Adult Education Were You Surprised

Adult Education

Were you surprised by any of the findings reported by Taylor? Specifically, were the topics of research and the types of research he reported?

Taylor's review of Adult Education Quarterly (AEQ) encompassed ten years between 1989 to 1999. The author notes that the content analysis reflects the editorial policies of AEQ as much as it does research trends. Taylor noticed an increase in female-authored submissions over the ten-year period but unfortunately not a significant increase in female-authored publications. Surprising was the fact that the AEQ did not implement a double-blind process for submissions to avoid gender bias.

Single author submissions outnumber multiple author submissions, while submissions from nonacademics increased between 1989 to 1999. One of the most interesting findings reported by Taylor was the increase in qualitative research studies and corresponding decrease in quantitative research submissions. However, Taylor notes the continued dearth of historical research analyses of adult learning.

Adult learning, participation, and teaching/curriculum remained core areas of research but participation research declined over the ten-year review. On the other hand, gender and diversity studies increased while adult education as a movement reports declined, which is unsurprising. Taylor refers to increased acceptance of feminist perspectives within the field of adult education. The author also notes an increase in receptiveness to gendered analyses as reasons for the trend, based on the fact that most other fields in the social sciences experienced the same trend. One of Taylor's most surprising findings was the relative narrowness of the adult education scholastic research canon.

2.What you would have expected in a 10-year survey of research in our field (Adult Education)?

Taylor's content analysis was conducted before technology became integral to adult education. A ten-year content analysis conducted now would show far more submissions related to the role of technology in adult education. Moreover, I would have expected a review of the past ten years of Adult Education Quarterly to reveal a dramatic increase in submissions related directly to the impact of technology on distance adult learning. As Taylor brings up the importance of international voices in the AEQ, educators are realizing the need for international curricula if not student bodies. What Taylor found in a 1989 to 1999 content analysis was not surprising, given the temporal and historical context of the research. For example, a gentle rise in the numbers of published female-authored articles is not surprising but the discrepancy between female-authored submissions and acceptances remains disturbing. Research conducted today would, or at least should, reveal less gender bias in admissions.