A volume in Research in Second Language LearningJoAnn Hammadou Sullivan, Series EditorIn 2002, this series was launched with its first volume, Literacy and the Second LanguageLearner, which contained many noteworthy research studies in the learning andteaching of second language reading. The selection of this theme for the series' entry onthe scene demonstrates the importance of the topic of second language reading. Becausereading plays a key role in the act of acquiring new knowledge, it is important to understandthis complex process. The series again explores this multifaceted and fruitful areaof inquiry in this, its seventh volume. In recent years, an explosion of work that strivesto create a more complete understanding of second language reading has occurred andresearchers today are making gains in fitting together a model of second language reading.This current volume brings together a range of high quality analyses of adult foreign language reading across languages andresearch methods. It provides important research findings that will assist foreign language readers and those who supporttheir efforts.

A volume in Adult Education Special Topics: Theory, Research, and Practice in Lifelong LearningSeries Editor: Kathleen P. King, Fordham UniversityThis handbook is a much expanded version of the original Learning Activities Survey published byDr. Kathleen P. King of Fordham University in 1998. Based on her ground breaking research in this fieldwhere she used a mixed methodology research approach to study transformative learning, the book willprovide a model of research, firsthand perspective of how research design develops, reprints of articles basedon the related research and specific assistance in conducting further research in this area. Over 50 studiesaround the world have been conducted base on King's original research, and her work has extended acrossmore than 12 studies since the original publication.Moreover, this volume is a vital research companion book to King's popular book, Bringing Transformative Learning to Life (Krieger, 2005). Based on our history with the prior edition (it is sold out); this book will have wide appeal among adult education human resource development, psychology and counseling researchers, students, professors, and practitioners, and it serve as an excellent textbook or personal introduction studies offoundations of adult learning, applied research or transformative learning. Professors and students of adult learning, counseling, human resourcedevelopment, staff development, educational administration and leadership, psychology and other social sciences use this as a guide for researchstudies especially in the area of adult learning and/or transformative learning.Readers will find that this handbook provides an overview of King's transformative learning research dating back to 1997, a manual for useof the research tools, a research methodology and an approach to open new vistas of research. The first manual (published in 1998) is now out of printand this 10th anniversary edition not only fills the gap, but also continues where it stopped. This handbook delineates the original model and theexpanding and evolving research which has developed from 1997 to 2008.More than a manual, instead this book uses a variety of formats to accomplish this goal: reflection, formal discussion, instructions, technical information, personal and learner stories, selectedresearch articles, and several modified forms of the original Learning Activities Survey (LAS)instrument.

A veteran college dean gives parents of college students all the practical guidance they'll need to navigate the labyrinth of bureaucracies and policies in order to support their student's academic career and extracurricular life. Most books for college parents dwell on the emotional and psychological challenges when their son or daughter "cuts loose" into the quasi-dependent, quasi-adult limbo of college. Here at last is an expert nuts-and-bolts guide showing parents how to work collaboratively with their children to navigate the college bureaucracy-a labyrinth that at times seems perversely designed to frustrate parents at every turn, even on such basic matters as tuition and fees, grades, and disciplinary, legal, and medical problems. Drawing on her 20 years of experience as a student affairs dean at a top-ranked national university, Helen Akinc teaches college parents everything they need to know about policies and practices today in college administration, instruction, and student services. The practical advice gathered in this handbook will empower college parents to extract enough information from the system to support, guide, and monitor the academic career and general well-being of their college student-both on campus and off, in both routine and special situations. A bibliography of suggested websites, readings, and additional resources at the end of most chapters A comprehensive index

Andragogy may be defined as a scientific discipline for study of the research, theory, processes, technology, practice, and anything else of value and benefit including learning, teaching, instructing, guiding, leading, and modeling/exemplifying a way of life that would help to facilitate and bring adults to their full degree of humaneness. Andragogy is one part of the broader international field of adult education, human resource development, and lifelong learning, thus serving the advancement and connection needs of adult learners, organizational development, and lifelong learning in areas such as higher education, business, military, corporate training, healthcare, executive leadership, courtroom practice, religious life, and human resource development. Facilitating Adult and Organizational Learning Through Andragogy: A History, Philosophy, and Major Themes investigates the history, philosophy, and major themes of andragogy and how they may contribute to helping practitioners to design and facilitate adult and organizational learning. The book presents more than 500 documents that are examined through two different lenses. The first lens is the history and philosophy (or a chronological approach) of andragogy while the second lens takes a look at the major themes as categories of what the documents express. While encompassing the background, uses, and future of andragogy, this book is ideally intended for teachers, administrators, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students.

