In this updated landmark book, the authors have gathered the seminal work and most current thinking on adult learning into one volume. Learning in Adulthood addresses a wide range of topics including: Who are adult learners? How do adults learn? Why are adults involved in learning activities? How does the social context shape the learning that adults are engaged in? How does aging affect learning ability?… More >>
#1 by Donald Privett on July 2, 2010 - 5:51 pm
An all-inclusive study of adult learning by two of the field’s leading writers, this text covers substantial ground in exploring the theory and practice of its subject. All facets of learning are covered: psychological, social context, process, theories, models, and key concepts. The book provides up-to-date information on topics such as andragogy, self-directed learning, and transformational learning, and on important background theories like post-modernism, feminism, emotional intelligence, spirituality, and critical theory. The text is enriched with tables and diagrams, 69 pages of references, and author and subject indices. The authors’ personal reflections on ethics and the integration of theory and practice help enliven the factual chapters. This rich text is arguably the most important single-source resource in the field of adult learning. Never far from reach (I refer to it as my “bible”), seldom a day goes by when I do not refer to it for clarification of a theory or concept, to discover background reading, or to compare or cross-reference resources. Easy to read and offering depth as well as breadth, adult educators of all stripes-students at all levels, novice and veteran practitioners-can benefit from this book. I am pressed to think of a single negative remark-only that it will grow dated quickly if it is not regularly revised (nearly a decade lapsed between the 1st and 2nd editions), as the adult learning field is in a growth spurt and changing rapidly.
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by P. Risher on July 2, 2010 - 8:14 pm
Learning in Adulthood is one of those “classic” text/reference books i.e., the kind that you actually read and return to time and again. I am particularly taken by the way the authors summarize the major thinking in the various content areas. They extract the key thoughts of hundreds of research works, compare and contrast, synthesize. They are careful to present dissenting views. Most of their references are recent. I also like the fact that their own voices are heard and they are strong, experienced voices. This is an ideal source book for graduate students that are writing or will be writing a thesis or dissertation.
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by Aurimas Juozaitis on July 2, 2010 - 10:46 pm
I’m doctoral student and I found this volume extremely useful for getting to the primary resources in the topics of interest. Previuosly I’ve studied the 2nd edition and it was very good. But the 3rd ed. I like ver much, as it expanded my approch to some new issues in adult education. I’d highly recommend this Guide to everyone who wants to get an understanding about tendencies in AE and who’s watching for valuable reference resource in AE
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by Fedoradude on July 3, 2010 - 12:35 am
This book is nothing more than a political, social agenda couched in the guise of academia.
Firstly, it does nothing but reference study after study after study with no additional scholarly contribution by the authors.
Secondly, the only place the authors make any contributions of their own is to cram a liberal leftist political agenda down the throat of the reader. Every – EVERY – example they give promotes the liberal agenda; social activism, homosexuality, AIDS, feminism, new age spirituality and even Marxism.. They don’t give politically and morally benign examples of points like “John changed his views on the grief process when his best friend was killed in a skiing accident.” Instead they use examples of John discovering he was a homophobe when two of his best friends from college came out of the closet and announced they were homosexuals.”
Don’t waste your money! This book is nothing but a liberal political position paper trying to be disguised as true scholarly research. I only gave it 1 star because there was no lower rating allowed. This book’s sole contribution to academia or industry is if it were to be used to prop up a desk with a broken leg.
Rating: 1 / 5
#5 by H. Dindial-Thompson on July 3, 2010 - 12:42 am
This book is ideal for an intro. course in Leadership. This is not a book for leisure reading. It is not an easy read and is quite dense with theory and critiques. I found myself having to re-read my sections of this book becasue the information is very dense. It apprears to be very comprehensive and many theories are repeated more in depth thorughout the text.
Rating: 4 / 5