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Adult learning matters. There is now widespread agreement that modern countries depend on the creativity, skills and knowledge of the entire population for their prosperity. Many people talk of our future well-being in terms of a 'knowledge economy' or a 'learning society' in which every person's ability to develop new capabilities will provide them with resources that will help them and the wider community to adapt and thrive. While in theory this makes lifelong learning into an exciting prospect, in practice this broad agenda is often reduced to a narrowly economic conception. This book reports on one of the largest research projects into lifelong learning conducted in recent years. Through over 500 in-depth interviews with a cohort of about 120 adults who were followed for three years, the Learning Lives project has built up a detailed understanding of what learning means and does in the lives of adults. The project has generated insights in how learning has changed over time and across generations, what the connections are with the changing world of work, what differences learning makes for life chances, how we can learn from life and for life, and how people's prospects of learning can be improved. Combining life history and life-course research with analysis of longitudinal survey data, this book provides important insights into the learning biographies and trajectories of adults. The book shows that learning means and does much more in people's lives than is often acknowledged by current education policy and politics. In doing so, it is an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in the role and potential of learning through the lifecourse.

Adult education is an under-researched field.Judgments about learning programmes are mostly summative and learning that does not lead to an accredited outcome is given low priority under current policy.

Since gaining independence from South Africa in 1990, Namibia has placed considerable emphasis on education, including adult learning. As a means of improving the quality of adult learning, the Namibian Ministry of Education commissioned the development of national standards in 2010 to express competency requirements for adult educators. Particular attention was paid to the views of adult learners who participated through thirty focus groups. The participatory process revealed that the work of an adult educator is more complex and demanding than had previously been appreciated. The required competencies were categorised under four headings: (1) Knowledge as an adult educator, (2) Practice as an adult educator, (3) Relationships as an adult educator and (4) Ethics and professionalism as an adult educator. The Namibia Qualifications Authority, acting under its legislative mandate of setting occupational standards for occupations, jobs, posts and positions, approved the national standards in 2011. Élaborer des normes nationales pour les éducateurs d'adultes en Namibie — Depuis son accession à l'indépendance de l'Afrique du Sud en 1990, la Namibie a fortement privilégié l'éducation, y compris celle des adultes. En vue d'améliorer la qualité de l'éducation des adultes, le ministère namibien de l'éducation a commandité en 2010 l'élaboration de normes nationales, énonçant les compétences requises chez les éducateurs d'adultes. Il y a été accordé une importance particulière aux opinions des apprenants adultes, qui ont participé au processus lors de 30 groupes de discussion. Cette démarche participative a révélé que le travail de l'éducateur d'adultes est plus complexe et exigeant qu'on ne le supposait auparavant. Les compétences requises ont été répertoriées selon quatre rubriques : 1) Connaissances de l'éducateur d'adultes, 2) Pratique de l'éducateur d'adultes, 3) Contacts de l'éducateur d'adultes, enfin 4) Déontologie et professionnalisme de l'éducateur d'adultes. L'autorité namibienne des qualifications, dotée d'un mandat conféré par la loi d'établir des normes professionnelles pour les métiers, emplois, postes et charges, a approuvé ces normes nationales en 2011. Die Entwicklung staatlicher Normen für Lehrkräfte im Bereich der Erwachsenenbildung in Namibia - Seit der Unabhängigkeit von Südafrika im Jahr 1990 legt Namibia einen besonderen Schwerpunkt auf die Bildung, einschließlich der Erwachsenenbildung. Um die Qualität der Erwachsenenbildung zu verbessern, hat das namibische Bildungsministerium im Jahr 2010 den Auftrag erteilt, staatliche Normen für die Anforderungen an die Kompetenz der Lehrkräfte im Erwachsenenbildungsbereich zu entwickeln. Mit besonderer Aufmerksamkeit wurden die Meinungen von erwachsenen Lernenden gehört, die sich in dreißig Fokusgruppen beteiligt haben. Das partizipatorische Verfahren hat gezeigt, dass die Arbeit einer Lehrkraft im Bereich der Erwachsenenbildung komplexer ist und höhere Anforderungen stellt, als man dies bislang wahrgenommen hatte. Die erforderlichen Kompetenzen wurden in vier Kategorien eingeteilt: (1) Das Wissen von Lehrkräften in der Erwachsenenbildung, (2) die Praxis von Lehrkräften in der Erwachsenenbildung, (3) die Beziehungen von Lehrkräften in der Erwachsenenbildung und (4) die Ethik und Professionalität von Lehrkräften in der Erwachsenenbildung. Gemäß ihrem gesetzlichen Auftrag, Beschäftigungsnormen für Berufe, Jobs, Ämter und Positionen festzulegen, hat die Namibia Qualifications Authority [etwa: Behörde für Bildungsund Berufsabschlüsse] die staatlichen Normen im Jahr 2011 gebilligt. El desarrollo de estándares nacionales para educadores adultos en Namibia — Desde su independencia de Sudáfrica en 1990, Namibia ha puesto un considerable énfasis en la educación, incluyendo el aprendizaje de las personas adultas. Con el fin de mejorar la calidad del aprendizaje de las personas adultas, el Ministerio de Educación de Namibia encomendó en el 2010 el desarrollo de estándares nacionales que definan las competencias que deben reunir los educadores adultos. En este sentido, se ha otorgado una especial atención a los puntos de vista de los educandos adultos, que participaron en treinta grupos de referencia. El proceso de participación reveló que el trabajo de un educador adulto es más complejo y exigente de lo que se había considerado previamente. Finalmente, se establecieron cuatro categorías de competencias requeridas: (1) Conocimientos como educador adulto, (2) Práctica como educador adulto, (3) Capacidad de relación como educador adulto, y (4) Ética y profesionalismo como educador adulto. Actuando bajo el mandato legislativo de establecer estándares ocupacionales para empleos, puestos y posiciones, la Autoridad de Cualificación de Namibia aprobó los estándares nacionales en el 2011. Разработка национальных стандартов для работников сферы образования взрослых (эдукаторов) в Намибии — С момента получения независимости от Южной Африки в 1990 году в Намибии стало уделяться больше внимание образованию, включая и образование взрослых. Для улучшения качества образования взрослых Министерство образования в Намибии принялось за разработку националтных стандартов в 2010 году для того, чтобы определить компетентностные требования для работников сферы образования взрослых. Особое внимание уделялось мнениям взрослых учащихся, которые участвовали в тридцати экспериментальных группах. Полученные данные показали, что работа эдукатора предъявляет особые требования и является более сложной, чем это считалось ранее. Требуемые компентерции были распределены по категориям по четырем направлениям: 1) знание как эдукатор, 2) практика как эдукатор, 3) взатмоотношентя как эдукатор и 4) этика и профессионалиэм как эдукатр. Квалификационная комиссия в Намибии, действующая на основе законодательного манлата по выработке профессиональных стардартов для профессий и должностей, утвердила данные национальные стандарты в 2011 году.

