Editorial: The effects of policies for the education and learning of adults - from \u27adult education\u27 to \u27lifelong learning\u27, from \u27emancipation\u27 to \u27empowerment\u27

Practices of adult education and learning have historically been closely related to policy arrangements – often by defining and reproducing the culture of local, regional or subcultural communities – but increasingly in the service of the consolidation of the nation states. Depending on political situations and institutional arrangements, the states in Europe have been involved in the promotion and institutional framing of adult education and learning. Today the role of the nation state is changing in many ways, and it also affects the role assigned to education and learning arrangements. Both policies at the supranational level and market forces have had an increasing influence on the understanding of what adult education/lifelong learning is about. The shifts in the meaning and use of central concepts in this field are illustrative of these changes. In this issue the authors have intended to create a space for reflection on these policy transformations and their consequences. In a call for articles four questions were guiding contributors in addressing ‘the work and effects of policies for the education and learning of adults’: 1. How can we interpret the shift in policy vocabulary e.g. from ‘education to learning’, and from ‘emancipation to empowerment’? 2. What is the influence of transnational agencies and how has this inspired education policy at the national level? 3. How is the role of the state in education and learning policies conceptualized? Are there differences in differing (local/national/international) contexts? 4. What is the future role of the nation state in adult education? (DIPF/Orig.

Integrated biophysical and socio-economic evaluation of water and soil conservation techniques : a case study from Niger

As a result of growing population pressure and limited fertile land availability, Nigerien farmers increasingly rely on marginal lands (Plinthosols) for crop production. These degraded lands, however, generally provide poor millet yields (<100 kg ha-1 yr-1) due to their low soil nutrient content and imbalanced partitioning of water over the root-zone. This dissertation aims to provide scientific verification of the potential of small-scale water and soil conservation (WSC) techniques to tackle these two major crop growth limitations. The overall objective is to evaluate the biophysicail and socio-economic viability of WSC techniques in the Tillaberí region of Niger. In order to monitor WSC techniques, a field experiment was laid on a Plinthosol nearby Sadoré. The treatments include: zaï + manure (Z), demi-lunes + manure (DL), scarification + manure (SCAR), control + manure (CF) and control (C). Grain yields for the conventional practices (C and CF) were extremely low and soil-water storage in the rootzone remained below the critical value for drought stress, even if there was sufficient rainfall. WSC techniques, on the other hand, successfully mitigated drought stress. WSC increased grain yields to 700 kg ha-1 yr-1 for Z and to 250 kg ha-1 yr-1 for DL and SCAR. By applying WSC, soil-water storage increased above the critical value for drought stress. This was mainly a result of significant run-off reduction under WSC (i.e. from approximately 25% for C to 5-10%). WSC techniques were, on the other hand, found to have only little impact on soil evaporation. A design optimization study with a three-dimensional coupled surface-subsurface soil hydrological model showed that rainwater use efficiency of DL could be improved by increasing the density of DL bunds per surface area while decreasing the number of millet plants per DL bund. Soil quality analysis showed that, SOC content increased significantly for the treatments with manure application (CF,SCAR, DL and Z), from ± 2.5 to ± 5 g kg-1. WSC techniques did not improve physical soil quality, but did significantly improve biological soil quality. A socio-economic survey indicated that the adoption of WSC techniques in the region is limited by manure shortage and a lack of specific erosion knowledge

Integrated water and soil conservation for food security in Niger, preliminary results

As a result of growing population pressure and limited fertile land availability, Nigerien farmers increasingly rely on marginal lands for food crops production. These degraded lands, however, generally provide poor millet yields due to their low soil nutrient content and imbalanced partitioning of water in the root-zone. This study evaluates the agronomical, hydrological and soil quality parameters of water and soil conservation techniques (i.e. zaï, demi-lunes and no-till with scarification) which tackle these two major crop growth limitations by means of an in situ root-zone water balance experiment. Preliminary results from the first cropping season from June to October 2011 show overall low yields. The 2011 season was characterised by erratic rainfall with a severe dry spell during flowering stage. The control and manure treatment did not yield grain, but simply applying manure did increase dry matter production with a factor of 20. The highest grain yield was produced by the zaï, 134 kg/ha, which was 3 and 9 times better than respectively the grain yield of demi-lunes and no-till with scarification treatments. The zaï treatment moreover reduced cumulative actual evaporation as measured using mini-lysimeters during a 10 day drying cycle. In conclusion, until now the synergistic effect of the water-harvesting practices and the supply of manure show promising potential to rehabilitate and to increase the agronomic efficiency of marginal land in Niger. Future work will focus on the impact of the treatments on yield, soil quality properties and on the root-zone water balance

Editorial: digital the new normal - multiple challenges for the education and learning of adults

Wildemeersch D, Jütte W. Editorial: digital the new normal - multiple challenges for the education and learning of adults. European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults. 2017;8(1):7-20

The paradox of exclusion through inclusion. Interpreting inclusion from a critical pedagogical perspective

In our contribution we investigate firstly the general discussion on inclusion in education that had its origins in educational reform movements and in special needs education policies and practices. In line with this, we describe the growing interest in international organizations, resulting into varied attempts on national and local levels to create equal opportunities for all, with particular attention for students with special needs. We furthermore analyse how these concrete policies and practices of inclusive education often coalesced with deficit approaches, resulting into the above-mentioned paradox of exclusion through inclusion. In a next step, we explore how and why inclusive practices keep on reinforcing existing dependencies and possible ways out of the dilemma. In a final section we analyse how in adult education research literature, this paradox of exclusion through inclusion is dealt with and what answers are developed in this particular field of research. (DIPF/Orig.