Author: Ajal

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The international importance of a national association

Author/s: Edward Hutchinson

Edition: Volume 50, Number 3, November 2010

Summary: It is my experience that some of the most perplexing and time‑consuming problems that face the chief executive of a National Association in Adult Education, arise out of international contacts. I think it is very wise that the Australian Association should give attention to the matter early in its existence. By so doing, it can perhaps avoid some of the pitfalls and can offer creative leadership and example that may be of the greatest value in the next half century. One thing is certain—there is no established pattern of international relationships into which a new national association can fit comfortably and conveniently. There are a number of connecting strands but there is nothing approaching an organized network with a clearly discernible pattern.

Keywords: National Association in Adult Education, Adult Learning Australia, relevance, challenges, value

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Agenda for a national association 50 years on

Author/s: Barrie Brennan

Edition: Volume 50, Number 3, November 2010

Summary: I was honoured to be asked by the current Editor to write a response to W.G.K. Duncan’s 1961 paper, ‘Agenda for a national association’, in the first number of the Australian Journal of Adult Education , the journal of the newly established Australian Association of Adult Education (AAAE). The brief has been interpreted in this way. Duncan viewed AAAE as an ‘outsider’ and proposed challenges for the new association without giving guidance as to how the challenges may have been met.

Keywords: Adult Learning Australia, challenges, relevance

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Agenda for a national association

Author/s: W. G. K. Duncan

Edition: Volume 50, Number 3, November 2010

Summary: I was reminded of my schoolboy days when I read the opening words of the first number of the Newsletter, to be issued quarterly by the Australian Association of Adult Education. In our textual study of Macbeth (does this sort of thing still go on?), we were asked to say what punctuation mark we thought most appropriate after Lady Macbeth’s famous words ‘We fail’, when trying to screw her husband’s courage to ‘the sticking place’. A question mark, indicating that the possibility of failing had never occurred to her before? A full stop, suggesting resignation, or fatalism? An exclamation mark—to be accompanied by a scornful tone of voice? Which of these alternatives fitted in best with our conception of Lady Macbeth’s character? I plumped for the exclamation mark. (The edition I now have gives a colon—that would have floored us!)

The opening words of the Newsletter were simply “WE ARE!”—and I wondered whether the Editor had used the exclamation mark to indicate surprise, relief, triumphant satisfaction at difficulties overcome, or a sense of exhilaration at future prospects.

Keywords: Adult Learning Australia, Australian Association of Adult Education, relevance, future

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Recollections on the Association over five decades

Author/s: Arch Nelson (1960s), Barrie Brennan (1970s), Dianne Berlin (1980s), Alastair Crombie (1990s) and Roger Morris (2000s)

Edition: Volume 50, Number 3, November 2010

Summary: In 2010, fifty years after the establishment of the association now called Adult Learning Australia (ALA), the association still faces the dilemma about how to sell its message that adult learning matters. The dilemma is one of philosophy: in the nineteenth century, it was liberalism versus utilitarianism; in the mid-twentieth, the instrumental versus cultural; today, the dichotomy is couched in terms such as ‘social inclusion’ versus ‘productivity’.

Keywords: Adult Learning Australia, relevance, philosophy, social inclusion, productivity

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Diversity and excellence: prompts from the history of the tertiary education sector

Author/s: Francesca Beddie

Edition: Volume 50, Number 3, November 2010

Summary: In 2010, fifty years after the establishment of the association now called Adult Learning Australia (ALA), the association still faces the dilemma about how to sell its message that adult learning matters. The dilemma is one of philosophy: in the nineteenth century, it was liberalism versus utilitarianism; in the mid-twentieth, the instrumental versus cultural; today, the dichotomy is couched in terms such as ‘social inclusion’ versus ‘productivity’.

Keywords: adult learning, relevance, liberalism, utilitarianism, social inclusion, productivity

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

 

 

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Teaching adult education history in a time of uncertainty and hope

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

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Skilling Australians: Lessons from World War II national workforce development programs

Author/s: Darryl Dymock and Stephen Billett

Edition: Volume 50, Number 3, November 2010

Summary: Governments are currently mobilising their national workforces to compete effectively in a globalised economy where being export‑effective and import-competitive are necessary to secure national economic and social goals. Australia is no exception here. Yet, in this country, as in others, similar mobilisations occurred in earlier times, most noticeably during wartime. This article describes and discusses two particular measures during and after the Second World War: the Commonwealth Technical Training Scheme and the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme. Beyond providing an historical account of these two national schemes for skilling Australians, the paper identifies the importance of securing a national consensus and the engagement of all parties, and showing sensitivity towards those who participate in such programs. Particularly salient is that although national-focused, the success of these programs was premised on effective localised arrangements, where diligent administrators and educators seemingly worked closely with local employers and unions to realise their effective implementation.

Keywords: Second World War, Commonwealth Technical Training Scheme, Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme, skilling, Australia

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

 

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Training, L&D, OD, HRD—What’s in a name?

Author/s: Sean O’Toole

Edition: Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010

Summary: This article describes the various aspects of human resources development and highlights the intersections and the differences between what are often mistakenly viewed as interchangeable concepts. It argues that, while it is generally accepted that developing staff is fundamental to good organisational health and business outcomes, a clear understanding of how this should be achieved is often hampered by an identity crisis in the field itself.

Keywords: human resource, development, health, business, outcomes

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Study circles and the Dialogue to Change Program

Author/s: Mary Brennan and Mark Brophy

Edition: Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010

Summary: The origins of study circles can be traced back to the Chautauqua movement in the USA in the late nineteenth century. However, interest diminished in the USA and the Swedes discovered and enthusiastically imported the study circle idea as a remedy to their problems of poverty and illiteracy and to educate the broadest possible spectrum of society in the art of democracy. Over the next 100 years, Sweden developed the process to such an extent that the Government now subsidises this form of education and uses it not only to educate people about government policies, but to receive feedback from the public.

Keywords: study circles, change, feedback, public

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Formal and informal learning opportunities in government organisations: Experiences of public sector employees from six Asian nations

Author/s: Intan A. Mokhtar

Edition: Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010

Summary: Lifelong learning and professional development have been the focus of government organisations after the 21st  century was declared the ‘learning century’, amidst the impact of globalisation and growth of knowledge-based economies. Although lifelong learning and professional development opportunities are available in most government organisations, the conditions for civil servants to take up such opportunities differ across organisations and, even more so, across countries. In addition, the expectations of learning and development from such opportunities also vary, with some organisations focusing on specific work-based competencies, others on formal education and qualifications. However, lifelong learning and professional development in government organisations seldom include informal learning, which forms a part of daily leisure time yet involves human capital enhancement that indirectly impacts work performance. Informal learning, which is facilitated by individual information literacy competencies that involve information search, retrieval, evaluation and use in varying contexts, is largely for personal development rather than economic efficiency, but is equally important in developing effective individuals and knowledge workers. In this exploratory study, semistructured interviews were conducted with 18 civil servants from six Asian countries to elicit their experiences with regard to lifelong learning policies and professional development opportunities in their respective government organisations, expectations of learning and development from such opportunities, as well as provisions for informal learning opportunities. Shared characteristics as well as distinct differences across the interviewees’ organisations and countries are discussed. Finally, recommendations based on these similarities and differences are made specifically to encourage government organisations to review existing lifelong learning policies and professional development opportunities available to civil servants.

Keywords: lifelong learning, informal learning, formal learning, government, learning century, professional development, work-based competency, Asian, policies

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.