Skip to main content
  • Book
  • © 2019

Mapping out the Research Field of Adult Education and Learning

  • Introduces a unique set of chapters describing and problematising the state-of-art in the field
  • Presents a detailed picture of a rarely “objectified” and ever-changing research field
  • Brings together leading researchers’ meta-reflections on the emergence and current composition of the field

Part of the book series: Lifelong Learning Book Series (LLLB, volume 24)

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.

Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-viii
  2. Introducing and Historicizing the Field

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Examining the “Weak Field” of Adult Education

      • Kjell Rubenson, Maren Elfert
      Pages 15-31
  3. Invisible Colleges and International Recognition

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 53-53
    2. Exploring the Adult Learning Research Field by Analysing Who Cites Whom

      • Erik Nylander, Lovisa Österlund, Andreas Fejes
      Pages 55-72
    3. Invisible Colleges in Research on Adult Learning: A Bibliometric Study on International Scholarly Recognition

      • Staffan Larsson, Andreas Fejes, Lovisa Österlund, Erik Nylander
      Pages 73-97
  4. Research Approaches and Research Objects

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 117-117
    2. Adult Education and Learning: A Pluralistic Research Field?

      • Andreas Fejes, Erik Nylander
      Pages 119-137
  5. Debating International Comparative Adult Education Research

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 179-179
    2. A Rejoinder on the Debate on International Comparative Adult Education Research

      • John Field, Klaus Künzel, Michael Schemmann
      Pages 223-225
  6. Looking Ahead

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 227-227

About this book

This book discusses the current state of the art in research on the education and learning of adults, and how such research has been transformed through contemporary policy and research practices. Gathering contributions from leading experts in the field, the book draws on previous research, as well as new findings in order to provide a map of this research field and its contemporary history.

The chapters address a number of questions, including: What constitutes this research field? What theories and methodologies dominate within the field? What “invisible colleges” are active in shaping this academic field, in marking out its contours and in transforming its contemporary battle zones? Who is publishing in the field and who is deemed worth citing? What is the relationship between the shift in state policy on adult education and the research that is conducted on the education and learning of adults? How has the research field changed over time in various western countries? What do these meta-reflections of the field tell us about possible future research endeavours? 

Rather than speaking from within the field, this is a book about the research field. The diversity of the chapters provide a fascinating resource for anyone interested in research on the education and learning of adults.  

 


Reviews

“I recommend this book for graduate students and faculty, respectively developing as researchers and seeking to expand scholarly thought and research. The editors express their hope that the book will inspire empirical investigations and debate about the field, and upon reading, I find myself inspired and believe you will be inspired, too.” (Catherine A. Cherrstrom, Adult Education Quarterly, April 24, 2020)

“This is a worthwhile, informative read.” (Camilla Fitzsimons, Studies in the Education of Adults, Vol. 47 (2), 2019)

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Behavioural Sciences & Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

    Andreas Fejes, Erik Nylander

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access