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This study aimed to determine individual- and country-level latent classes in literacy, numeracy and problem-solving competencies of individuals participating in the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies 2015. Specifically, it sought to distinguish these classes in relation to individuals' sex and to identify the state of prediction of the determined latent classes by each person's level of education. The study population consisted of 116,301 adults aged 16 to 65 years in 20 countries. Multilevel latent class analysis was conducted to consider the nested data structure and determine the number of latent classes. According to the results of the multilevel latent class analysis, Turkey and Chile were in the low achievement group in all skills, while Japan was in the most successful group. Moreover, the results revealed that sex and education level had a considerable influence on certain competence levels.

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'Vocational education' and 'community education' have evolved into largely separate fields. Bridges are reconstructed by adopting a view of vocation that recognizes the meaning people find in their work and the public value of the work they do. While these considerations underpin recent initiatives to revive a civic spirit among the 'professions', it is suggested that they apply across a much wider spectrum of occupations. Arendt's theory of action serves as a lens from which to inquire into the nature of vocational practice when enacted as public and democratic deliberation with members of the community on important issues affecting their lives. The author concludes that, appropriately understood, vocational practice includes the facilitation of Arendtian action, thereby constituting a form of community education. The author furthermore suggests that modelling types of public pedagogy characteristic of community education would enrich vocational education and help foster practitioners' capacity to act as civic agents.

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The article aims to show that taking into account diverse characteristics of the wider social environment is indispensable for a better understanding of participation in adult education (PAE). It explores the association of corruption as a macro factor with PAE, arguing for an integrated approach to PAE. By using two indexes for corruption at country level Corruption Perception Index and the Index of Public Integrity - and micro-data for adults aged 25-64 from 29 European countries in the Adult Education Survey, 2016, as well as by applying random-effects logit models, this study has demonstrated that a country's higher corruption level is associated with the lower probability of PAE. Our article also reveals that the relationships between individual-level variables such as gender, higher education, social background, and PAE are embedded in a wider social milieu, and corruption is an essential characteristic of that milieu which deepens some of the inequalities in PAE.

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A growing segment of the US workforce - older workers - face challenges such as a greater chance of being unemployed for a longer period of time than younger workers and skill obsolescence in contemporary societies. In an age of fast-paced economic and technological change, ongoing investment in human capital in the form of skill training represents a potential strategy for improving older workers' employment prospects. However, empirical evidence is lacking on the relationship between basic skill competencies and employment outcomes for older workers in general. This study analyzed nationally representative data of adults aged 45 to 65 years (n = 2,169) from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies. Literacy skills were used as the main measure of competencies. Results from multinomial logistic regression identified statistically significant positive associations between literacy skills and employment among older workers. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.

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Amidst diminishing federal investment in Adult Basic Education (ABE), there is growing interest in return on investment (ROI) as an economic rationale to support ABE funding. Against this backdrop, we provide an overview of the ROI concept and methods and the empirical evidence on ABE program impacts to broaden the discourse among practitioners and advocates. We point out that the most crucial building blocks necessary for ROI estimations are missing in the literature. We contextualize the current status of the literature by discussing challenges in ABE program evaluations and limitations in ROI methods. We then further our discussions by offering a recommendation for ROI estimation and alternative approaches to ROI. We conclude by calling for an expanded public discourse, beyond ROI, on the social benefits of funding ABE.

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The purpose of this study was to understand the influence of national culture on international training program development. Implementation of the selected training program was analysed by a qualitative case study to examine how training practitioners in the United States and in Taiwan pursue standardised learning outcomes in different cultural contexts. Findings indicate that in multinational program development, leaving room in course design increases the cultural adaptability of a multinational program. Regarding teaching strategies, the teaching techniques in the selected training program provide instructors with the flexibility to integrate the context of local culture into the curriculum. By applying the course contents to their own actual lives, learners have opportunities to incorporate the context of their life experience into the learning process.

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In Western countries, women and men, young and old, enroll in adult education for different reasons. This is even more the case in China. This study helps Shanghai program planners better appreciate learners by understanding how motivational orientations vary as a function of gender and age. The Chinese version of the Education Participation Scale was administered to 448 adults enrolled in Shanghai adult education classes. It had a factor structure loosely comparable to the English version. Women were more inclined than men to be enrolled for social stimulation, social contact and cognitive interest. However, gender differences were less pronounced than those for age. The Cultural Revolution and pressures of market socialism in postmodern Shanghai appeared to shape motivational orientations of participants who came of age between 1966 and 1976. Just the fact that learners were asked about motivational orientations may change the politics of human subjectivity in Shanghai adult education.

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Researchers have yet to agree on an approach that supports how adults best learn novel motor skills in formal educational contexts. The literature fails to adequately discuss adult motor learning from the standpoint of adult education. Instead, the subject is addressed by other disciplines. This review attempts to integrate perspectives across disciplines to enhance understanding of adult motor learning. The review suggests a disciplinary disconnect but finds several potential integrations: (a) a unifying framework between representational motor learning models and reflective practice; (b) the applicability of modeling approaches to experiential frameworks; (c) the relationship between chaining, motor programs, variability of practice, and analogy learning to 'doing' and 'action' in experiential learning; and (d) the role of embedded motor learning approaches within situated environments. Research should continue to examine how aspects of didactic approaches affect the effectiveness of the modeling approach and how situated learning environments naturalistically use motor learning approaches.

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Participation in adult learning and education requires the availability of, and accessibility to, learning opportunities provided by educational institutions. One fundamental element is time. Adult learning and education participation can only be realized by successfully matching individual time-availabilities with the temporal organization of provided courses. To address this required matching process, this study contributes to research literature as one of the first studies that investigates the impact of timing and course duration on participation counts (longitudinally). For this, we use organizational data from public adult education centers (Volkshochschulen-VHS; the main adult education providers in Germany) from 2007 to 2017. Methodologically, random- and fixed-effects models are applied. We find significant positive effects on participation counts between increasing program breadth in terms of temporal formats and increasing average course duration.

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Drawing from critical management studies and critical pedagogy, this article proposes principles and practices to support the emerging critical human resource development (HRD) field as one stream among existing theories and practice of HRD. A critical HRD would challenge the subjugation of human knowledge, skills, and relationships to organisational or shareholder gain and focus on transforming workplaces and HRD practice toward justice, fairness, and equity. Because both HRD practices and critical perspectives themselves are so diverse, a critical HRD must be formulated in sufficiently broad terms to encourage a variety of conceptual developments including discursive, gendered, materialist, and anti-racist lines of analysis. Theoretical dilemmas of a critical HRD are discussed, such as ideological contradictions between the radical orientation of critical theory and the managerialist or performative frames to which much HRD practice is accountable. Possible configurations of a critical HRD are described, as these might play out in contexts of HRD practice.

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