- Gates, Trevor, Ross, Dyann, Bennett, Bindi
- Authors: Gates, Trevor , Ross, Dyann , Bennett, Bindi
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Adult learning Vol. 34, no. 4 (2023), p. 209-219
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Critical events in Leonard Matlovich’s life depict a reluctant activist for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/gender diverse, and queer+ (LGBTQ+) equality. He served in the US military and subsequently came to personify the broad social challenges to the military’s homophobic culture and recruitment practices. Matlovich’s experience of a series of life metamorphoses made a difference beyond the individual. His example inspired multitudes of other concerned citizens in how to undertake their metamorphoses to challenge institutionalized homophobia. Breakthrough learning experiences in Matlovich’s life are presented to explore and refine aspects of transformative learning theory by applying Jane Martin’s metamorphosis model. The learning nexus between individuals and society is shown to be a dynamic interaction where both aspects of Matlovich’s story and his influence are explored in the context of today’s LGBTQ+ equality struggles. The article shows the conducive personal and societal conditions that enabled his various metamorphoses as whole-of-individual identity and sociocultural crossings toward transformational change. Additionally, the implications of Martin’s educational metamorphosis are discussed. Adult educators are encouraged to emphasize learning located in the learner’s life circumstances, exemplary case studies to inspire cultural crossings against injustice, and transformations as being about grasping in situ learning opportunities in the cross-influence between the whole person and their socio-historical context. Matlovich’s experiences show how relevant dimensions of Martin’s theoretical approach, coupled with support from allies, can contribute to personal agency and can build a groundswell of learning needed to support activism for social justice movements.
Bearing the risk : Learning to be drier mid-river
- Golding, Barry, Angwin, Jennifer
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Angwin, Jennifer
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 49, no. 3 (2009), p. 472-496
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper investigates learning related to the phenomena of drying over the past decade in the southern Murray-Darling Basin in Australia, as perceived in a mid-river site within the western Riverina of New South Wales, Australia. The insights from audio-recorded interviews, with a wide range of adults across the water-dependent community, mostly relate to the catchment of the Murrumbidgee River in the Shire of Hay. Our overarching theme is about how people are learning about, understanding and bearing the risks, of what is widely regarded as a prolonged drought. For some, the learning is about how to cope with less water in the Basin, and particularly from the river, as predicted in the climate change literature. Our narrative-based, empirical research registers the felt experience of those located, in situ, as a severe 'irrigation drought' extends into 2009. The paper dramatises the many obstacles to learning how to think and act differently, in difficult and rapidly changing ecosocial circumstances.
- Description: 2003007973
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Angwin, Jennifer
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 49, no. 3 (2009), p. 472-496
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper investigates learning related to the phenomena of drying over the past decade in the southern Murray-Darling Basin in Australia, as perceived in a mid-river site within the western Riverina of New South Wales, Australia. The insights from audio-recorded interviews, with a wide range of adults across the water-dependent community, mostly relate to the catchment of the Murrumbidgee River in the Shire of Hay. Our overarching theme is about how people are learning about, understanding and bearing the risks, of what is widely regarded as a prolonged drought. For some, the learning is about how to cope with less water in the Basin, and particularly from the river, as predicted in the climate change literature. Our narrative-based, empirical research registers the felt experience of those located, in situ, as a severe 'irrigation drought' extends into 2009. The paper dramatises the many obstacles to learning how to think and act differently, in difficult and rapidly changing ecosocial circumstances.
- Description: 2003007973
Informal learning : A discussion around defining and researching its breadth and importance
- Golding, Barry, Brown, Michael, Foley, Annette
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Brown, Michael , Foley, Annette
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 49, no. 1 (2009), p. 34-56
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Informal learning has often been seen as formal learning's 'poor cousin'. Our paper explores and discusses new and different ways of thinking about defining, valuing and researching the breadth and importance of informal learning in diverse national and cultural contexts. This includes a consideration of the power relations that can act to devalue informal learning. It is underpinned by a recognition that not only do a relatively small proportion of adults currently engage informal learning, but those who do tend already to be dedicated and successful lifelong learners. It leads to a discussion about how informal learning might be framed as part of the solution to adult exclusion, seen to be aggravated by unnecessary adult educational hierarchies, accreditation, assessment and formality.
