This article outlines the history and background of adult education in the area of citizenship in Canada. The political theories underlying some of the concepts of adult education are discussed in terms of liberal individualism, the welfare state, mass democracy, and participatory democracy. Citizenship education is seen in its historical context, and the role of various organizations such as Frontier College, the Antigonish Movement, etc. in citizenship education are outlined. In contrast to the United States, the impact of programs in adult citizenship education have had a strong impact on Canada and Canadians.

This book provides a critically informed overview of adult education today with contributions by leading researchers and practitioners from across Canada. It examines the contexts of adult education today - the historical contexts that shape the practice; the philosophical contexts that underpin their activities; the socioeconomic contexts by which practitioners are informed; the community contexts in which they are located; and the practice contexts that their activities reveal.

How might Canadian adult educators be better informed about the overall richness and diversity of their collective practices? How might they promote greater involvement and equity? How can they inform policy-makers and the general public about the rich resources on offer? How can they better advocate for all adult learners?, By surveying and analyzing the current state of Canadian adult education, this book represents the latest attempt to answer these questions. Book jacket.

This work is a celebration of Canadian women in adult education and in community or institutional leadership. Through chapters and vignettes, this edited volume highlights the challenges these women have faced, and continue to face, as well as the remarkable contributions, as individuals and collectives, that women have made along the road to knowledge creation, empowerment, and social change. As such, this book is a legacy of feminist and women's struggles recorded for future generations. The contributing authors to this volume are scholars, researchers, community educators, students, and activists. They are themselves leaders in the cause of adult education, continuing a tradition set by the early feminist educators and activists in the field. There has never been a volume of work documenting the initiatives and accomplishments of women in adult education and leadership in Canada. This edited volume seeks to redress this imbalance. Book jacket.

Adult Education and the Formation of Citizens turns attention towards normative claims about who adults should become through education, and what capacities and skills adults need to develop to become included in society as ‘full’ citizens. Through these debates, adults are construed as not yet citizens, despite already being citizens in a formal sense; this book problematises such regimes of truth and their related notions of the possibilities and impossibilities of adult education and citizenship. Drawing on empirical examples from the two main adult education institutions in Sweden, folk high schools and municipal adult education, it argues that, through current regimes of truth, these institutions become spaces for the re-shaping of the "abnormal" citizen. The book suggests that only certain futures of citizenship and its educational provision are made possible, while other futures are ignored or even made impossible to imagine. Offering a unique focus on critically problematising the role of adult education in relation to the fostering and shaping of citizens, the book addresses the important contemporary challenges of the role of adult education in a time of migration. Adult Education and the Formation of Citizens will be of great interest to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of adult education, lifelong learning and education.

Adult education has frequently assumed a political role in society and also has itself been regarded as a social movement. This book, however, is the first systematic attempt to analyse it from the perspective of political theory. The author locates the education of adults within current political theory - something which has become even more relevant since the Conservative government of the UK has adopted an interventionist approach to education. Peter Jarvis starts from a historical perspective, examining the relationship between adult education and civil society, and exploring theories of the state. He discusses the concept of democracy and shows that there are a variety of different forms with which the education of adults might be related. The idea of citizenship is also examined, and it is suggested that the education of adults might be regarded as a citizenship right which is being lost to all citizens as a result of current government policies. Peter Jarvis also looks at the relationship between liberal adult education and a civilised society, suggesting that its provision is one of the symbols that a society is moving on the long journey towards creating a civilised society. The final chapter illustrates the existence of utopian thought in radical adult education.

The Foundations of Adult Education in Canada (Second Edition) is an essential textbook for practitioners and students of adult education. This is a full-length examination of the nature and scope of adult education as it has evolved in Canada over the past 150 years, with particular emphasis on recent experiences. This edition updates much of the material in the book, providing coverage of developments during the nineties. In addition, it includes three entirely new chapters: adult education in Quebec; women and adult education; and the future prospects of the field. There is expanded treatment of several topics, including education in the labour movement, the impact of technological developments and the expansion of distance education, among others. The Foundations of Adult Education in Canada is essential reading for practitioners and students of adult education.