From Norman, OK, to the World: The International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame

 

By Jost Reischmann (HOF 1999), Germany

In 1996, Thurman White of the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, launched a new initiative: the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame (IACEHOF). The central idea was to honor leaders in continuing education and adult learning and to serve as a record that inspires the next generation of continuing education leaders.

In its inaugural induction class, the Hall of Fame recognized 72 individuals as “outstanding leaders. A look at the 1996 induction list of the “International” Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame reveals a perhaps unsurprising fact: all of the inductees were American. In 1997, two non-Americans were recognized as “outstanding”: Roby Kidd from Canada and Peter Jarvis from the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, in the following years, the Hall remained firmly an American institution.

A major step toward establishing the Hall as a truly international institution was the decision to hold an induction ceremony outside the United States. At the AAACE conference in Pittsburgh in 2005, Jost Reischmann of Germany (Class of 1999) and John Henschke of the USA (Class of 1998), inspired by a bottle of “Yellow Tail” wine, began brainstorming about the possibility of bringing an induction ceremony to Europe. The Hall’s Board of Directors was initially quite ambivalent about the idea. As a result, Jost Reischmann traveled from Germany to a board meeting in Dallas to present and advocate for the initiative. Jim Pappas, then Executive Director of the IACEHOF, was a strong supporter of the idea. His argument was both simple and compelling: “We do call this Hall international …” And so, in 2006, the first induction ceremony outside the United States took place in Bamberg, Germany http://halloffame-europe.andragogy.net/2006-Bamberg/06-HOF-Bamberg.html). Fourteen European leaders were inducted into the Hall, marking an important milestone in its development as an international institution.

Since then, the international character of IACEHOF has become an established feature of the organization. Induction ceremonies outside the United States have since been held in Budapest, Hungary (2008); Iași, Romania (2014); Suwon City, South Korea (2017); Belgrade, Serbia (2019); Cork, Ireland (2022); and Florence, Italy (2024). Today, an increasing number of outstanding leaders from many countries contribute to the richness and diversity of the IACEHOF.

What began in 1996 as a predominantly American institution has evolved into a truly international community dedicated to recognizing excellence and leadership in adult and continuing education worldwide.

Jost Reischmann’s reflection traces the Hall of Fame’s journey from its beginnings as a predominantly U.S.-based institution to an increasingly international community, highlighting the individuals, relationships, and pivotal decisions that helped expand its global reach.

Continue the Conversation

The Hall of Fame’s evolution reminds us that becoming truly international requires more than a name—it requires people willing to build relationships, cross boundaries, and create opportunities for diverse voices to be recognized.

We invite you to share your perspective:

• What does it mean for the Hall of Fame to be a truly international community?
• How has connecting with adult educators from other countries influenced your own thinking, practice, or leadership?
• What can the Hall do to strengthen participation and representation from regions that remain underrepresented?
• What relationships, partnerships, or initiatives could help expand the Hall’s global reach?
• As we look toward the next 30 years, what would you like the Hall’s international legacy to become?

Join the conversation. Share your experiences and ideas for how we can continue building a Hall of Fame that reflects, connects, and celebrates the global adult and continuing education community.  

From Awareness to the Human Edge: What Three Years of AI Adoption Taught Us

 

Belinda Biscoe, Ph.D. (HOF, 2018)

Senior Associate Vice President for Outreach/College of Continuing Education, The University of Oklahoma, and Executive Director, International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame

In late 2023, artificial intelligence (AI) landed in higher education almost overnight. At University Outreach and the College of Continuing Education at the University of Oklahoma, an organization of about 1,400 employees, the questions came fast: Would AI take jobs? Would it undermine learning? Could it even be trusted? Instead of leading with new tools or new rules, we decided to lead with people.

Starting With Fear, Not Features

Our 2024 baseline survey told us exactly where we stood: half of our staff had never used AI at all, 42% were worried about its impact on higher education, and only 28% saw any real benefit to their own work. One colleague put it bluntly: "I absolutely do not support Outreach using AI in any form or fashion."

