Introduction: Advancing Adult and Continuing Education Through Critical Conversations and Diverse Perspectives
Editorial Material
Mizzi, RC, Rocco, TS, Smith, MC et al. (2023). Introduction: Advancing Adult and Continuing Education Through Critical Conversations and Diverse Perspectives
. 1-8. 10.4324/9781003447849-1
Mizzi, RC, Rocco, TS, Smith, MC et al. (2023). Introduction: Advancing Adult and Continuing Education Through Critical Conversations and Diverse Perspectives
. 1-8. 10.4324/9781003447849-1
Those who think about adult education or lifelong learning are, by nature, planners of the future, not surveyors of the past. In their view, education tends to be concerned with needs and aspirations; with imperfections or inadequacies in people, institutions and communities; and with how life can be made better by learning. As Houle illustrates, the field of adult and continuing education can be fairly described as a forward-looking domain of practice and scholarship. Adult education is a discipline that foresees a better tomorrow, and this foundational value is what drives current and future plans, activisms, pedagogies, and discussions. A reflective and critical lens was needed to provide insights on the content updated every 10 years. An aspect of diverse work situations is that workers experience less job security as corporate offices and manufacturers relocate overseas, new technologies replace workers, and labor unions shrink in size and influence, all hallmarks of neoliberalism.
