The State of Adult Education

In the novel The Plague (Camus, 1960) the city of Oran is ravaged by a plague. Tarrou had just reflected on how each one of us âhas the plague withinâ (p. 207). It is wearying to be plague-stricken, he says, and this is why âeverybody in the world to-day looks so tired; everyone is more or less sick of plagueâ (p. 207). All I maintain is that on this earth there are pestilences and there are victims, and itâs up to us, so far as possible, not to join forces with the pestilences. (Camus, 1960, p. 207) I see pestilences, as I think Camus does, as a metaphor for what is happening in the world. It is difficult to make any comment about our world without referring to Iraq, the mistreatment of prisoners, the motivation of the United States in being there especially having found no weapons of mass destruction. There are pestilences nearer home too â persistent poverty, scandals and corruption. What has this to do with adult education? It has to do with the role of adult education in a democratic society; with what we mean by adult learning and what we teach as adult educators. How to be an active and critical citizen has to be learned. I want to look at the state of adult education in Ireland. I am suggesting that the state here means both the condition in which we now find adult education and the role of the Irish State in adult education. I will briefly outline ⢠some recent developments in adult education; ⢠make some critical comments on the state of adult education; ⢠look at the links between the State and the economy and civil society that have important implications for adult education

The State of Adult Education

I want to look at the state of adult education in Ireland. I am suggesting that the state here means both the condition in which we now find adult education and the role of the Irish State in adult education. I will briefly outline • some recent developments in adult education; • make some critical comments on the state of adult education; • look at the links between the State and the economy and civil society that have important implications for adult education

Adding life to your years: Transformative learning for older people at the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

Life expectancy has increased by 30 years during the past century. By 2150 the percentage of the worldâs population over 65 will be 30%, up from 7% at present. A high percentage of older people are actively involved in adult education (Lamdin and Fugate, 1997, p. 85). During the United Nations International Year of Older Persons (1999) the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), with EU SOCRATES funding, undertook a study of its education work with members of St. Michael's Parish Active Retirement Association, a group of older local residents. The aim of the research was to identify the learning outcomes of the programme and how that learning was facilitated. The Irish Museum of Modern Art is housed in the Royal Hospital, Dublin, founded in 1684 by the Viceroy to Charles II as a home for retired soldiers. It continued in that role for almost 250 years. The Irish Government restored the building and it was re-opened as the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 1991

Access and Retention: Experiences of Non-traditional Learners in HE

This literature review is part of the project ‘Access and Retention: Experiences of Non- Traditional Learners in HE’. The project is funded by the European Commission Lifelong Learning Programme under Key Activity 1 “Policy Co-operation and Innovation” of the Transversal programme. It has eight partners from seven different countries: England, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Scotland, Spain and Sweden. The overall aim of this project is to examine issues of access, retention and noncompletion in relation to non-traditional undergraduate students (young and adults across a wide age range) in higher education on a comparative European basi

The Awful Truth and Budgies: What Liberation is offered by Learning?

Education for Liberation is an ambitious title for a conference and a remarkable concept for those in a place that is defined as not free. Education for Liberation could mean education for release, as that is often seen as liberation. But of course that is not exactly what is meant in the conference title. Liberation is a complicated idea and I am reminded of Umberto Eco’s comment (1990) on ‘Disneyland’. He said that the unreality of society is hidden from our view by creating an experience where unreality is heightened. Behind the spectacle, the façade hides all the tricks of capitalism, with a new twist. Toy houses are fronts for shops. In this way the unreal quality of everyday experience is made invisible to us. In the same way the injustices of society, the oppressions and absence of freedom are heightened in prison so that we can harbour the illusion that there is freedom outside prison. I must be free because I am on the outside. We might ask how much freedom do we really have? In these moments I am going to try to tease out in a very preliminary way how adult education might be of some use to us in reframing an understanding of learning that is liberating for prisoners

Lifelong learning: the challenge of the later years

This paper presents three ideas which could inform an adult education response to the challenge of lifelong learning in the later years. The three ideas are about: 1. A concept of adult learning that involves changing frames of reference or the framework within which we think, feel and act 2. The search for identity in later life and how it relates to this reframing learning 3. Research, or what we know already about the learning needs of older adults

Learning for Life –The White Paper: A Discussion

The Irish Government’s White Paper on adult education, Learning for Life (Department of Education and Science, 2000),outlines the Government’s policies and proposals for adult education. Lifelong learning has become the taken for granted context in which adult education perceives its development for the future and has the advantage of giving adult education a credibility that it rarely gets without such a context. This White Paper is welcome and timely and is the result of a lengthy consultation process that preceded publication. The consultation process extended far beyond the Green Paper (DES, 1998),in fact back to the Education White Paper (DES,1995) and Green Paper (DES,1992). It has been a year since the publication of the White Paper and people have had an opportunity to assess the position after the widespread welcome for its publication. This discussion took place at the annual Adult Education Conference organised by the Adult Education Organisers , Chief Executive Officers and Adult Literacy Organisers in Newbridge, May 2001. The participants were Berni Brady,Director of AONTAS, the National Adult Education Association, Inez Bailey, Director of NALA, the National Adult Literacy Agency and Sean Conlon, Chairperson of the AEOA, t h e Adult Education Organisers’ Association. In this discussion we look at the strengths and weaknesses of the White Paper and at some of the issues that concern practitioners

Editorial Comment

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