Rather than argue people out of that fear, we made space for it. Our first State of Outreach event in February 2024, Outreach in the Age of AI, gathered roughly 240 employees not to sell them on AI, but to let them ask hard questions out loud, together. That single decision, treating skepticism as useful information rather than a problem to fix, shaped everything that came after.

From Curiosity to Everyday Use

By our second year, the shift was unmistakable. Of 208 employees surveyed after our 2025 event, 74% were now using AI regularly or occasionally, mostly for writing, research, and brainstorming. Optimism nearly doubled, from 28% to 48%.

What changed wasn't the technology; it was relevance. Six workshops in 2024 grew to nine in 2025, plus an all-day Microsoft Copilot training for 80 employees. People stopped asking "what is AI?" and started asking "how does this help me on Tuesday?" That's classic adult learning theory at work: as Malcolm Knowles (1980) observed, adults engage most when learning connects directly to real, immediate problems, not abstract concepts. And their concerns matured right along with their skills: the top worries were no longer existential; they were practical questions about ethics and accuracy.

The Real Turning Point: The Human Edge

Our third year, themed The Human Edge: Evolving with AI, is where the story got interesting. By May 2026, 95% of our roughly 275 attendees could name the human skills that matter most in an AI-enabled workplace: judgment, ethics, creativity, collaboration. Ninety-four percent understood why human oversight still matters, and 86% left the event committed to strengthening a specific human skill.

One response stuck with me: "The fear that AI will take over jobs was nullified." Another: "Professional judgment is more important now than ever." That's the real headline. We didn't just teach people to use a tool. We helped them rediscover what makes their own contribution irreplaceable.

A Five-Stage Path Other Institutions Can Use

Looking back across three years of surveys, workshops, and events, a clear pattern emerged, one I believe any institution can adapt:

•       Leadership Commitment — leaders model curiosity publicly, not just policy.

•       Baseline Assessment — survey honestly before you design anything.

•       Organization-Wide Awareness — shared events build common language and reduce isolation.

•       Hands-On Skill Development — role-specific, practical workshops, not generic overviews.

•       Human-Centered Integration — deliberately reconnect people to judgment, ethics, and creativity.

Skip the first two stages, and even the best training falls flat. Skip the last one, and you'll get AI adoption without wisdom, which is its own kind of risk. The pattern tracks closely with John Kotter's (1996) classic model of organizational change, which holds that transformation sticks only when leadership commitment, communication, and reinforcement are sustained over time, not delivered in a single push.

What I'd Tell Any Institution Starting This Work

Begin with literacy, not policy; rules mean little to people who don't yet understand what they're governing. Survey before you design and take the fear seriously instead of rushing past it. Build shared experiences that give people a common language. And never let the conversation stay only about the technology. The organizations that will thrive with AI are the ones that invest as much in their people's judgment, ethics, and creativity as they do in their platforms.

Three years ago, half our workforce had never touched AI, and many feared what it might do to their jobs. Today, most use it regularly, and nearly all of them can tell you, clearly, what no AI can replace with their own work. That shift in self-understanding, more than any usage statistic, is the outcome I'm proudest of.

Continue the Conversation

Belinda Biscoe’s reflection invites us to think beyond whether we should use AI and consider how we can integrate it while strengthening the human qualities that technology cannot replace.

We invite you to share your insights:

• How has your own perspective on AI changed as you have gained experience using it?
• What helped—or would help—people in your organization move from uncertainty about AI to meaningful use?
• Which human skills do you believe become even more important as AI becomes part of our work and learning?
• How can leaders create space for questions, concerns, and experimentation as organizations adopt AI?
• What does the “human edge” mean to you in an AI-enhanced world?

Join the conversation. Share your experiences, questions, and lessons learned as we explore how adult and continuing education can help shape a future in which AI strengthens—not diminishes—the human dimensions of learning and work.

References

Knowles, M. S. (1984). The adult learner: A neglected species (3rd ed.). Gulf Publishing. 

Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Harvard Business School Press.

