Editorials: Approaches to research in the education and learning of adults

Citation

Fejes A & Nicoll K (2012) Editorials: Approaches to research in the education and learning of adults. RELA: European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 4 (1), pp. 7-16. https://doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.201341

Abstract
First paragraph: The field of adult education and learning has encompassed research and scholarship from diverse perspectives and these have changed over time. Approaches and trends across this domain of activity perhaps resonate with that of a wider field of education and the social sciences; the intellectual resources picked up at any one time wash through and across these domains of activity. At the same time ‘the field' has never been a homogenous or easily identifiable entity. It is therefore difficult to make valid generalizations of the status of approaches within a defined field at any particular time or location. The visibility of what goes on is also significantly limited and obscured. This is partially in that what goes on as research may not be published in identifiably adult education literature, partially in the separation of the field into various foci of interest (adult, vocational, community, higher education, workplace learning etc.) with specialist journals for publication, and partially as a result of the dominance of the English language used for publication; thus a lack of dissemination of research and scholarly writing across language barriers. It is then only tentatively and with caution that any partial picture regarding change in the approaches to research and scholarship in a field of the education and learning of adults over time can be painted.

Journal
RELA: European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults: Volume 4, Issue 1