Australian Journal of Adult Learning

From the Editor's Desk

Henrik Steenberg — 2024-09-03

We begin this editorial by noting changes in Ministerial portfolios with the most recent cabinet reshuffle in the Federal Albanese Government. Andrew Giles is now the Minister for Skills and Training, replacing Tony Burke; we look forward to seeing the Labor government’s further advancement of adult and lifelong learning in Australia. The April issue of AJAL offers four refereed papers on a broad range of research related to adult learning education, from the role of academics advising on adult learners’ transitions to university to an article on Bessie Harrison Lee’s fight for suffrage that brings together adult learning and popular education traditions, highlighting the importance of adult learning, resistance and social change. Adult learning in the community theatre and arts education space is explored in an article on adult community education. Continuing the current research in the post-pandemic era is an article from Eswatini in Africa, examining the perceptions of adult learning for those with visual impairment in the pandemic era.

The experiences of an online academic advising approach supporting adult learners transition into an enabling program preparing them for university.

Mary McGovern — 2024-09-03

Initiatives supporting successful transitions of adult learners into higher education contribute to students’ personal narratives and academic achievements, as well as universities’ approaches to student success and retention. Transition is complex, encompassing concepts of induction into university culture and practices; student development of a sense of belonging and identity; and the distinct but interwoven narratives of students and their universities. Successful transitions are crucial for adult learners commencing online studies after absences from formal education and students with disrupted or negative educational experiences. On-campus academic advising, while effective in supporting student transitions, disadvantages online students. This study explores students’ experiences of an online academic advising approach, designed to support student transition into an Australian regional university preparation program. 199 students completed surveys on their experiences of using the online approach. Findings indicate online academic advising is useful in supporting transitions into higher education, providing support with enrolment, access to relevant and timely information, and developing a student identity and sense of belonging. Using a transitional typology to critically review the approach suggests online academic advising could incorporate concepts of transition as university induction and student development. However, incorporating concepts of diverse students' holistic and rhizomatic identities was more complex.

Bessie Harrison Lee's fight for Victorian Women's Suffrage in the late nineteenth century: educating rural and urban women on the democratic process.

Jennifer Caligari — 2024-09-03

This paper argues that new ways of knowing were made possible by Lee who, empowered by the Evangelical faith, and her cultural capital, spoke out confidently in public spaces such as town halls, outside public bars, and on the front doorsteps of women's homes. These spaces were the places of learning or as Bourdieu described the field. Also the meeting places of the WCTU, in private lounge rooms or Church Halls, enabled women to support each other in the political process of debate, addressing community issues, and devising strategic plans to improve the lives of women.

Adult, Community Education in Acting and Performance as Personal Development: ”I can look people in the eye now”

Rob Townsend — 2024-09-03

Creative arts and performance courses at the community level for mature age individuals are theatre and drama as education and therapy. This article charts and reflects on several ACE arts-based courses and community theatre productions that have changed due to COVID-19 pandemic and the professional experiences of the teacher. Change for individuals via education occurs with intention and unintentionally and these need to be documented, with some examples,es presented here. If personal change and development was the I tetion of the courses described here, then participants did have opportunity to integrate their self-discoveries into their real lives, potentially leading to transformation. The teacher being aware of, and skilled in, emotional regulation strategies can benefit students and teachers in all forms of learning, specifically ACE. The students in the courses described in this article have transformed from anxious, self-doubting individuals into empowere, self-co fide t people who bravely create their own acting techniques and others.

Perceptions of adult learners with visual impairment throughout COVID-19 pandemic:

Nomazulu Ngozwana — 2024-09-03

The importance of providing institutional assistance to adult learners with visual impairment throughout covid-19 pandemic cannot be overemphasized. This paper examined the experiences of adult learners with visual impairment, whose studies were significantly affected by the implementation of lockdown and social distancing that led to their dropping out from one university in Eswatini. Using phenomenological design three adult learners with visual impairment who dropped out of the university were chosen to take part in the study. Adult learners responded to a semi-structured interview guide during the individual conversations. The data were analysed using qualitative thematic analysis. Ethical considerations such as informed consent and anonymity were observed. The findings revealed the themes of social isolation, personal challenges, and lack of institutional assistance. Adult learners with visual impairment reported that there was no support received from the institution. Furthermore, adult learners indicated that some lecturers omitted them by not communicating and providing suitable materials for their condition. The participants acknowledged the awareness of using technology during the covid-19 pandemic; however, they stated the lack of devices, inadequate technology skills, and their reliance on sighted adult learners and peers to read the content for them. This paper suggests that lecturers at this university in Eswatini be trained on how to teach and support adult learners with visual impairment, and the institution should consider developing a comprehensive education policy to cater for all different adult learners. Comprehensiveness has always been a challenge for adult learners with disabilities generally, but now the pandemic has escalated it.