 

Be All You Can Be: The True Meaning of Adult Education

 

By Grey Edwards (HOF 2012) After five years in public school education as a teacher and coach, I completed my master's degree in education supervision and was selected to serve as an elementary school principal. I held that position for two years. Then, in 1972, I left Virginia Beach, Virginia, for a two-month assignment working at the Munich Olympics. Before I knew it, that brief assignment had opened the door to an entirely new career. I contacted the Department of Defense about working in an Army Education Center, and in September 1972, I began what would become a 45-year career in adult education. I remained in that field until my retirement in August 2017. The Army slogan Be All You Can Be came to represent what adult education meant to me. It later became the theme of quarterly articles I submitted to Military Educator. In those articles, I highlighted the educational journeys of deserving service members in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Their stories showed how men and women in uniform continued serving their country while also working toward important personal and professional goals. Helping Service Members Earn a Diploma I was fortunate to hit the ground running as a supervisor for the High School Completion Program, or HSCP. At the time, the high school diploma was becoming the expected standard for service members, rather than the General Educational Development, or GED, credential. Through the HSCP, service members earned diplomas from American high schools in Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, and Kaiserslautern - the same schools attended by their dependent children. Classes were offered in nine-week terms, with as many as four courses taught in two-hour periods. The program continued successfully for more than ten years. The Education Centers offered much more than high school completion. They provided counseling, testing, and learning centers, as well as access to academic and technical programs leading to associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. These opportunities were available to service members and their spouses. To me, this was adult education at its best: practical, accessible, and capable of changing the direction of a family's life. Germany, Fort Hood, and a Return Overseas I was fortunate to remain in Germany from 1972 to 1994, despite the Department of Defense's five-year overseas rule. At the Department's request, I continued receiving extensions that allowed me to take on greater responsibility, earn promotions, and keep building the Adult Education Center programs that service members deserved. When my final extension ended in 1994, after 22 years in Germany, I was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas - the Army's largest installation at the time, with approximately 50,000 soldiers. As supervisor of the 1st Cavalry Division Education Center, I worked with an outstanding staff to help soldiers pursue their goals as adult learners. It was one of the most productive periods of my career. After the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, I had the opportunity to return to Germany, and it was one I could not pass up. I brought four Fort Hood educators with me to work in Army Education Centers. The years that followed were demanding. We faced the events of September 11 and conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with missions connected to Uzbekistan, Macedonia, and other locations. Even during those unsettled times, service members continued working toward their educational goals. Education in a Time of War Two of my final three years in Germany, from 2003 to 2005, were among the most memorable of my 45-year career. I joined colleagues in establishing testing, counseling, and learning centers, as well as online and traditional college programs, in deployed locations. Our work took us to Baghdad with the 1st Armored Division; to Tikrit, where we stayed in Saddam Hussein's former palace with the 4th Infantry Division; and to Mosul with the 101st Airborne Division. We also worked in Balad, Iraq, in 2003. In 2004, similar work took us to Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Uzbekistan. Seeing service members take part in testing, counseling, and college courses under those conditions was inspiring, moving, emotional, and heartwarming. I will always be grateful for those experiences. Whenever I think about professional challenges, I remember what the 101st Airborne Division, the 4th Infantry Division, the 1st Armored Division, and many others were facing in combat. Yet they still wanted to improve their education and provide more opportunities for their families. Their commitment put every challenge into perspective, and I will always remember their sacrifice. A Career Devoted to Lifelong Learning In 2005, after nine more years overseas, I was offered another promotion and returned to my birthplace, Fort Rucker, Alabama, as director of education for military installations in the Southeast.  By then, I had also become deeply involved with the Commission on Military Education and Training, known as CMET. CMET was one of eight divisions of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE), one of the nation's oldest organizations devoted to adult and lifelong learning. My goal was to increase awareness of military education and its connection to adult education, lifelong learning, and andragogy - the practice of helping adults learn. I was honored to serve as president-elect, president, and past president of AAACE from 2006 through 2008. In those roles, I had the privilege of sharing with adult educators the important place military education holds within the larger field. The subjects people study may change as civilian careers and job markets change, but the purpose of military education remains constant. Whether service members stay in the military, transition to another role, or retire, military educators want to help them reach their educational goals and prepare for civilian employment. Their studies may include information technology and Microsoft programs, HVAC, food service, automotive technology, aviation, and many other fields. I am especially proud that ten members of my former staff have gone on to leadership positions in military education centers. Their success reminds me that an educator's influence extends far beyond one classroom, one office, or even one career. Looking back, Be All You Can Be was more than an Army slogan. It captured the true meaning of adult education: meeting learners where they are, helping them see what is possible, and giving them the support they need to move forward. I was privileged to spend my career doing exactly that. Continue the Conversation Grey Edwards’s Be All You Can Be: The True Meaning of Adult Education reminds us that adult education can transform lives wherever learning takes place—from education centers and workplaces to military installations and even deployed settings. His experiences demonstrate the importance of making education accessible, responding to adults’ changing circumstances, and supporting learners as they pursue personal, professional, and family goals. His story also reminds us that the influence of an adult educator can extend well beyond a single learner, classroom, or career. We invite you to continue the conversation: ·       What does “Be All You Can Be” mean to you in the context of adult education? ·       How can adult educators better meet learners where they are and help them see new possibilities for themselves? ·       What can we learn from military education about providing flexible and accessible learning opportunities for adults facing demanding or changing circumstances? ·       How have you seen education change the direction of an adult learner’s career, family, or life? ·       As an adult educator, how do you hope your influence will extend beyond the learners you directly serve? Join the conversation and share your perspective. How can we continue creating opportunities that enable adult learners to be all they can be?