This edited volume sheds light on the lived experiences of underrepresented scholars as they transitioned into their professional roles. Bringing together the stories of doctoral students, practicing scholars, and preeminent scholars in the field of education, the book focuses on the development of voice and scholarship within underrepresented populations in colleges of education and the intersectionality of mentoring. Throughout the book, authors highlight the impact that sources of support and development, such as the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), had on doctoral degree completion and post degree attainment professional endeavors. Overall, the collection shares and contextualizes experiences and implications of support regarding career advancement related to diversifying higher education faculty and administration.

This book explores the reasons why adult ESL learners drop out of their language classes and suggests explicit strategies for keeping students engaged. The most effective strategies may be personal rather than technical or curricular. Based on a study of a group of Mexican immigrants to the US, the author proposes that superacion or 'self-actualization' is crucial to understanding the relative success of adult ESL learners. Learners' decisions to drop out were not hasty or superficial but were based on a commonsense assessment concerning how the class might improve the quality of their lives. Those involved in delivering ESL to adult learners should stress the tangible, practical advantages that accrue with learning English, and at the same time strive to make instruction relevant.

This book examines continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers in Finland. As one of the best-performing countries in terms of education, the Finnish education system is often revered and held up as an example to follow. However, the authors argue that CPD actually constitutes the Achilles' heel of this 'miraculous' system, demonstrating that in fact it is a victim of contradictory discourses and actions among decision-makers, teacher educators and practitioners. Including extensive interviews from CPD providers, teachers and other educational actors, the authors critically discuss the 'wonders' of Finnish education, in the process debunking various myths created both inside and outside Finland. The authors also call for a new approach to comparative and international education. Based on over 20 years of experience in Finnish education, this pioneering book will be of interest and value to students and scholars of Finnish education, continuing professional development and international education branding more generally.

This textbook for in-service and pre-service training uses the "reflective teaching" approach as popularized by Andrew Pollard. The book is written to coincide with the introduction of Further Education National Training Organisation (FENTO) standards - every tutor will have to demonstrate that s/he can meet these standards. Covering both further and adult education, the textbook is written in a variety of styles to suit different kinds of readers: each chapter contains narrative/description of typical issues and incidents, theoretical explanation, practical advice (with checklists) and questions. It is designed to suit both course adoption and individual learning.

A volume in Adult Education Special Topics: Theory, Research, and Practice in Lifelong Learning Series Editor: Kathleen P. King, Fordham University Case studies have become a widely-used instructional tool in many educational environments. The use of case studies began in the 1950s at Harvard Business School. Today, they may be used as part of a course of study, or as the main focus of a course, to which other material is added. While the use of case studies is prevalent in schools of business and medicine, they are not often used in adult education or human resource development. This may be because there are no current major publications that deal with the use of case studies in these disciplines; nor are there any major databases of adult education or human resource development case studies for instructors to use. Good case studies can bring reality into the classroom. They can provide frameworks for discussion based on issues that must be faced in real life. Complex case issues can be broken down and examined for greater understanding, then pulled together again for resolution. Case studies can be used successfully in adult education. I propose a book based on the use of case-based learning in adult education and human resource development (HRD). The book could be positioned as a supplement to course textbooks for courses in adult education and HRD. I would write the cases and develop the exercises, but could also get others to contribute a case study or exercise to the book. Cases would each be a half-page to maybe 2-3 pages at the long end, and would include questions for students/readers. Supplementary information (possibly in the form of a DVD) could be put together for instructors. This information would include case study focal points and examples of possible responses for each study/exercise.

This book compels professionals to actively imbibe self-awareness in their thought process in order to help them manage complexities in business. The authors explore dialectical thinking -in contrast to logical thinking-and introduce a new mind-opening thinking process called "Metathinking". Four case studies demonstrate the application of Metathinking. The reader shall come across, and learn from, a multitude of mind opening questions on a variety of topics, with particular focus on leadership and transformation. Practical exercises are also offered for training and discussion in the workplace.

The book provides best practices from online educators who are engaged in online teaching and program development in Christian higher education. It also explores the distinct aspects of teaching and developing online courses and programs from a Christian perspective and within Christian higher education institutions. As such it is can serve as a ready resource for academic administrators and professors, novices and veterans at online program development and instruction.

Winner of the AAACE Cyril O. Houle Award This book constructs a deepening, interdisciplinary understanding of adult learning and imaginatively reframes its transformative aspects. The authors explore the tension at the heart of current understanding of 'transformative' adult learning: that while it can be framed as both easy and imperative, personal transformation is in fact rooted in the context in which we live, our stories and relationships. At its core, transformation is never easy - nor always desirable - and the authors thus draw on interdisciplinary and auto/biographical inquiry to explore what it means to change our presuppositions and frames of meaning that guide our thinking. Using their linguistic, gendered, academic and cultural differences, the authors illuminate how the social, contextual, cultural, cognitive and psychological dimensions of transformation intertwine. In doing so, they emphasise the importance of transformation as a contingent struggle for meaning and recognition, social justice, fraternity, and the pursuit of truth. This engaging book will be of interest to students and scholars of transformative learning and education.