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Brown, Michael , Foley, Annette
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 49, no. 1 (2009), p. 34-56
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Informal learning has often been seen as formal learning's 'poor cousin'. Our paper explores and discusses new and different ways of thinking about defining, valuing and researching the breadth and importance of informal learning in diverse national and cultural contexts. This includes a consideration of the power relations that can act to devalue informal learning. It is underpinned by a recognition that not only do a relatively small proportion of adults currently engage informal learning, but those who do tend already to be dedicated and successful lifelong learners. It leads to a discussion about how informal learning might be framed as part of the solution to adult exclusion, seen to be aggravated by unnecessary adult educational hierarchies, accreditation, assessment and formality.
Learning to be drier : A case study of adult and community learning in the Australian Riverland
- Brown, Michael, Schulz, Christine
- Authors: Brown, Michael , Schulz, Christine
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 49, no. 3 (2009), p. 497-519
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This article explores the adult and Community learning associated with 'learning to be drier' in the Riverland region of South Australia. Communities in the Riverland are currently adjusting and making changes to their understandings and practices as part of learning to live with less water. The analysis of adult and community learning derived from this research identified six different forms of learning. These are, learning to produce, learning to be efficient, learning to survive, learning to live with uncertainty, learning to be sustainable and learning to share. These forms of learning do not occur in isolation and separately from each other but to the contrary are occurring simultaneously with and alongside each other. Further, it is argued that the people and communities in the Riverland, through learning to live with the effects of climate change and less water, are at the forefront of learning to be drier.
- Authors: Brown, Michael , Schulz, Christine
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 49, no. 3 (2009), p. 497-519
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This article explores the adult and Community learning associated with 'learning to be drier' in the Riverland region of South Australia. Communities in the Riverland are currently adjusting and making changes to their understandings and practices as part of learning to live with less water. The analysis of adult and community learning derived from this research identified six different forms of learning. These are, learning to produce, learning to be efficient, learning to survive, learning to live with uncertainty, learning to be sustainable and learning to share. These forms of learning do not occur in isolation and separately from each other but to the contrary are occurring simultaneously with and alongside each other. Further, it is argued that the people and communities in the Riverland, through learning to live with the effects of climate change and less water, are at the forefront of learning to be drier.
Learning to be drier in dryland country
- Smith, Erica, Campbell, Coral
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Campbell, Coral
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 49, no. 3 (2009), p. 520-543
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This research project, part of a much larger study, considered how people in regional communities learnt to deal with the impact of reduced water availability as a result of drought or climate change. The communities in the Mallee-Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia, were the focus of this study and a range of local people from different sectors of the communities were involved in interviews, which became our main data source. We recognise the limitation that not all viewpoints could possibly be accessed in the participant selection process. The resultant data indicated that significant changes were being made to local practices as a result of the learning taking place and that there were a range of processes which enabled adult learning across the communities.
- Description: 2003007933
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Campbell, Coral
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 49, no. 3 (2009), p. 520-543
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This research project, part of a much larger study, considered how people in regional communities learnt to deal with the impact of reduced water availability as a result of drought or climate change. The communities in the Mallee-Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia, were the focus of this study and a range of local people from different sectors of the communities were involved in interviews, which became our main data source. We recognise the limitation that not all viewpoints could possibly be accessed in the participant selection process. The resultant data indicated that significant changes were being made to local practices as a result of the learning taking place and that there were a range of processes which enabled adult learning across the communities.