 

Courage to Lead: Adult and Continuing Education’s Leadership Role for the Future

Dr. Don Olcott, Jr., FRSA (HOF 2024)

 

Good judgment comes from experience

and a lot of that comes from poor judgment (Will Rogers)

 

Introduction

 

The challenges and complexity of today’s world create an unprecedented inertia that embraces technology and fast-track solutions to critical problems. Digital innovations, most notably artificial intelligence (AI), dominate corporate and public dialogue about the brave new world we are creating for education, business, the military, government, healthcare, and society in general. Indeed, this accelerated focus on technological innovation to empower our futures seems out of sync with the need to reflect on the present and preserve the past. Indeed, sometimes we have to look back before we can look forward and engage the future. Understanding our legacy and history can help us work more effectively together and solve the challenges on our doorsteps and those that lie ahead.

 

This essay discusses selected issues and the potential efficacy of adult and continuing education practice and research that may help us deal with the complexity of this innovation-driven world we now inhabit. There are no simple answers. Moreover, it is increasingly clear that the challenges of modern society are impacting a broader sector of older adults, not just today’s children and young adults. Adult education and engagement are not a panacea for resolving all the issues we face now and those approaching on the horizon. They may, however, remind us that where one stands on issues is often influenced by where one sits, which perhaps will allow us to reboot and recalibrate our views and approaches to the world.

 

Courage to Lead: Beyond Silence in the Shadows

 

Indeed, if there is one lesson I’ve learned in my forty-plus years in adult, continuing, and online education, it is that our role extends far beyond just educating adults. We have an indelible responsibility to humanity and the protection of human rights, inclusion, social justice, and equality.

 

It is unfathomable to think that the insular and parochial traditions of universities absolve them from engaging in the geopolitical landscape of the world we live in. If we are truly honest with ourselves, universities and their leaders have enjoyed decades of silence in the shadows, emerging usually when the stakes are of self-interest. When the issues are too divisive and politically loaded, universities have preferred silence in the shadows. A recent example that accentuated this point was the failure of many universities to protect the rights of their students and, in some cases, Jewish and Palestinian staff, due to the events in Palestine and Israel. What does this say about the role of educators and our centers of higher learning if they are unwilling to stand up for what is clearly right and just for human rights? There are no easy answers.

 

In all fairness, adult educators permeate all sectors of society from education, banking, and the military to international corporations, social service agencies, and NGOs. The message here is simple – adult educators can play a major role in advocating amongst these sectors and organizations to come out of the shadows and dispense with the silence just because the issues are complex, controversial, and, in many cases, potentially divisive.