Supporting diverse learner needs

Rachel Taylor — 2024-09-03

During my 20-year career as a specialist language and literacy educator, I have found that inclusive and experiential classroom pedagogies stimulate and engage learners of all ages and demographics. What is more, these same methods can be effectively implemented to support individuals with diverse learning needs. This article discusses the 8 Ways of Aboriginal Learning (NSW Department of Education, n.d.) as a pedagogical approach for engaging and supporting learners with diverse needs and, using a case study example, demonstrates how the holistic integration of different strategies enhances learning opportunities for all students. Whether you see yourself as an educator, teacher, trainer, mentor or supervisor, and regardless of whether you ‘teach’ in a standard classroom, workplace settings (e.g. office building, health clinic), or a community-based learning centre, the ideas and approaches presented in this paper will help you construct learning opportunities that will support student success and make lesson planning and preparation more effective and time-efficient.

In any given student cohort, there is always significant diversity between learners in terms of their abilities, prior knowledge and experience, and their individual learning preferences (Teemant & Pinnegar, 2020). Learners will also vary across a range of dimensions including physical or learning challenges, differences in cultural and linguistic backgrounds, socio-economic status, and variances in social-emotional needs (Gronseth et al., 2021). Best practise education literature has evidenced the need to reduce barriers and challenges for diverse individuals since they face greater challenges to academic achievement (Howard & Aleman, 2008), and long-term success in education and employment (Sanderson, 2020). Strategies demonstrating how to adjust your teaching style to accommodate learner variability are widely available (Gronseth et al., 2021; Teemant & Pinnegar, 2020). While these methods are appropriate and effective for one-on-one planning and delivery, ‘classroom’ populations have become increasingly diverse with the collective diversity (multicultural, learning disabled, and speakers of other languages) now often making up the majority rather than a minority (Gronseth et al., 2021; Teemant & Pinnegar, 2020). Educators are increasingly time poor with greater administrative responsibilities and demands than ever before (Tisdell, 1995) which makes the tailoring of content to meet the needs of each individual a near impossibility. Scholars now suggest planning for individual learner variabilities from the outset (Gronseth et al., 2021) with programs aiming to meet ‘collective’ needs rather than addressing needs individually (Brownlie et al., 2016; Teemant & Pinnegar, 2020).

Making Connections

Cheryl Ryan — 2024-09-03

Making Connections is a must read for anyone interested in adult education. The book showcases the evolution of Delia Bradshaw’s thinking and writing about the transformative potential of adult education through keynote speeches, articles, reflections, lesson plans and workshop activities. A passionate and committed educator, during her four decades of engagement with adult education, Delia worked in numerous roles in a broad range of organisational contexts. The book principally focuses on making connections between her roles and different ‘voices’ as teacher, writer, researcher and public speaker.

Adult Language Education and Migration

Henrik Steenberg — 2024-09-03

Given the recent world events of unprecedented proportions (e.g., COVID-19, wars, and populism), the movement of people across borders looks like a scene in an apocalyptic movie. Whether migration is fueled by choice or by force, it is the numbers that tell the truth. According to the UN’s World Migration Report (2022), an estimated 281 million people live in a country other than their country of birth, which is 128 million higher than in 1990. Much research is done on its impact on children, yet scarce literature is dedicated to adults, especially on the policies that influence their education in a foreign country. To address this disparity, the editors of “Adult Language Education and Migration: Challenging Agendas in Policy and Practice” touch a sensitive topic of migration with a critical examination of policy maneuvering on the opportunities for adult language learning in nine focal countries (i.e., Australia, Canada, Spain (Catalonia), Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US). They gather 25 contributors to analyze and, in the process question, the language education policies of these countries, bringing us a comparative study of their policy and practice. This comprehensive analysis is a significant contribution to the field, shedding light on wide-ranging issues of integration, top-down policy, language and citizenship testing, monolingual hegemony, multiculturalism, plurilingual classroom practices, and teaching challenges.