Learning in Adulthood

SHARAN B. MERRIAM is Professor Emerita of Adult Education and Qualitative Research at The University of Georgia in Athens, GA. Merriam's research and writing activities have focused on adult and lifelong learning and qualitative research methods. She has published 33 books and over 100 journal articles and book chapters. She is a four-time winner of the prestigious Cyril O. Houle World Award for Literature in Adult Education. LISA M. BAUMGARTNER is an Associate Professor at Texas State University, San Marcos, TX. Her research and writing focus on adult learning and development in marginalized populations. She was co-editor of Adult Education Quarterly from 2011-2014. In 2019, she received a Circle of 50 Award from the Learning, Leadership, and Organizational Development Program at the University of Georgia. Awardees are seen as having made an impact on the research and practice of adult education, learning, leadership, and organizational development.

• Acknowledgments viiPreface ixAbout the Authors xvPart I: Adult Learning in Contemporary Society 1Chapter 1 The Social Context of Adult Learning 5Chapter 2 Adult Learning and Technology 26Chapter 3 Learning Environments and Learning Concepts 52Chapter 4 Adult Learners: Who Participates and Why 82Part II: Adult Learning Theory 113Chapter 5 Knowles’s Andragogy and McClusky’s Theory of Margin 117Chapter 6 Self-Directed Learning 137Chapter 7 Transformative Learning 166Chapter 8 Experience and Learning 196Part III: Newer Approaches to Adult Learning 229Chapter 9 Embodied, Spiritual, and Narrative Learning 233Chapter 10 Learning and Knowing: Eastern and Indigenous Perspectives 268Chapter 11 Critical Theory, Postmodern, and Feminist Perspectives 290Part IV: Learning and Development 317Chapter 12 Adult Development 321Chapter 13 Cognitive Development in Adulthood 346Chapter 14 Intelligence and Aging 375Chapter 15 Brain, Memory, and Cognition 409Chapter 16 Reflections on Learning in Adulthood 439References 459Name Index 541Subject Index 561