 

Leaders—and by extension their followers—who remain silent in the shadows are neither leaders nor courageous. As Lawrence said to Ali in the film Lawrence of Arabia (1962) when confronted with the impossibility of crossing the barren Nefud desert to attack Aqaba from the land, “Aqaba is over there . . . it’s simply a matter of going.” In sum, university leaders and adult educators can play a critical role beyond the classroom and boardrooms for humanity – it’s simply a matter of going.

 

The Need for an Agile Lifelong Learning Framework

 

In an earlier IACE Leadership essay, I argued that lifelong learning needs to be reframed for the 21^st century.

 

Lifelong learning in its purest form means that learning occurs

across the lifespan and that an 18-year-old can start with

micro-credentials first and then return for a degree later. It

means no imposed chronology of credentials to get a degree

first, and then lifelong learning begins. As it stands, we advocate

lifelong learning as long as it fits within the traditional organizational

structures that have stood for decades and yet are clearly not

serving the needs of students, employers, and societies. Reframing

this misalignment between education and society is perhaps among the

greatest challenges we face in the next fifty years, particularly the

challenges facing students and employers in the developing world.

 

Universities and adult educators are at a crossroads to restructure in ways that truly put students and their futures first. We must unbundle the university bureaucracy, which is under attack from all sides and nearly all of its stakeholders, if we are to create a social organization that can respond, adapt, and remain agile enough to create an agile and empowering lifelong learning model. At present, it exists only in rhetoric and speeches.

 

Re-Empowering Adult Education’s Past Legacies

 

Indeed, sometimes the obvious blinds us to the potential of past practices and strategies that can be adapted for the future. When we reflect upon all the remarkable resources of adult and continuing education, we need to ensure we don’t discard them without due diligence for the future.

 

What are some of these legacy practices? There are many. The power of experience to inform, teach, and apply to new situations. The role of praxis to reflect repeatedly to refine our own views, theoretical tenants, and approaches for everyday life. Conversely, can we use these invaluable legacies to guard against gerontocracy by ensuring that we cover the broad spectrum of views of adults in society? Our elders are not always right – c’est la vie -- and neither are our youth. 😊

 

We can also remind ourselves that intergenerational learning in the classroom, on the job, and in the home is one of the great gifts for sharing, learning, and reflecting upon our world. Adult educators can play a transformative role in leveraging these experiences that ultimately benefit humanity.

 

Lastly, our conceptual and theoretical body of knowledge about how adults learn is as applicable and beneficial today as it was decades ago. We must remember to use this repository for humanity.

 

AI Unplugged

Lastly and with all due respect to educators across the globe, AI will not save us from ourselves. The truth is that judgment, context, and timing are critical actors in making decisions that benefit the majority. Moreover, a second truth is that we have a history of ignoring our own advice about technology. We argued that we could not let technology dominate the teaching and learning process, and yet once again we embraced, with little real analysis, that “technology = progress,” forgetting that all digital transformations have consequences and unanticipated impacts. AI has been escorted to the pinnacle of human existence without any real due diligence. And in the distant background I hear echoes of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) where Dave asks Hal to open the outer bay doors to the spacecraft. Hal responds: “I’m sorry Dave, I cannot do that.” We must manage AI, not the reverse.

It is mind-boggling to think that, in 2026, AI has made more progress in refining new ways to kill people on the battlefields of Ukraine and Palestine than in education and democratic processes. Let that sink in for a moment. If this is the beginning of the brave new world, perhaps we should reconsider AI and its priorities.

The key points of this essay are clearly not definitive. Adult and continuing educators in all sectors have an opportunity to play a greater leadership role for humanity beyond the classrooms and boardrooms.

 

Lifelong learning is a powerful asset... it empowers, enables, and builds human potential and community. We need to adopt an agile, flexible framework so past structures do not become immovable barriers for young adults choosing their best educational pathways and making career choices.

We must celebrate the history, traditions, practices, and legacies of adult and continuing education AND we must continue to use these to create new strategies to resolve today’s issues and challenges. AI is but one solution, not the only one.

