John Dewey’s educational philosophy provides a compelling resource for empowering adult vocational education through a cultural vision, ultimately rooted in a view of social democracy as the creative task of lifelong learning before us. This is supported by Dewey’s interpretation of knowledge construction in its varied cognitive, ethical, and aesthetic forms, which provides the basis for transforming the perceived opposition between academic studies and vocational education in contemporary schooling, which I appropriate to the adult basic education field. To flesh this out, the essay homes in on the certified nursing assistant field through descriptive narratives, a nursing assistant training manual, and a corresponding lifelong curriculum framework. The challenges of implementing any aspirational vision are noted. Yet given its substantial grounding in experiential and transformative learning, progressive education, humanistic psychology, and a view of human resource management based on these influences, Dewey’s cultural philosophy of vocational education opens up pathways that can move in this direction, and is, therefore, worthy of much deliberate consideration.

Correspondence: georged840@gmail.com

Potential relationships of incarcerated adult participation in basic correctional education with recidivism seldom receive analysis in largescale datasets. Though 95% of incarcerated adults reenter communities when released, recidivism is higher for adults with low skills. This paper presents new Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies findings on characteristics and skills of U.S. incarcerated adults participating in basic correctional education. The paper also examines adults’ learning outcomes and available state recidivism rates from the National Reporting System. Recidivism is lower for adults participating in basic correctional education than for incarcerated adults overall, a finding worth further investigation. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.

Correspondence: margaret@researchallies.org

This essay describes the decline in the number of participants enrolled in federally-funded adult basic education (ABE), adult secondary education (ASE), and adult English Language (EL) programs. Enrollment data since 1965 indicate a steep and consistent downward trend in the number of adults enrolling in these programs since the 1990s. Importantly, since program year 2000-2001, the first year reflecting standardized reporting, there has been a 65.8% reduction in the number of ABE/ASE students enrolling in federally-funded programs and a 49.2% reduction in the number of EL students. The purpose of this article is to highlight the long-term nature of these trends, ask critical questions, and promote further engagement with the topic.

Correspondence: pickard@iu.edu

Organizations advocating for federal, state, and local level support for adult education have long relied on the power of individual story to influence both public perception and public policy. Recognizing the effectiveness of adult learner and adult educator voices in advocacy, professional organizations such as VALUEUSA (2021), ProLiteracy (2021), Coalition on Adult Basic Education (n.d.), and TESOL International (n.d.) have developed training programs, provided advocacy toolkits...

Correspondance: deborah.kennedy@key-words.us

The adult literacy education field draws on research from several disciplines to support the work of educating the 40-44 million U.S. adults who lack the skills to obtain and maintain family sustaining work opportunities (Kirsch et al., 1993). Adult literacy research that documents the prevalence of low literacy in the adult population is useful for increasing awareness, for advocacy, and for educating funders and community partners about the need for, and impact of, adult literacy education. Research from ...

Correspondance: carminestewart@seedsofliteracy.org

The relationship between research and practice in education, especially in adult education (AE), has generally been tenuous with most educational research focused on K-12 contexts and structured classroom environments that do not directly translate to adult learning contexts. However, the ever-increasing pace of change in the instructional landscape over the last two years has driven us, in our professional development (PD) center, to rely heavily on research about how people learn in diverse environments and to respond quickly with approaches and strategies that can be immediately applied to instructional practice. COVID has reshaped the educational landscape...

Correspondance: seversonirea@vcu.edu

The Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education, 2020 Edition is a nearly 500-page text that provides a comprehensive overview of the knowledge, practices, and research in adult and continuing education. The book’s overall purpose is to inform scholars, practitioners, learners, and policymakers about the complexities of adult learning in education. It is divided into five sections...

Correspondence: jcastek@arizona.edu

In my role as a staff developer in the CUNY Adult Literacy Program in New York City, I support math teachers with curriculum and coaching and teach a weekly math class. In March 2020, I was teaching a class when we switched to online because of the COVID pandemic. Since then, I have been searching for a combination of instructional tools for remote math instruction that would allow for a problem-solving approach...

Correspondence: eric.appleton@cuny.edu

The scientific study of dyslexia has a long history, dating back to the 19th century (Stein, 2018). Despite intensive study in the fields of neuroscience, psychology, genetics, and education, simple truths about dyslexia have been slow to emerge, with some early results not holding up to further scientific scrutiny. As a result, many misconceptions persist in the public and among educators. Further, the research conducted with and applied to adult learners...

Correspondence: jpsbtini@memphis.edu

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Each Technology Solutions for Adult Foundational Education Challenges column begins with a common challenge facing education practitioners. Solutions offered for these challenges, at least in part through using technology, include hardware, software applications such as websites, course management systems, learning management systems, and apps for mobile devices. Each article begins with a description of the challenge, and then examines solutions that involve the use of digital technology.

Correspondence: djrosen@newsomeassociates.com