This book explores the phenomenon of researchers at risk: that is, the experiences of scholars whose research topics require them to engage with diverse kind of dangers, uncertainties or vulnerabilities. This risk may derive from working with variously marginalised individuals or groups, or from being members of such groups themselves. At other times, the risk relates to particular economic or environmental conditions, or political forces influencing the specific research fields in which they operate. This book argues for the need to reconceptualise - and thereby to reimagine - the phenomenon of researchers' risks, particularly when those risks are perceived to affect, and even to threaten the researchers. Drawing on a diverse and global range case studies including Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Baluchistan, Cyprus, and Germany, the chapters call for the need to identify effective strategies for engaging proactively with these risks to address precarity, jeopardy and uncertainty.

Scottish Gaelic in Twelve Weeks has been written both as a self-tuition course for beginners and also for use within the classroom. You may want to learn Gaelic because of a general interest in Celtic or Scottish history and culture, or because it was the everyday language of your ancestors. The cynical observer may wonder if the exercise is worthwhile, when only 1.5 per cent of Scotland's population speak the language. However, Gaelic is far from dead; in some parts of the Highlands and Western Isles it is the everyday language and it represents an important part of the United Kingdom's cultural mix. There are Gaelic-learning classes in almost every area of Scotland. Each lesson in the book contains some essential points of grammar explained and illustrated, exercises, a list of new vocabulary (with a guide to pronunciation, using the International Phonetics Alphabet), and an item of conversation. This new edition includes an audio download link.

Technological Applications in Adult and Vocational Education Advancement aims to advance the understanding, practice, and research within career and technical education. This book provides a global view on the education technologies for adult learning from leading scholars, theorists, and practitioners by sharing insight on innovative pedagogies and inspirational thoughts on the fields of adult education, technology, and care and technical education.

The face of education is constantly being transformed due to rapid changes in technology. It is imperative that leadership trends and techniques be evaluated in the educational field, particularly in reference to alternative learning programs. The Handbook of Research on Administrative Leadership in Open and Distance Learning Programs is a pivotal scholarly resource that discusses emerging issues surrounding the administration of non-traditional education practices. Highlighting relevant topics that include policy development, quality assurance, accreditation, and assessment systems, this publication is an ideal reference source for educators, academicians, graduate students, and researchers that are interested in the progression of open and distance education.

This book is a reference for administrators and educators at institutions of higher learning who are thinking about taking serious steps to link their educational mission to helping their surrounding communities. Various research findings across the disciplines in higher education about integrating community engagement in traditional coursework are presented. This book provides a multi-disciplinary and multi-method approach to both incorporating and studying the effects of community engagement (service learning) in the curriculum. Multiple departments, from Kinesiology to Sociology, as well as various types of classes (undergraduate, graduate, online, face-to-face, traditional, international) are represented here. Both qualitative and quantitative work is included. Methods involved include interviews, case studies, reflections, and surveys. One chapter also uses longitudinal data collection to address the overall effect of engaging in community engagement during the undergraduate college experience. If you are not sure how to study the effects of community engagement on students at your university, this book is for you.

This joint World Bank-ILO study traces the experience of 19 countries in reforming their vocational education and training policies and summarizes the lessons learned, focusing on obstacles to implementing changes in response to changing labor markets and innovative approaches to overcoming these constraints. The four main messages emerging from the study are: that matching instrument to target group is vital; the role of governments as facilitators has often been overlooked; the assumed reluctance of private providers to enter the field is a myth; and lack of political will, not institutional capacity, is the main obstacle to comprehensive reform.

The book asks how we can make sense of career paths for PhD graduates, something that has rarely been systematically studied. It offers a coherent synthesis of the empirically-based insights that arose from the experiences of 48 early career researchers, who were participants in a 10-year qualitative longitudinal research program. The book has the power to inform other researchers' conceptual and methodological approaches to the study of post-PhD career trajectories. The authors draw on the conceptual lens of 'identity-trajectory', which emerged from their research program, to examine the decision-making processes underpinning the careers of PhD graduates, whether contingent researchers and teachers, assistant professors within the academy or professionals elsewhere. The book highlights the role of personal agency in negotiating academic and non-academic work and careers within broader personal lives. It will be compelling reading for researchers and students working in the areas of Education and Sociology, particularly those with an interest in examining career development and decision-making.