Indeed, the first role of leadership is to lead. It’s simply a matter of going.

 

References

Kubrick, S. (Director). (1968). 2001: A space odyssey [Film]. Stanley Kubrick Productions.

Lean, D. (Director). (1962). Lawrence of Arabia [Film]. Columbia Pictures; Horizon Pictures.

 

Olcott, D. J. (2025). Mission possible: Renewing adult and continuing education futures. IACE Leadership Blog Essays (November). https://iacehof-leadership-perspectives.blogspot.com/2025/11/

 

 

More than a Decade of RALE: Why Adult Learning Matters More Than Ever

 

 

By Arne Carlsen (HOF 2017)

A little over ten years ago, UNESCO Member States adopted the Recommendation on Adult Learning and Education (RALE). At the time, many of us regarded it as a landmark achievement—the first comprehensive international normative framework for adult learning in almost forty years, replacing the 1976 Recommendation on the Development of Adult Education. Looking back today, I believe its significance has only grown.

As Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), I had the privilege of chairing the Steering Committee that guided the drafting of the Recommendation. It was a fascinating and rewarding process. Governments, international organizations, researchers, and civil society representatives came together to discuss what adult learning should look like in the twenty-first century. We did not agree on everything, but we did agree on one essential point: learning does not stop when people leave school.

The new Recommendation did much more than update its predecessor. The 1976 Recommendation was visionary for its time. It established adult education as an integral part of national education systems and affirmed its importance for personal development, social progress, and international understanding. But the world had changed profoundly in the four decades that followed. Globalization, technological innovation, demographic change, new patterns of work and migration, and the emergence of lifelong learning as a guiding educational principle all called for a broader vision.

RALE responded to these changes by reframing adult education as adult learning and education, recognizing that adults learn throughout their lives in formal, non-formal, and informal settings. It explicitly embraced technical and vocational education and training (TVET) alongside literacy, continuing education, community learning, and higher education opportunities for adults. It also placed far greater emphasis on quality, governance, sustainable financing, professionalization of educators, recognition of prior learning, monitoring, and accountability. Importantly, it recognized that international cooperation—through knowledge sharing, capacity development, research, policy dialogue, and partnerships—is essential if countries are to strengthen adult learning systems and respond collectively to global challenges.

That broader perspective may seem self-evident today, but in 2015 it represented an important shift in thinking. Adult learning had too often been viewed narrowly—as literacy programmes or vocational training. Those remain fundamental, of course, but they are only part of the picture.

RALE embraced a much broader vision. It recognized that adults continue to learn throughout their lives—in workplaces, communities, families, and everyday experiences. It highlighted the importance of learning not only for employment, but also for health, civic participation, culture, personal fulfilment, and social inclusion.

One feature of the Recommendation that I continue to value is its recognition of the three interconnected domains of adult learning: literacy and basic skills; continuing education and professional development; and liberal, popular, and community education. This was one of RALE's most important conceptual innovations. Together, these domains acknowledge that adult learning serves multiple and interconnected purposes. It contributes to economic growth and employability, certainly, but it is equally important for strengthening communities, supporting democratic participation, fostering social cohesion, and enhancing individual well-being.

Another important aspect of RALE is that it looks beyond individual programmes. Sustainable adult learning depends on strong systems. That means coherent national policies, adequate financing, professional educators, flexible learning pathways, recognition of prior learning, quality assurance, and reliable monitoring of progress. These may sound like technical issues, but they determine whether adults actually have meaningful opportunities to learn throughout their lives.

The year 2015 was significant for another reason. It was also the year the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with Sustainable Development Goal 4 committing the international community to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all." RALE has provided an important framework for translating that global commitment into national policies for adult learning.

Much has changed over the past decade. Digital technologies have transformed how we work and learn. Artificial intelligence is reshaping economies and societies. Climate change demands new knowledge and new forms of civic engagement. Populations are ageing in many countries, while migration continues to reshape communities. And, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic reminded us how quickly people's lives can change—and how essential learning is for adapting to new realities.

