The contents of the latest issue of:
International Journal of Adult Vocational Education and Technology (IJAVET)
Volume 5, Issue 4, October – December 2014
Published: Quarterly in Print and Electronically
ISSN: 1947-8607; EISSN: 1947-878X;
Published by IGI Global Publishing, Hershey, USA
www.igi-global.com/ijavet
Editor(s)-in-Chief: Victor C. X. Wang (Florida Atlantic University, USA), Stephen Brookfield (University of St. Thomas, USA), Patricia Cranton (University of New Brunswick, Canada)
Note: There are no submission or acceptance fees for manuscripts submitted to the International Journal of Adult Vocational Education and Technology (IJAVET). All manuscripts are accepted based on a double-blind peer review editorial process.
ARTICLE 1
“My Turn,” Women’s Goals and Motivations in a Diploma Program: A Constructive-Developmental Approach
Eleanor Drago-Severson (Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA)
This research was part of a larger, mixed-methods study, funded by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, which examined the learning and change experiences of 41 learners in three ABE/ESOL programs. This paper examines a Polaroid diploma program with a focus on women workers, employing gender (relational) and constructive-developmental theory to frame their learning experiences. Data for this paper focuses on analysis of 224 qualitative interviews, focus groups, and developmental assessments. Three emergent themes regarding women’s motivation emerged: practical benefits, the importance of timing, and leadership aspirations. This paper presents how these women describe and understand their learning motivations from both a qualitative and developmental perspective. This investigation informs understanding of women’s motivations for learning, and suggests how individual ways of knowing inform such motivation.
To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below.
www.igi-global.com/article/my-turn-womens-goals-and-motivations-in-a-diploma-program/120302
To read a PDF sample of this article, click on the link below.
www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=120302
ARTICLE 2
Racializing the Discourse of Adult Education
Stephen Brookfield (College of Education, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, MN, USA)
Adult education scholarship has been racialized through the lens of Eurocentric theory and research. Theoretical paradigms such as Africentrism struggle to gain academic legitimacy as discourses of transformative learning, critical thinking and self-direction – all grounded in the European Enlightenment tradition of the individual pursuit of rational self-knowledge – hold sway. This article reviews the way that repressive tolerance serves to broaden the field of adult education by including racially based perspectives on adult learning, yet simultaneously ensures that they are always seen as an exotic alternative to what is clearly the mainstream Eurocentric perspective. It reviews the way that discourses of criticality can be reinterpreted from the perspective of the African American lifeworld and explores in detail the work of Lucius T. Outlaw Jr. and Cornel West. Both scholars draw partly from the tradition of European critical theory in their attempts to use its central analytical categories (such as alienation, lifeworld, objectification and hegemony) to understand the African American experience. The piece ends with a consideration of how the dominant Eurocentric perspective in adult education can be critiques and challenged.
To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below.
www.igi-global.com/article/racializing-the-discourse-of-adult-education/120303
To read a PDF sample of this article, click on the link below.
www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=120303
ARTICLE 3
An Honor to Train: The Professional Identity of Army Trainers
Steven Schmidt (Higher, Adult, and Counselor Education Department, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA)
One’s identity is often closely tied to one’s profession. It is one of the first questions typically asked when meeting someone new. It is often how we introduce ourselves and often included in introductory-type information when asked. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the professional identity of civilian (non-enlisted) U.S. Army trainers. Professional identity is a dynamic concept; developed and refined by a professional’s interaction with the environment and with reflection and examination of that interaction. To examine the concept, participants in this study were asked to describe what it meant to them to be trainers for the Army. Results indicate that Army trainers have a strong connection to the Army and are a deep commitment to their students; many of whom are soldiers. Training soldiers for potentially dangerous missions motivates these trainers to provide quality instruction to their learners. Based on study findings, conclusions were drawn, and implications for researchers and practitioners in the field of human resource development (HRD) were presented.
To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below.
www.igi-global.com/article/an-honor-to-train/120304
To read a PDF sample of this article, click on the link below.
www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=120304
ARTICLE 4
Habermas and the Meaning of the Post-Secular Society: Complementary Learning Processes
Michael R. Welton (Department of Educational Studies, Athabasca University, Athabasca, Canada)
This essay argues that if social justice is to prevail in our world, we must understand the post-secular nature of our globalized society as a prerequisite for moving beyond “might is right” to national and international relations that heed all voices towards evidence-based interaction. Our post-secular world and postmetaphysical world-orientation requires of us complementary learning processes. This exploration engages Habermas’ thinking post-secularity as the framework for the pedagogical project that replaces the speechlessness of violence with the building of the conversable world.
To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below.
www.igi-global.com/article/habermas-and-the-meaning-of-the-post-secular-society/120305
To read a PDF sample of this article, click on the link below.
www.igi-global.com/viewtitlesample.aspx?id=120305
For full copies of the above articles, check for this issue of the International Journal of Adult Vocational Education and Technology (IJAVET) in your institution’s library. This journal is also included in the IGI Global aggregated “InfoSci-Journals” database: www.igi-global.com/isj.
