Teaching & Research: Learning's Twin Poles

One reason I wanted to be here today is because I have a nagging concern about the drive to incorporate research more explicitly into teaching. It’s reminiscent of the drive for "quality" education in schools, which is also, in principle, very difficult to argue against. The problem with terms such as "research" and "quality" is how they are defined. Many people did, in fact, begin arguing against "quality" education once it became apparent that the measure of quality was standardized testing. I have a similar concern about how some may choose to define "research" and how it will be measured. I’m particularly concerned that it NOT be about indoctrinating students into preordained research methods so they can better meet funders’ and industry’s goals for more applied research

The End of Adult Education? The Formalization of Nonformal University Extension and Union Education.

Abstract: This paper examines the circumstances that precipitated a shift from liberal, social purpose to vocational adult education in the UK. To the voices of those in the UK who warn of the potentially dire social consequences of this shift, the paper adds the voice of a North American adult educator who addressed the serious implications of just such a shift in adult education's focus early in the century: Eduard Lindeman

The Commodification of Adult Education

Abstract: This paper discusses the consequences of cultural commodification for emancipatory adult education, arguing that while cultural commodification may generate a greater demand for adult education such market-driven programming will be stripped of any emancipatory potentia

The Imaginary Institution of Adult Education: A Reassessment of the Field's Collective Identity

This paper draws upon central concepts from the psychoanalytic tradition, and the work of several theorists working in that tradition – Copjec, Lacan, Laclau & Moffe, Lefort, and Zizek – to explain the identity crisis confronting the institution of adult education and outline a potential course of action for adult educators