The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of adult education faculty toward developing and teaching online adult education courses in their master’s programs to assist in our own transition to online adult education and to offer insight to others who may be interested in doing the same. Ten participants who work in fully online programs agreed to take part in this interpretive interview research. We coded and analyzed the data using the constant comparison and thematic analysis methods. Community of Inquiry was the framework guiding this study. Data analysis led to themes describing the contexts of these programs, meaningful benefits, noteworthy challenges, and insights and recommendations for instructors new to online adult education graduate programs. Implications and conclusions drawn from the study’s findings are presented.

Grandmothers are often referred to as the spiritual learners and leaders within families and often pass their religious teachings on to their children and grandchildren. This qualitative study investigated learning and human capital development among rural African American grandmothers ( n = 10) caring for their grandchildren. The findings revealed the participants’ perception of the Black Church, an agency for learning. The findings further revealed the benefits of religious education in learning communities and how the skills the participants acquired through such engagements contributed to their human capital development, thereby indicating the wages of worship. Finally, findings indicated how the participants utilized religious teachings to support the development of the children in their care.

After attending the 21st Annual Adult Education Research Conference (AERC) African Diaspora Pre-Conference, the authors present their reflections on the significance of the pre-conference.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) emerged in the United States toward the close of 2019. CBOs were forced to either change their hours of operation or completely close their doors to avoid further widespread dissemination of the virus. The abrupt changes among CBOs posed some challenges for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), especially Black women living with HIV/AIDS (BWLHA). For this reason, this study aimed to explore the impact of the global pandemic on BWLHA receiving services from CBO service providers. A qualitative inquiry was used to examine the narratives of two CBOs’ service providers (i.e., Narrators 1 and 2). Hill-Collins's (1990) Black Feminist Theory was utilized to frame the research. Three approaches to narrative analysis also were employed to analyze participants' stories. Such narratives helped to underscore the trauma experienced by BWLHA. The stories also reflected feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression among the women. Meditation and advocacy were forms of learning provided for the women. The participation in "sister circles" was recognized as a system of support. Implications for practice suggested that CBOs' service providers develop collective trauma care plans that are comprehensive, specific to client’s needs, and informed by adult learning principles to help BWLHA navigate trauma events.

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Adult learning facilitators in any setting (ALFAS) seek to facilitate learning that is lifelong and meaningful. The purpose of this interpretive research study was to explore how instructional designers (IDs) construct knowledge when preparing graduate faculty to develop and teach courses online. The study involved five IDs and their perceptions of their knowledge construction when collaborating with graduate faculty to transition their courses to online instruction. The four main themes that emerged from the data were learning community or community of practice, individual experiences as adult educators, individual experiences as adult learners, and challenges to the learning process. These themes broaden the understanding of IDs’ perceived knowledge construction within a constructivist framework, an area that can inform adult educators and workplace learning as online instruction continues to gain much momentum.

African American grandmothers have long held the roles of religious leaders and educators among family members and the wider community, though the provision of religious education and informal learning from grandparent caregivers have not been well documented in the literature. Based upon the gaps in the literature, we examined the informal learning and human capital among rural African American grandmothers (N = 10) who were caring for their grandchildren. The research questions were: What informal religious adult education activities do rural African American primary caregiving grandmothers engage in for learning and human capital development? How do rural grandmothers use informal religious education activities to support the learning of the children in their care? For data analysis purposes, we employed Creswell's (2005) six‐step method. The emerging themes were the Black church as an agency for learning, religious education in learning communities, and children's development through religious education. The findings seemed to align with Collins's theory of Black female empowerment. Implications aligned with Bandura's social cognitive theory, which places learning in a social context and indicates how and what adults learn can affect motivation, self‐efficacy, and confidence. Considerations for future research include studies of grandfathers caring for their grandchildren as well as intergenerational learning experiences (e.g., religious education and technology usage) among caregivers and children.

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