Place an order. or Go back to publisher's information.

The Purposes of Adult Education: A Guide for Students

Bruce Spencer
Athabasca University
ISBN 1-55077-096-9, 150 pp., Paperback, $19.95 (US$15.95)

This text, intended as a supplemental guide for students, explores in greater detail the foundations of adult education. Chapter 1 reviews the purposes of adult education and relates these purposes to the philosophical and historical foundations of adult education and to social and political economy questions. It critically reflects on adult education as a field of practice and considers to what extent the study of adult education is centred on "practical knowledge" or on a study of foundational disciplines (philosophy, history, sociology, psychology).

Having considered the diverse meanings and purposes of adult education and Canadian adult education practice, the guide examines two distinct areas of adult education activity: education for economy (Chapter 2), and education for social change (Chapter 3). This is followed by an introduction to the diverse fields within adult education (Chapter 4). The book concludes with a brief review of adult education for the twenty-first century, concentrating on distance education and computer-mediated-communication (Chapter 5).

This supplemental guide will help students:

* Demonstrate a critical understanding of the foundations of adult education;

* Explain the major purposes of adult education;

* Relate the theories of adult education to practice;

* Discuss the impact of social, economic and political change on adult education;

* Link discourse on adult education to distance education and to developments in computer-mediated-communication.

CONTENTS

1. Education for Adults --The aims and purposes of adult education / What are the foundations of adult education / Andragogy / The field of adult education / Philosophies of adult education / Debate: How do we interpret historical examples of adult education? / Mechanics Institutes 1827-1890s / Women's Institutes / Frontier College / Antigonish Movement

2. Education for Economy -- Human capital theory / Worker education and training / Human resource management / Debate: Worker co-operation or Worker co-operatives? / The example of Mondragon

3. Education for Transformation -- Perspective transformation / Critical Social Theory / Education for social change / Debate: Old social movements or new social movements as agents of change?

4. Education for Diversity -- Diverse audiences, diverse purposes / Women in adult education / Education for the unemployed / Debate: Does adult learning require formal education? / The example of labour education

5. Education for the Twenty-first Century -- Distance education / Computer-mediated-communication and the virtual classroom / The purposes of education re-visited / Debate: Does distance education remove barriers and enhance openness?

Place an order.