- Description: 2003007933
Water, weeds and autumn leaves : Learning to be drier in the Alpine region
- Foley, Annette, Grace, Lauri
- Authors: Foley, Annette , Grace, Lauri
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 49, no. 3 (2009), p. 451-471
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Our paper explores how and what adults living and working in the Alpine region of Victoria understand and are learning about the changes to water availability, in a time when the response to water availability is subject to extensive debate and policy attention. Interviews for this study were conducted in the towns of Bright and Mount Beauty, with participants drawn from across the Alpine region. The interviews focused on what local stakeholders from the Alpine region understood about water availability in the region and how and what they had learned about living and working with climatic changes in their local area. The findings of our study see that there was evidence of a strong understanding of the direct and indirect impact of climate change oil participants' local community area. The study also sees evidence of learning through a community frames of reference' as outlined by Berkhout, Hertin and Dann et al.
- Description: 2003007972
- Authors: Foley, Annette , Grace, Lauri
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 49, no. 3 (2009), p. 451-471
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Our paper explores how and what adults living and working in the Alpine region of Victoria understand and are learning about the changes to water availability, in a time when the response to water availability is subject to extensive debate and policy attention. Interviews for this study were conducted in the towns of Bright and Mount Beauty, with participants drawn from across the Alpine region. The interviews focused on what local stakeholders from the Alpine region understood about water availability in the region and how and what they had learned about living and working with climatic changes in their local area. The findings of our study see that there was evidence of a strong understanding of the direct and indirect impact of climate change oil participants' local community area. The study also sees evidence of learning through a community frames of reference' as outlined by Berkhout, Hertin and Dann et al.
- Description: 2003007972
Wicked learning : Reflecting on Learning to be drier
- Golding, Barry, Brown, Michael, Foley, Annette, Smith, Erica, Campbell, Coral, Schulz, Christine, Angwin, Jennifer, Grace, Lauri
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Brown, Michael , Foley, Annette , Smith, Erica , Campbell, Coral , Schulz, Christine , Angwin, Jennifer , Grace, Lauri
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 49, no. 3 (2009), p. 544-566
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In this final, collaborative paper in the Learning to be drier edition, we reflect on and draw together some of the key threads from the diverse narratives in our four site papers from across the southern Murray-Darling Basin. Our paper title, Wicked learning, draws on a recent body literature (Rittel & Webber 1973) about messy or 'wicked problems' as characterised by Dietz and Stern (1998). It picks up on our identification of the difficulty and enormity of the learning challenges being faced by communities, associated, at best, with a decade of record dry years (drought) and severely over-committed rivers. At worst, drought is occurring in combination with and as a precursor to recent, progressive drying of the Basin associated with climate change. Our research is suggestive of a need for much more learning across all segments of the adult community about '... the big picture, including the interrelationships among the full range of causal factors ...' (Australian Public Service Commission, APSC 2007: 1) underlying the presenting problem of drying. We conclude that solutions to the messy or wicked problem of drying in an interconnected Basin will lie in the social domain. This will include building a wider knowledge and acceptance of the problems and likely future risks across the Basin including all parts of communities. The problem of drying as well as its causes and solutions are multidimensional, and will involve comprehensive learning about all five key characteristics of other 'wicked' policy problems identified in previous research in the environmental arena. The narratives that we have heard identify the extreme difficulty in all four sites of rational and learned responses to being drier as the problem has unfolded. All narratives about being drier that we have heard involve a recognition of a combination of the five characteristics common to wicked problems: multidimensionality, scientific uncertainty, value conflict and uncertainty, mistrust as well as urgency. All narratives identify the importance of social learning: to be productive, to be efficient, to survive, to live with uncertainty, to be sustainable and to share. Combating the extent and effects of drying, causality aside, will require new forms of learning through new community, social and learning spaces, apart from and in addition to new technological and scientific learning.
