Adult education and publishing Canadian fiction in a global context: a Foucauldian analysis

This paper draws upon findings from a research study on the relationship between fiction, citizenship, and lifelong learning. It includes interviews with authors from several genres, publishing houses, and arts councils. This paper explores many of the ambivalent outcomes of the shifting power elements in publishing that can simultaneously benefit and disadvantage the publication of a national body of fiction. Although focused on the Canadian context, fiction writers and publishers around the globe face similar challenges. Using a Foucauldian analysis, it considers the importance of fiction and adult learning in shaping discourses of citizenship and critical social learning. (DIPF/Orig.

Using Literature in Learning Contexts to Address Contentious Issues of Difference, Culture, Power, and Privilege in the Classroom

Fictional literature provides a vehicle for students to discuss power issues and thus achieve a better understanding of identity politics and systemic barriers that shape people‟s lives. This paper examines the use of fiction to explore difficult issues such as race, gender, culture, power, and privilege, and ways to promote these kinds of discussions amongst teacher candidates. The kinds of ethical dilemmas often posed in works of fiction complicate what our notion of power is, who produces it, and how it is disseminated or regulated. My argument characterizes the kinds of subtle and more explicit rhetoric used by teacher candidates who prefer a neo-liberal stance, and I critique the logical fallacies which undermine prejudiced viewpoints. If teacher candidates are able to experience firsthand the power of literary discussions to mediate and negotiate their own views held on certain issues, it is more likely they will use literature themselves as a tool to discuss contentious issues with their own future high school students, rather than shying away from these matters altogether, or allowing their own unchallenged biases to impede interactions with their students. Finally, I provide a few practical suggestions around literary texts and strategies for the professor whose area is not English Language Arts, yet wishes to engage his/her teacher candidates in these kinds of dialogues

Visual Literacies: An Ecology Arts-based Pedagogical Model

The study explores visual literacies and critical literacies students may experience utilizing photography aimed at engaging youth in thinking more deeply about their relationships to the environment and the communities they live in. This is a case study based on interviews with a total of 5 participants. I argue that visual literacy expands students’ opportunities to build productively upon print-based literacy practices, evens the playing field to some extent for English Language Learners, and connects youth in creative ways to think about being citizens in their communities and the world

Critical social theory, inclusion, and a pedagogy of hope. Considering the future of adult education and lifelong learning

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. (DIPF/Orig.