These developments have reinforced something that many adult educators have argued for years: adult learning is not simply about preparing people for jobs. It is about helping people navigate change. Adults need digital skills, media literacy, critical thinking, health literacy, environmental awareness, and the confidence to participate actively in their communities and democratic institutions. Lifelong learning has become an essential source of resilience—for individuals and for society as a whole. UNESCO's landmark report Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education reinforces this vision by placing lifelong learning at the heart of education for the future.

One lesson I still carry from chairing the drafting process is that international consensus is possible when discussions are grounded in evidence, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to human development. That spirit is reflected not only in the way RALE was drafted but also in the Recommendation itself, which calls for stronger international cooperation in research, policy exchange, capacity development, and mutual learning. RALE reflects contributions from every region of the world. It is not simply a UNESCO instrument; it is the product of Member States working together to strengthen adult learning and education.

Progress in implementing the Recommendation continues to be monitored through UNESCO's Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE), published by UIL. The successive reports demonstrate both encouraging progress and the considerable work that still lies ahead.

Of course, no recommendation changes the world on its own. Its impact depends on what happens after adoption. Governments, employers, educational institutions, civil society organizations, and learners themselves all have important roles to play in ensuring that adults have genuine opportunities to continue learning throughout their lives.

As we move into the second decade of RALE, I hope we see it not simply as a milestone worth celebrating, but as a reminder of unfinished work. The challenges facing our societies have become more complex, not less. That makes the case for lifelong learning even stronger than it was in 2015.

If there is one message I would leave with policymakers, educators, and all those who care about education, it is this: investing in adult learning is investing in more inclusive, resilient, democratic, and sustainable societies. More than a decade after RALE, that remains its most important lesson.

Continue the Conversation

RALE reminds us that adult learning is much more than preparing people for work—it is about empowering individuals and strengthening communities throughout life. More than a decade after its adoption, its vision remains highly relevant as societies respond to rapid technological change, demographic shifts, climate challenges, and evolving workforce demands.

We invite you to join the conversation:

• How has RALE influenced adult learning and education policies or practices in your country or organization?
• Which of RALE's principles do you believe are most critical for addressing today's global challenges?
• What progress have you seen in strengthening adult learning systems, and where do significant gaps remain?
• How can adult learning better support inclusion, resilience, democratic participation, and lifelong learning in the years ahead?
• What actions should educators, policymakers, institutions, and communities prioritize to ensure that adult learning remains central to building more equitable and sustainable societies?

Share your experiences, perspectives, and examples in the comments below. Together, we can continue advancing the vision of lifelong learning for all.

 

 

My Journey into the Field of Adult Education

 

By Shauna Butterwick, Professor Emeritus (HOF 2018), University of British Columbia

 

To honor the 30th anniversary of the Hall of Fame, I was invited to submit a short reflective piece on a moment that represented my contribution to the field. What follows is not a reflection on one moment; rather, it is a story of my discovery of adult education and serendipitous journey into academia. Adult Education was a territory of practice and theory unknown to me during my early career as a hospital and public health nurse. However, upon later reflection, I realized a central part of my job as a nurse was indeed adult education. I was always drawn to supporting adults’ learning and meeting them “where they were at.” After some time in the health field, I sought a career change and found support at the Women’s Resource Centre at the University of British Columbia (UBC), where I was invited to create and run workshops. Wanting to further my knowledge and skills of adult education, I began the Adult Education graduate program at UBC. There, my identity as an adult educator was solidified as I joined a community that shared my interests and passions.

My first MA course, in the summer of 1984, was with Paulo Freire. I was mystified by the frenzy his presence generated. Students and faculty were in awe of him, and in the first few days of that summer intensive course, few spoke. Unaware of his celebrity status, I asked Freire questions about how his ideas ignored gender. He agreed that gender was important and seemed happy to have someone with whom to engage. At that time, I was also very involved with feminist groups including the Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women (CCLOW) and the Women’s Employment and Training Coalition (WETC). Through those connections I became aware of policy activism informed by feminist theory. These engagements greatly enhanced my graduate studies, although some faculty regarded them as unrelated distractions. Freire’s ideas plus my activism led me to my MA thesis, a comparative analysis of Freire’s notion of conscientization with the practice and theory of feminist pedagogy and consciousness raising. I faced sharp critiques of my argument that feminist theory and practice had much to offer critical theory.

