Category: ACE

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Literacy mediation in neighbourhood houses

Author: Sally Thompson

Edition: Volume 55, Number 3, November 2015

Summary:  Interactions between staff in Neighbourhood Houses, and the socially and educationally disadvantaged community members who visit Neighbourhood Houses, have been viewed through many lenses, including community development, social support, caring and compassion. This paper looks at Neighbourhood Houses as sites of pedagogical practice. More specifically, it explores the role of Neighbourhood House administrative staff as literacy mediators — as people who assist others with reading and writing.

Literacy mediation has gained attention as part of a focus amongst New Literacy Studies researchers on the social uses of literacy. In this case study of four staff members working across two neighbourhood houses, I identify that literacy mediation in the neighbourhood houses
is common, complex and growing in demand.

A further area of focus of the paper is the invisibility of the literacy mediation in Neighbourhood Houses — to funding bodies, committees of management and even to other staff. It also identifies the role of emotional labour in both facilitating mediation but also as a contributing factor to the lack of recognition of informal literacy work in Neighbourhood Houses.

Keywords: adult literacy, literacy mediation, neighbourhood houses,
informal learning

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 55_3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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A space for memory

Author: Karen Charman, Victoria University

Edition: Volume 55, Number 3, November 2015

Summary:  In this article I examine the possibilities of reparation in an era of privatisation and de-industrialisation. I examine the effect of a recent project Sunshine Memory Space, a space, designed to evoke memories of a de-industrialised urban Melbourne suburb Sunshine. This project offered the opportunity for the effects of industrial change to be publically represented, remembered and valued. I offer an analysis of the significance of relational localised curatorial work.

Keywords: memory, de-industrialistion, curation, psychoanalysis.

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 55_3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Book review: Men Learning Through Life

The Work: Men Learning Through Life. Barry Golding, Rob Mark and Annette Foley (Eds.). NIACE: Leicester, England 2014

Reviewer: Heather Wallace, Deakin University

Edition: Volume 55, Number 2, July 2015

In Brief:  Men Learning Through Life explores the reasons that large sectors of men are ‘missing or excluded’ from participating in life-long learning. The editors Barry Golding, Rob Mark and Annette Foley outline the key health and wellbeing benefits that research into life-long learning has promoted and …….

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 55_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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The meaning of learning on the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Author: Kyung-Mi Im, Howon University, Korea; JuSung Jun, Soongsil University, Korea

Edition: Volume 55, Number 2, July 2015

Summary:  The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of travellers on the Camino de Santiago in order to find out the pattern of their travel lived experience and the meaning of learning experience. For this purpose, eight Korean travellers were selected for the study; the study was performed using the hermeneutic phenomenological method. The findings are as follows: First, the pattern of lived experience -’the four Existentials, lived time, space, body and human relation’- on the Camino de Santiago was summarized into ‘slow and composure’, ‘meditation and spirituality’, ‘companionship’, and ‘the dance of self-mortification through physical pain’ in the four existential aspects of time, space, relationship, and body. Second, the lived experience of participants had profound meaning as a learning experience in terms of biographical learning, the theory of autopoiesis,
and spiritual learning.

Keywords: Learning experience, Lived experience, Four Existentials, The Camino de Santiago

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 55_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Work-based researchers and Communities of Practice: Conceptual and gestational dilemmas

Author: Andrew Sense, University of Wollongong

Edition: Volume 55, Number 2, July 2015

Summary:  Drawing on a presumption that a Community of Practice (COP) can add significant value to the situated learning development of adults in any context, this paper exposes and analyses the challenges faced in facilitating the development of a COP involving part-time work-based researchers. Using an empirical case example involving a collaborative research network of five industry organisations and a university, the specific purpose (and outcomes) of this paper are to (a) conceptualise
a researcher COP involving part-time work-based PhD and Masters of Philosophy candidates (b) examine the pragmatic dilemmas these part-time researchers face in seeking to develop such a supportive social learning construct in respect to their research activities (c) tentatively indicate some challenges that higher education institutions and industry organisations confront in facilitating and nurturing such learning structures which span industry and academia contexts. Through its analysis, this paper draws attention towards the complex issues involved in developing a functioning rather than the often idealised COP in the part-time work-based researcher space.

Keywords: Work-based researchers; Communities of Practice; Social learning.

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 55_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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What are the key ingredients for an effective and successful tertiary enabling program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students? An evaluation of the evolution of one program

Author: Lisa Hall, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education

Edition: Volume 55, Number 2, July 2015

Summary: Tertiary enabling programs have become an increasingly important part of the post-secondary schooling landscape. In recognition of the need for increased access for certain under-represented groups within the university population, enabling, bridging or foundational programs are offered by a large number of universities in Australia as alternative entry pathways. This paper explores the outcomes of an enabling program being offered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults who are arguably one of the most under-represented groups within the university system in Australia. It explores, in two parts, the combination of factors that are resulting in these positive outcomes. Part one explores the ‘data story’ of the course and the factors that support retention and completion. Part two explores the ‘stories of transformation’ as told by the students themselves, providing insider accounts of richness and depth about the things that truly enable success in a tertiary learning environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. While not ignoring the limitations of evaluating a course that is still in its infancy, the students undertaking this course are completing and moving on into higher education courses at an impressive rate, empowered by the skills, strategies and confidence they have developed through the course.

