This volume gives theoretical and practical insights in international and comparative research in the field of adult and continuing education. The 16 contributions of this volume give three perspectives on international and comparative adult education. The first perspective focuses on the question how internationalisation and comparative adult and continuing education can be taught. The second perspective gives insights into the results of comparative research that has been conducted throughout a two-week Winter School that took place in February 2019 in Würzburg. The third perspective complements the two perspectives with insights into international projects and practices in adult and continuing education. The authors of this volume are contributing to the transnational Winter School International and comparative studies in adult and continuing education in Würzburg, Germany since 2014.

First published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

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.

Adult and Continuing Education has become a field of action, reflection, and research all over the world. To learn from successful models developed worldwide, this book documents and discusses the progress of comparative adult education - aims, contents, methods, obstacles, and prospects. The first part examines basic questions of comparative adult education. The contributions offer a deeper understanding and include warnings of obstacles and pitfalls. They help to design research by building up on the theoretical framework developed in prior research. The second part presents experiences and «lessons learned», suggesting advice and warnings for successful comparative work. The studies in the third part illustrate research methods as well as topics important to researchers in various regions of the world. Descriptions of international institutions in the last part may assist to use their assistance and services.

This handbook aims to facilitate a greater understanding of the OECD statistics and indicators produced and so allow for their more effective use in policy analysis.

Comparative and international education / Brendan Bartram -- Alternative education provision : international perspectives / Paul Wiseman -- Pedagogical outlooks underpinning early-years education and workforce training in England and Hungary / Tunde Rozsahegyi and Mike Lambert -- Spiritual, moral, social and cultural education in Dutch and English primary schools / Sarah Elsey -- The technical and vocational provision in England : a comparative study with the Austrian secondary system / Sean Starr -- The rise of private supplementary tutoring : contemporary issues and international perspectives on shadow education in China / Roy Y. Chan, Hei-Hang Hayes Tang, Patrick Delaney -- The impact of austerity in further education : cross-cultural perspectives from England and Ireland / Matt O'Leary and Justin Rami -- Academic, vocational and pre-vocational education origins and developments / Patrick Ainley -- Comparative issues and perspectives in adult education and training / John Field -- International comparisons in mathematics : perspectives on teaching and learning / David Burghes -- Higher education : from global trends to local realities / Richard Budd -- Some final reflections on educational comparison / Brendan Bartram

This volume explores the topics of adult learning and education through the specific lens of comparative research. The book is divided into four chapters each of which comprises an analytical essay followed by an anthology of readings from a selection of key texts. These are chosen to illustrate different conceptual and empirical approaches from varying perspectives in different countries. The book is the second of a series dedicated to adult learning and education and developed under the auspices of the ESRALE (European Studies and Research in Adult Learning and Education) project. Its companion books are: Vanna Boffo, Paolo Federighi, Ekkehard Nuissl, Empirical Research Methodology in Adult Learning and Education- Authors and Texts and Simona Sava, Petr Novotny (eds.), Researches in Adult Learning and Education: The European Dimension.