Although there has been a great deal of rhetoric about learner empowerment in educational and community development circles, this book is the first to offer detailed examples of successful participatory practices in adult education spanning a wide range of program settings, such as schools, institutions, communities, and the workplace. The editors join with practitioner colleagues in the United States and Canada to document successes; to network about ideas from active projects, past and present, that have had a participatory component; to share experience, new knowledge, lessons learned, and reflections. The focus is on projects initiated with the intention that greater participation would benefit individuals and groups previously excluded from positions of control. The aim is to provide concrete models and suggestions to practitioners who want to develop the participatory nature of their own activities—from initiation, to organization, goal-setting, and ongoing leadership of adult education programs. Some chapters give detailed descriptions of the triumphs and challenges in individual projects, while others center more on theoretical analysis and reflection on years of experience. All, however, are rooted in particular experiences and give concrete examples from action.
Participatory Practices in Adult Education is a vital resource for both new and experienced practitioners—including basic educators, workplace educators, administrators, policymakers, trainers, human resource managers, and community development workers—who want to learn from the practical experiences of their counterparts, and is highly appropriate as a text for courses in adult education and community development.
