counter the risk of the technology “running wild”. In current discourses, digitalisation is constructed in a non-ideological and post-political way. These post-political tendencies of today can be referred to as a post-digital present where computers have become so ordinary, domesticized and ubiquitous in everyday life that they are thereby also beyond criticism. (DIPF/Orig.

Editorial: Approaches to research in the education and learning of adults

With distinctively different traditions of and influences to the academic study of the education and learning of adults in the field over the years, generalizations in narrations of approaches to research or change across Europe are bound to be reductive and flawed. The direction of approaches to research and scholarly activity in Europe have emerged in distinctive ways in different geographical locations. Events and trajectories could perhaps best be traced and characterized for the field through a focus on local histories; pursing the question of the intellectual resources emerging and drawn on at different times and places. Questions for ‘the field’ are then perhaps those over the approaches to research and scholarship that emerge to dominate in differing locations; approaches marginalized in this, the local histories and contestations and struggles for recognition entailed, the limitations and productivities in relation to specific purposes, agendas and concerns and the affordances that emerge with new local developments. This also raises questions about the ability of any ‘field’ to inquire into its direction or engage critically in this. In this issue we have wanted to create space for those in the field to highlight their own trajectories and agendas in research and scholarship and scholarly reflections and deliberation with regard to these sorts of questions. In this Editorial we will introduce five articles that draw on theory and traditions from distinct locations. (DIPF/Orig.

Editorial: Approaches to research in the education and learning of adults

With distinctively different traditions of and influences to the academic study of the education and learning of adults in the field over the years, generalizations in narrations of approaches to research or change across Europe are bound to be reductive and flawed. The direction of approaches to research and scholarly activity in Europe have emerged in distinctive ways in different geographical locations. Events and trajectories could perhaps best be traced and characterized for the field through a focus on local histories; pursing the question of the intellectual resources emerging and drawn on at different times and places. Questions for ‘the field’ are then perhaps those over the approaches to research and scholarship that emerge to dominate in differing locations; approaches marginalized in this, the local histories and contestations and struggles for recognition entailed, the limitations and productivities in relation to specific purposes, agendas and concerns and the affordances that emerge with new local developments. This also raises questions about the ability of any ‘field’ to inquire into its direction or engage critically in this. In this issue we have wanted to create space for those in the field to highlight their own trajectories and agendas in research and scholarship and scholarly reflections and deliberation with regard to these sorts of questions. In this Editorial we will introduce five articles that draw on theory and traditions from distinct locations. (DIPF/Orig.

Editorial: open issue

In this open issue we present five papers covering different adult education and learning contexts across different geographical spaces, ranging from Spain, Germany, Eastern Europe to Canada. The topics of research range from young people to retired people, adult educators and men and women reading self-help literature

Iraq, Sanctions and Security: A Critique

Initiatives in the recognition of prior learning (RPL) have been taken in Sweden in recent years, mainly focusing on prior vocational learning among immigrants. The government started different projects to find methods for recognising a person’s prior learning in the field of vocational competence. This article presents a study of how these projects were organised and their starting points. Differences are identified concerning whether they were integrated with, or parallel to, the school system, and whether the starting point was a few vocations or a number of different vocations (depending on the background of the participants). The article then looks at some problems that arise when trying to recognise prior learning. We find that knowledge of the Swedish language is essential in this process, but that the demands are flexible and the criteria informal. The article also discusses the relationship between RPL and the educational system, where most of the projects had problems in not being too influenced by the school tradition where the main documentation of competence is grades. Finally, the article discusses conditions for the development of trust in RPL.Original publication: Per Andersson, Andreas Fejes and Song-Ee Ahn, Recognition of Prior Vocational Learning in Sweden, 2004, Studies in the Education of Adults, (36), 1, 57-71.http://www.niace.org.uk/publications/Periodicals/studies/Back/tocSpr04.htm. Copyright: National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, http://www.niace.org.uk

Adult Migrants' Language Learning, Labour Market, and Social Inclusion

In this thematic issue, we present up‐to‐date research from authors who problematise the various links between adult migrants' language learning, education, the labour market, and social inclusion. Some contributions are more focused on the relation between education and social inclusion, while others emphasise links between language learning, the labour market, and social inclusion. Together, authors in this thematic issue point to the multiple challenges migrants face when trying to establish themselves in a new country

Social Inclusion Beyond Education and Work: Migrants Meaning‐Making Towards Social Inclusion

In public discourse, the social inclusion of migrants is often regarded as a challenge demanding migrants to increase their engagement in adapting to the new host country. Such imaginaries commonly declare migrants as being unwilling to acquire language skills and specific cultural values. In parallel, formal education is often proposed as the single most important remedy to inclusion, which generally solely implies labor market participation. However, there is a range of other, often neglected, practices that migrants themselves regard as important for their social inclusion in society. This article aims to analyze what practices are assigned meaning by newly arrived migrants in Sweden on their path toward social inclusion in the country. This is a longitudinal interview study with 19 newly arrived adult migrants that were interviewed on two occasions, three years apart. Drawing on a sociocultural perspective, we understand social inclusion as an ongoing process by which individuals become members of different communities. The result shows that important for social inclusion is access to valuable relationships and close social ties. These relations are important in all communities in which the migrants participate. The analysis illustrates three different communities, outside of formal education and employment, that migrants ascribe meaning to concerning language learning and social inclusion. These communities are sports, internships, and civil society engagements. Through its longitudinal design, this study also illustrates how migrants' narratives and their meanings shift with time and how migrants relate to these communities over time