Power Practice Adult Education » (1st Edition)

RONALD M. CERVERO is professor in the Department of Adult Education at the University of Georgia. He is coauthor of Planning Responsibly for Adult Education (Jossey-Bass, 1994) and author of numerous articles on the politics of adult education, program planning, and continuing education for the professions. ARTHUR L. WILSON is associate professor in the Department of Education at Cornell University. He is coauthor of Planning Responsibly for Adult Education (Jossey-Bass, 1994) and coeditor of the Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education (Jossey-Bass, 2000) and Adult Education Quarterly.

"The single most important contribution to our field's knowledge base in the past two decades. The authors have managed to shift the focus of adult education back to the social concerns that were taken for granted when the field was founded. We are ready for this long overdue book. Indeed, we have been yearning for this book. It will tilt our field back towards its moral center."
--B. Allan Quigley, chair, Department of Adult Education, St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia

"Power in Practice is a wonderful book--full of case studies, updated theories, new perspectives, and evidence that adult education can and does change people's lives."
--Michael Newman, senior lecturer in adult education, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

Adult educators know that they can no longer focus solely on the needs of learners without responsibly addressing the political and ethical consequences of their work. Power in Practice examines how certain adult education programs, practices, and policies can become a subtle part of power relationships in wider society. It provides a rich array of real-world cases that highlight the pivotal role of adult educators as "knowledge and power brokers" in the conflict between learners and the social forces surrounding them. The authors discuss how to teach responsibly, develop effective adult education programs, and provide exemplary leadership in complex political contexts, including the workplace and higher education. Educators in the middle of power struggles will learn how to become more politically aware while actively shaping their enterprises to meet important social needs.

Booknews

Contributors written by professors of education and history, as well as adult education program directors and community developers, discuss efforts to promote social or economic change through the mechanisms of adult education. Focusing on the connections between power, politics, and practice in the field, contributions address adult education and work, adult education in colleges and universities, and technologies of practice in adult education. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)