Arnold Hely and Australia adult education

Author/s: Roger Morris

Edition: Volume 51, Number 4, Special edition, December 2011

Summary: Arnold Hely (1907–1967) was a most significant figure in the history of adult education in New Zealand, in Australia and internationally. Arnold Hely, a New Zealander, Director of Tutorial Classes (later Adult Education) at the University of Adelaide from 1957 to 1965, was the prime mover in the establishment in 1964 of the Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE) and was, until his most untimely death in 1967, its General Secretary. He previously had played, as an impartial newcomer/outsider, a leading role in the formation in 1960 of ALA (then called AAAE). In this paper I will focus on Hely’s efforts to bring Australian adult education into the mainstream of world adult education. In telling Hely’s story I will explore the context of Australian adult education in the 1950s and 1960s.

Keywords: Arnold Hely, adult education, 1950, 1960, history

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 51_4_Special Edition. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

Is the use of video conferencing and supporting technologies a feasible and viable way to woo farmers back into farmer education?

Author/s: Margaret Brown and Tom Fraser

Edition: Volume 51, Number 4, Special edition, December 2011

Summary: North Dakota State University (USA) have been using video conferencing as a delivery mode for farmer education for about twenty years and report that their farmers find this delivery method both practical and worthwhile. With the number of New Zealand farmers attending learning events decreasing, due mainly to time and cost, maybe it is time to use different approaches to engage farmers in learning. A study called ‘FeedSmart’, which looked into the ways farmers preferred to learn, identified that e-learning is worth further investigation as a learning delivery approach. In this paper we report on three small-scale trials that investigated the viability and effectiveness of generating and delivering information to farmers via a video-conferencing-based learning approach. This study showed that e-learning of this type has potential as a learning approach for farmers and is worthy of further investigation.

Keywords: rural, farmer, education, FeedSmart, e-learning

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 51_4_Special Edition. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

The learning projects of rural third age women: enriching a valuable community resource

Author/s: Glenna Lear

Edition: Volume 51, Number 4, Special edition, December 2011

Summary: As a third age PhD candidate with a passion for learning, I wanted to explore the learning of other rural third age women who live on the Lower Eyre Peninsula (LEP) of South Australia. This reflects the methodological stance of heuristic inquiry, which requires the researcher to have a passionate interest in the phenomena under investigation, and in this case includes my tacit knowledge as a third age learner and long-term resident of the region. I deliberately chose six very influential women over 50 years of age who have transformed their rural communities into vibrant ‘can do’ societies better able to cope with the economic, environmental and social changes of the last two decades. I wanted to know how they adjusted to the lifestyle changes in their middle years, after their children left home, their third age, how they adapted to the social and economic changes in rural life, and what they learned as community change agents and leaders of community organisations, boards and community development committees.

My research methodology gave them the opportunity to reflect on their autobiographies as co-researchers during our two informal conversations about their learning. I discovered that, at different stages in their lives, these midlife women intuitively realised that they needed to do something for themselves in the wider world, independent of the farm and their family, which required them to learn and change. They are passionate lifelong and lifewide learners, continually searching for something that challenges, excites and extends them. This paper discusses their lifewide learning and personal development in community activities and formal educational institutions, which has been personally rewarding and enormously beneficial for community viability and wellbeing. Although the numbers are low and the women come from a small remote region of South Australia, there are similar women of action in almost every community, both rural and urban, who continue to make a difference.

Keywords: rural, third age, women, community, change agents, development, learning

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 51_4_Special Edition. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

All over, red rover? The neglect and potential of Australian adult education in the community

Author/s: Barry Golding and Annette Foley

Edition: Volume 51, Special edition, December 2011

Summary: Consistent with the ‘looking back, moving forward’ conference theme, in this paper we undertake a critical, research-based appraisal of the current, arguably neglected state of adult education in Australia in 2010, and proceed to paint a picture of how a different and potentially more positive future might be realised. Continue reading “All over, red rover? The neglect and potential of Australian adult education in the community”

Flexible models for learning English are needed for refugee mothers

Author/s: Elisha Riggs, Karen Block, Lisa Gibbs, Elise Davis, Josef Szwarc, Sue Casey, Philippa Duell-Piening and Elizabeth Waters

Edition: Volume 52, Number 2, July 2012

Summary: The importance of English language acquisition for resettlement of refugees is well established, particularly as a pathway to education, employment, health and social connections. Continue reading “Flexible models for learning English are needed for refugee mothers”

Utopian scenario sketching: An imaginal pedagogy for life giving civilisation

Author/s: Peter Willis

Edition: Volume 51, Number 3, November 2011

Summary: This paper argues that learning for human flourishing needs a balance between small-scale, convivial experiences, imaginary and creative expression, logical, rational planning and autonomous, purposive practices. Continue reading “Utopian scenario sketching: An imaginal pedagogy for life giving civilisation”