Although adult education has long been associated with social movements, the relevance of social movement theory has hardly been explored. This stems in part from limitations in the sociological theory of social movements. New paradigms are emerging which provide a basis for theorizing adult education in terms of cognitive processes in social movements. These have general implications for our understanding of adult education's role in society. This paper considers the notion that adult education is itself a "movement." The development of social movement theory is traced, and reasons for its limited impact on adult education theory are explored. A new approach to understanding social movements in terms of "cognitive praxis," is outlined and its implications for adult education discussed.
Nowadays, participation in adult education is considered as in individual responsibility. However, participation is the result of a complex bounded agency between individuals, educational institutions and regulating governments (Boeren et al 2010). This paper explores the motivation of 12,000 European adult learners in formal adult education in 12 European countries. Analyses show consistent patterns comparable to welfare state typologies (Esping-Andersen 1990). Further exploration makes clear that motivation to participate in an adult education course can be interpreted in relation with labour market, education and social policy in the country of participation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.