This resistance propelled me to continue with my research into feminist pedagogy and women’s learning, which became the focus of my dissertation, a study of government-funded women’s re-entry programs. I was subsequently contracted by the provincial government to submit a review of best practices for re-entry programs. Noting the lack of women’s voices, I connected with an anti-poverty organization and a group of single mothers receiving social assistance. I included their mostly negative experiences of programs in my report. The majority of my research has emerged from my community engagement and exploration of women’s lived experience.

After completing my doctorate, I worked at UBC’s unit supporting faculty’s academic growth, bringing my attention to another arena of adults’ learning. After securing an academic position, my research into women’s learning took an interesting turn. Working in collaboration with Jan Selman, a member of the UBC theatre faculty, we discussed the challenges we faced in feminist coalitions. Using popular theatre methodology, we explored the power of this approach to inquiry and storytelling, a powerful pedagogy. I became even more convinced that community was a significant site of adult learning and also an important site of knowledge. In my UBC teaching, I began to bring in collage poetry, music, and theatre, noting how these non-discursive activities enhanced learning and inclusivity. Another partnership led to research into women’s informal and alternative pathways to computer technology jobs. One of my last research projects was carried out through my connection with the wider feminist community. I was invited to work in partnership with the Philippine Women’s Center to document and explore their creation of three political fashion shows; another way of speaking truth to power.

My research partnerships with community and grassroots organizations, a form of community-engaged scholarship (CES), are, however, poorly recognized, and my work in this area has been questioned as a legitimate form of knowledge creation and distribution. This challenge led me, along with other community-engaged faculty, to advocate for changes to UBC’s tenure and promotion policy so that CES would count. That struggle continues. These passions continue to influence my retirement activities. Through online dissertation-writing workshops, I coach doctoral students to help them carve out space for their writing amid the many demands of their work, family, and community. My advising and support of graduate students is yet another way I believe I contributed to our field. I stay connected because these students bring the world to me. In May I attended the 2026 CASAE-AERC conference at UBC where I encountered a younger generation of adult education scholars (and activists) whose energies and passions for research were also oriented to social justice. I was surprised and delighted to hear references to my feminist and community-based orientation, my use of creative expression, and my experience with and research into social movement learning.

My entry into the academic study of adult education occurred at a time when adult learning seemed to be on the map and recognized as an important element of lifelong and life-wide learning. This recognition, at least in Canada, has declined and has almost disappeared at the formal policy level. Many adult educators have lost their jobs, particularly in services that support newcomers and immigrants, as well as students not well served by formal schooling. The dominant policy ideology reflects a view that there are no “second chances.” Despite much evidence showing how putting resources into supporting these programs has huge payoffs, the cuts continue with devastating impacts on learners and educators. I am collaborating with other scholars to undertake an oral history of adult education in British Columbia, a project in which we want to capture practitioners’ stories and knowledge before it disappears. Another change in adult education has been the closing of many academic programs. What was once a vibrant network of adult education scholars has become fragmented. How unfortunate when we are facing a time when adult education has so much to offer in response to divisive politics, authoritarian regimes, the undermining of democratic engagement, and dangerous nationalistic orientations.

 

Continue the Conversation

Shauna Butterwick’s reflections remind us that our professional journeys are often shaped by unexpected opportunities, community engagement, and a commitment to social justice. Her story highlights how practice, scholarship, and advocacy can come together to create meaningful change in adult education.

We'd love to hear your perspective:

• What unexpected experience led you into the field of adult and continuing education?
• Who has had the greatest influence on your work as an educator or leader?
• How has community engagement shaped your teaching, research, or professional practice?
• What do you believe is the most pressing challenge facing adult education today?
• Looking back on your journey, what lesson would you share with the next generation of adult educators?

Share your thoughts in the comments and join the conversation. Your experiences and reflections help preserve the rich history of our field while inspiring future educators and leaders.