- Description: 2003007975
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Brown, Michael , Foley, Annette , Smith, Erica , Campbell, Coral , Schulz, Christine , Angwin, Jennifer , Grace, Lauri
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 49, no. 3 (2009), p. 544-566
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In this final, collaborative paper in the Learning to be drier edition, we reflect on and draw together some of the key threads from the diverse narratives in our four site papers from across the southern Murray-Darling Basin. Our paper title, Wicked learning, draws on a recent body literature (Rittel & Webber 1973) about messy or 'wicked problems' as characterised by Dietz and Stern (1998). It picks up on our identification of the difficulty and enormity of the learning challenges being faced by communities, associated, at best, with a decade of record dry years (drought) and severely over-committed rivers. At worst, drought is occurring in combination with and as a precursor to recent, progressive drying of the Basin associated with climate change. Our research is suggestive of a need for much more learning across all segments of the adult community about '... the big picture, including the interrelationships among the full range of causal factors ...' (Australian Public Service Commission, APSC 2007: 1) underlying the presenting problem of drying. We conclude that solutions to the messy or wicked problem of drying in an interconnected Basin will lie in the social domain. This will include building a wider knowledge and acceptance of the problems and likely future risks across the Basin including all parts of communities. The problem of drying as well as its causes and solutions are multidimensional, and will involve comprehensive learning about all five key characteristics of other 'wicked' policy problems identified in previous research in the environmental arena. The narratives that we have heard identify the extreme difficulty in all four sites of rational and learned responses to being drier as the problem has unfolded. All narratives about being drier that we have heard involve a recognition of a combination of the five characteristics common to wicked problems: multidimensionality, scientific uncertainty, value conflict and uncertainty, mistrust as well as urgency. All narratives identify the importance of social learning: to be productive, to be efficient, to survive, to live with uncertainty, to be sustainable and to share. Combating the extent and effects of drying, causality aside, will require new forms of learning through new community, social and learning spaces, apart from and in addition to new technological and scientific learning.
- Description: 2003007975
Out the back : Men's sheds and informal learning
- Brown, Michael, Golding, Barry, Foley, Annette
- Authors: Brown, Michael , Golding, Barry , Foley, Annette
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Fine Print Vol. 31, no. 2 (2008), p. 12-15
- Full Text: false
- Description: Some experts say a mental state of relaxed concentration - when the brain produces alpha waves - is the most conducive to learning. Perhaps this is why the friendly atmosphere and ambience in men's sheds supports the process of informal learning. This paper discusses aspects of men's learning derived from the authors' study of mostly older men who are coming together, talking, working and socialising in community sheds across Australia. The paper looks at the social, informal and autonomous learning and considers the significance of the community work-like settings. Mentoring, coaching, 'sitting next to George' and 'hanging out on the periphery' are common forms of social pedagogical interaction in these contexts as are group discussion, conversations and low-key questioning. In this paper the mostly older men's learning is analysed as a subset of lifelong learning. The participants in the study are mostly older men: some retired, some recovering from illness or injury, others unable to find full-time paid work. However all share a social space and an undefined but common purpose that due to ageing bodies and faculties is sometimes illusionary as much as real, but that is loosely focused around regular, hands-on participation in traditional, male-orientated, goal-directed activities. Considered highly significant to participation in the learning and group activities is the development of male friendships referred to as 'mateship' amongst men in Australia. These friendships develop through participation and inclusion in activity that occurs in social and community spaces. The authors' research shows that access to, and inclusion in, these male-orientated group spaces provides an avenue for the development of friendships, trust, support and reciprocity. Through the research the authors found that the associated learning and life- stage development that occurs in these environments leads to self- reported improvements in happiness, health and wellbeing, and feelings of social connection. The participants in this study are generally considered to be a missing group or cohort in adult education. It also picks up on the trend in Australia about 'a remarkable explosion in individualised, self-directed and autonomous forms of learning that have occurred without involving adult educators'. Considered central to this study were the places, spaces and faces. [Author abstract, ed]
- Description: 2003006456
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