Adult Education and the Home Front

In his book entitled "Teaching Defiance: Stories and strategies for activist educators," this author asserted that, although his book was not a discussion of the Iraq war, it was concerned with the way the war has been "waged" in the countries of the three invaders: the USA, the UK and Australia. For him, the fact that each government disregarded the will of so many of its citizens marked a significant change. When governments disregard the protests of the people who elected them, adult educators--like all concerned people--have a duty to promote public dialogue between citizens and their leaders. The author believes that adult educators should make use of whatever skills they have to help re-establish a democracy constructed on open, frank and continuing public dialogue between the citizens and their elected leaders. This article discusses the skills that are needed to engage in dialogue with the leaders: (1) making appraisals; (2) thinking clearly; (3) thinking inventively; (4) taking action; and (5) acting wisely.The author identifies six flaws that commonly occur in explanations of transformative learning, and suggests that transformative learning may not exist as an identifiable phenomenon. He proposes that we abandon the term "transformative learning," and adopt the straightforward term "good learning." Good learning, he argues, has nine aspects.

Publisher:Publisher name and contact information, as provided by the publisher; updated only if notified by the publisher. National Institute of Adult Continuing Education. Renaissance House, 20 Princess Road West, Leicester, LE1 6TP, UK. Tel: +44-1162-044200; Fax: +44-1162-044262; e-mail: enquiries@niace.org.uk; Web site: http://www.niace.org.uk/Publications/Periodicals/Default.htm