Keywords: enabling, Indigenous, education, bridging, foundation, Aboriginal

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 55_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Learning cities on the move

Author: Peter Kearns, PASCAL International Observatory

Edition: Volume 55, Number 1, April 2015

Summary:  The modern Learning City concept emerged from the work of OECD on lifelong learning with streams of Learning Cities and Educating Cities having much in common but having little contact with each other. While the early development of Learning Cities in the West has not been sustained, the present situation is marked by the dynamic development of Learning Cities in East Asia – especially in China, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan. In this context, the paper discusses the evolution of three generations of Learning Cities since 1992 and speculates on the future. The experience of the first generation is discussed in terms of development in the UK, Germany, Canada, and Australia where initiatives, with some exceptions, have not been sustained. Beijing and Shanghai are discussed as examples of the innovative second generation in East Asia, which is seen as a community relations model
in response to the socio-economic transformation of these countries. International interest in Learning Cities has now been enhanced following a major UNESCO International Conference on Learning Cities in Beijing in October 2013, which is to be followed by a Second International Conference in Mexico City. The Beijing Conference adopted the Beijing Declaration on Learning Cities supported by a Key Features document. The paper speculates on possible future development post Mexico City, including the situation in Australia, which is seen as opening opportunities for innovative initiatives.

Keywords: Learning Cities, Educating Cities, Beijing Declaration on Learning Cities, Key Features of Learning Cities, learning communities

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 55_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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1974 -1976: The seeds of longevity in a pathway to tertiary participation at University of Newcastle, NSW

Authors: Josephine May and Rosalie Bunn, University of Newcastle

Edition: Volume 55, Number 1, April 2015

Summary:  By the 1960s equality of opportunity was a dominant theme in social science research, and in keeping with this trend, the Whitlam Labor Government abolished university fees in 1974 to open university access, especially to talented women and men who otherwise would not contemplate a university career. In the same year also the
University of Newcastle instituted a radical new plan to open up its doors to the wider community of ‘non traditional students’. This paper explores the history of the enabling program that resulted, the Open Foundation Program, focusing on the 1974 pilot program and its first two years of full operation. Thought at the time likely to ‘drain its
market’ within five years, the Open Foundation has flourished and grown for forty years. The analysis focuses on hitherto unexplored aspects of the program and canvasses three key themes: curriculum and pedagogy, access and success, and support and retention, in order to understand the seeds of this longevity.

Keywords: enabling education; history; widening participation; access programs; non traditional students

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 55_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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The quest for authenticity: A study of an online discussion forum and the needs of adult learners

Author: Jenny McDougall, Central Queensland University

Edition: Volume 55, Number 1, April 2015

Summary:  The objective of achieving a sense of ‘authenticity’ in an educational context is one that might have immediate appeal, though how this is defined, let alone achieved, remains contested. The concept of ‘authentic
discussion’ has traditionally been used in the context of classroom English teaching in schools, but this paper explores its possible application to an online discussion forum at university. Participants in this forum were students in a program designed to prepare adult learners for higher education. Though communication in an online environment differs from face-to-face dialogue, it was found not to be a barrier to ‘authenticity’ in some respects. Multiple perspectives were evident with students building on the ideas of each other, but also being prepared to disagree. The level of support and respect was such that they were willing to tackle sensitive issues, and share in an honest and sometimes revealing way. The role of the lecturer emerged as a critical component in achieving such outcomes. Though claims of ‘authenticity’ are always difficult to substantiate, this study concludes that elements
of an ‘authentic discussion’ can be achieved in an online environment and this objective has a particular salience in the context of adult learning.

Keywords: authentic discussion, adult learning, online learning, critical thinking, enabling education

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 55_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Targeting assessment for developing adult lifelong learners: assessing the ability to commit

Author: Ya-Hui Su, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, Taiwan

Edition: Volume 55, Number 1, April 2015

Summary:  In this article, I propose that neither traditional assessment nor alternative, competence-based assessment is adequate to meet the challenges of uncertain change. Existentialist assessment that focuses on developing learners’ commitment, rather than their competence, may be more decisive in empowering learners who are facing adversity. Existentialist assessment shifts the focus from impersonality, achievement, and universalism to the inclusion of the adult learner’s commitment to making meaningful connections between learning and his or her existence (being). These committed meanings are willed and produced by the learner, not only to bring to an end a disturbing situation and uncertainty but also to develop a sense of significance and sustainability when facing uncertainty and processes of change. To ascertain a learner’s ability to commit, self-assessment, with its first-person perspective, must be taken into account. Implications include the alignment of assessment with pedagogy that facilitates the adult learner’s commitment to connecting his or her existence with the world.

Keywords: adult lifelong learning, assessment; commitment, existentialist, lifelong learning, lifelong learner

 

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 55_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.