Self-direction in learning. Many books and articles about lifelong learning talk glibly about self direction. Too often this idea is seen as unproblematic – an obvious good. But things are not quite as they seem. Contents: Tough – self education and learning projects · product and process · Knowles – process and the rationale for …
Category archives: Lifelong learning and adult education
Self-directed learning
Stephen D. Brookfield explores the notion of self-directed learning. He takes Knowles’ (1975) influential definition as a starting point and then explores some of the problems surrounding the idea. Brookfield highlights two particular characteristics that move the discussion from a technical to a critical realm: authentic control, and access to resources. He argues that it …
Peter Senge and the learning organization
Peter Senge and the learning organization. Peter Senge’s vision of a learning organization as a group of people who are continually enhancing their capabilities to create what they want to create has been deeply influential. We discuss the five disciplines he sees as central to learning organizations and some issues and questions concerning the theory …
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Settlements and adult education
Settlements and adult education. What is the shape of adult education and lifelong learning is settlements? How has it developed? Mark K. Smith investigates. Contents: introduction • the nature of adult education in settlements • la vie associative • current practice • liberal and basic education • vocational and professional training • social pedagogy and …
Samuel Smiles : Self help with illustrations of character and conduct
Samuel Smiles’s Self-Help is said to have reflected the spirit of its age. It also proved to be a best seller – with more than a quarter of a million copies sold by the time of Smiles’s death. Arguing for the importance of character, thrift and perseverance, the book also celebrates civility, independence and individuality. …
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Social capital and lifelong learning
Social capital and lifelong learning. We know very little about the way that people’s networks affect their access to learning. John Field examines the evidence concerning links between social capital and lifelong learning. Contents: introduction · social capital and human capital and lifelong learning · lifelong learning and social capital – exploring possibilities · conclusion …
Social education
James Hole (1860) fascinating discussion of social education, Chapter VIII of “Light, More Light!” On the present state of education amongst the working classes of Leeds, London: Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts, pages 107-125. [Page 107] THERE are some agencies which, though they cannot be classed as schools, have an educational influence of the most …
Social education – the evolution of an idea
Social education – the evolution of an idea. What is social education and how has it evolved as a practice and as a theory? We explore the emergence of social pedagogy and the different strands of thinking that developed in Britain and the USA. contents: introduction · · conclusion · further reading and references · …
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Henry Solly and the Working Men’s Club and Institute Union
Founder of the Working Men’s Club and Institute Union and a great propagandist for clubs, Henry Solly provided a much needed conceptual clarity to the notion of club work. He also was an important advocate for the extension of working-class political rights and helped to set up the Charity Organization Society. contents: introduction · involvement …
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Henry Solly: The origin and nature of Working Men’s Clubs and Institutes
Picture by Graeme Douglas. Flickr ccbysa2 licence In this piece Henry Solly reviews the early development of working men’s clubs and establishes their central characteristics and principles. First published as Chapter 1 of Henry Solly (1867; 1904) Working Men’s Social Clubs and Educational Institutes. Founder of the Club and Institute Union and a great propagandist …
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Prospectus for the Working Men’s Club and Institute Union
This prospectus was drawn up by Henry Solly in 1862 in order to obtain money and support for the establishment of the Club and Institute Union. Founder of the Club and Institute Union and a great propagandist for clubs, Henry Solly (1813-1903) provided a much needed conceptual clarity to the notion of club work. He …
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Maude Stanley: Night schools
Maude Stanley 2862 by Camille Silvy. Wikipedia pd. This piece provides an insight into the way in which parish visitors approached their tasks – in particular, how they related schooling and club work to outreach. Taken from Chapter IX of Maude Stanley’s (1878) Work About The Five Dials, London: Macmillan. Maude Stanley, the third daughter …
Arthur Sweatman: Youths’ clubs and institutes
Arthur Sweatman Internet Archive | Wikipedia pd Arthur Sweatman’s (1863) groundbreaking paper was the first to describe and advocate club provision for youths. It provides a particularly helpful insight to some of the activities of early clubs and institutes. First read to the Social Science Association in Edinburgh in October 1863, this paper subsequently became …
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Richard Henry Tawney, fellowship and adult education
Richard Henry Tawney was a noted economic historian, democratic socialist and educator. Here we make a brief assessment of his contribution as an adult educationalist – and his strong belief in fellowship. contents: introduction and life · equality· association and the dispersion of power · social function · democratic citizenship · fellowship · adult education …
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What is teaching? A definition and discussion
In this piece Mark K Smith explores the nature of teaching – those moments or sessions where we make specific interventions to help people learn particular things. He sets this within a discussion of pedagogy and didactics and demonstrates that we need to unhook consideration of the process of teaching from the role of ‘teacher’ …
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Key teaching activities
In this add-on to ‘What is teaching?’ Mark K Smith outlines nine key activities that teachers engage in. Teaching, he argues, is the process of attending to people’s needs, experiences and feelings, and making specific interventions to help them learn particular things. Contents: being present • setting challenging tasks • talking • explaining • showing …
Allen Tough, learning projects and lifelong learning
Allen M. Tough, learning projects and lifelong learning. Allen Tough deepened our appreciation of lifelong learning through his studies of the ways in which adults conduct learning projects as part of everyday life. Here we examine his contribution. Under construction Allen M. Tough (1936-2012) is best known for his research and writing around the processes …
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Toynbee Hall, adult education and association
Toynbee Hall, adult education and association. The setting up of the Worker’s Educational Association is often portrayed as Toynbee Hall’s key contribution to adult education. Mark K. Smith suggests it is something else – developing the learning that arises out of the life of an association. Contents: introduction · settlements of university men · on clubs …
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Toynbee Hall, adult education and association
Toynbee Hall, adult education and association. The setting up of the Worker’s Educational Association is often portrayed as Toynbee Hall’s key contribution to adult education. Mark K. Smith suggests it is something else – developing the learning that arises out of the life of an association. Contents: introduction · settlements of university men · on …
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Viewing Impington – Henry Morris and the idea of the village college
Viewing Impington – Henry Morris and the idea of the village college. Henry Morris’ championship of the village college has been a significant feature of, and inspiration for, discussions about the worth of community schooling. On this page we explore Henry Morris’s vision of the village college (for more see Henry Morris) though the design …
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Mary Ward and the Passmore Edwards Settlement
Mary Ward – Wikipedia pd An innovative settlement founded by Mary Ward that developed play centres, special education and a range of other programmes. Mary Ward and the Passmore Edwards Settlement (now Mary Ward House), 9 Tavistock Place WC1. The original settlement began as University Hall in Gordon Square in 1890. Soon Marchmont Hall in …
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John Howard Whitehouse, John Ruskin and educational reform
John Howard Whitehouse, John Ruskin and educational reform. John Howard Whitehouse (1873-1955) is now remembered chiefly as a champion of John Ruskin – but he played a significant role in developing work with boys, was active in the settlement movement, served as an MP, and was an innovative educationalist and headmaster. Sara Atwood explores his …
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George Williams and the YMCA
George Williams and the YMCA. George Williams and the small group of other young men who set up the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) had a great belief in what they were doing – but they probably have been amazed at the scale and scope of the worldwide movement that emerged. Here we examine the …
Raymond Williams and education – a slow reach again for control
Raymond Williams and education – a slow reach again for control. Raymond Williams was a literary critic, cultural historian, cultural and political theorist, novelist, dramatist, and the virtual inventor of the interdisciplinary field known as ‘cultural studies’. Josh Cole explores his little appreciated contribution as an educational thinker. Contents: introduction · early encounters with community …
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Robert A. Woods: Settlements, neighbourhoods and associations
Robert A. Woods: Settlements, neighbourhoods and associations. Robert Archey Woods played a pivotal role in the introduction and development of university and social settlements in the United States of America. In this brief assessment we outline his contribution. contents: introduction · conclusion · bibliography · how to cite this article Robert Archey Woods (1865-1925) was …
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Working and learning together to build stronger communities
Subtitled ‘Working draft Community Learning and Development Guidance’, this document was published in January 2003. It sets out Scottish Executive thinking around the provision and development of community learning. contents: preface · foreword – margaret curran · introduction · defining community learning and development · community planning · joining up the planning process · quality, …
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Critiquing workplace learning discourses: participation and continuity at work
Stephen Billett critiques some assumptions shaping current discourses on workplace learning and proposes that these assumptions restrict how workplace learning is conceptualised and discussed. In particular, he focus on how describing workplace learning environments and experiences as ‘informal’ and that ‘informal learning’ occurs in workplaces constrains understanding about how learning occurs through work and, consequently, …
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Basil Yeaxlee, lifelong learning and informal education
A key, but overlooked figure, Basil Yeaxlee wrote the first book on lifelong education; argued that informal education was as significant as formal; and explored the spiritual nature of education contents: introduction and life · the YMCA and the huts · the 1919 report · spiritual values in adult education · Basil Yeaxlee, lifelong education and …
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