Pressure injuries (PI) are a common health problem that reduces patients' quality of life, increases morbidity and mortality and contributes to healthcare costs. Although PI assessment is an essential skill for prevention and correct management, adequate training is not provided in nursing education. To compare the effects of three parallel PI assessment training methods—self-directed learning via a smartphone application (SDL_SA), small group teaching (SGT) and the control group—on the knowledge and skills of nursing students. A three-arm, parallel group randomized controlled trial was conducted. The trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT05354687). The study was conducted at a public university in Türkiye with fourth-year undergraduate nursing students (n = 93). Students were randomly assigned to one of three groups (SDL_SA group, SGT group and control group). While the control group received the existing training, the SDL_SA and SGT groups received a two-stage training program. The Pressure Injury Assessment Knowledge Test, the Education Evaluation Form and the Pressure Injury Assessment Skill Test were administered before and after training. The post-test scores of the SGT and SDL_SA groups for knowledge and total skills were significantly higher than the pre-test scores (p < 0.05). On the post-skill test, both the SGT and SDL_SA groups scored significantly higher than the control group on overall score (F=36.429, p < 0.001). SDL_SA and SGT can provide a comprehensive learning experience in the acquisition of nursing skills. It is recommended that further research is conducted on SDL_SA and SGT in different subjects and larger populations. •Small Group Teaching is effective in PI assessment knowledge and skill acquisition.•Self-Directed Learning via Smartphone Application is effective in PI assessment skill acquisition.•Learning with a smartphone application is instructive when learners' preferences are taken into consideration.

The aim of this article was to review the different evaluation approaches for adult learners and the effect on promoting the quality of teaching and learning. This study aimed to identify new trends in adult education formative-summative evaluations. Data were collected from multiple peer-reviewed sources in a comprehensive literature review covering the period from January 2014 to March 2019. A total of 22 peer-reviewed studies were included in this study. Results were systematically analyzed to answer three questions as follows: what are the new trends in the summative and formative evaluations of adult learners? What are the new trends in the summative and formative evaluations of adult learners engaged in distance learning? And what are the outcomes/drawbacks in the summative and formative evaluations of adult learners? An analysis of the existing literature indicated that those who instruct adults must use a wide variety of pre- and post-assessment tools to match students’ differences with their needs. It also highlighted the importance of “assessment for learning” rather than “assessment of learning” and “learning-oriented assessment” (LOA) for lifelong learning, thus preparing adult learners for future responsibilities and decision making. It also indicated the importance of reflection and immediate feedback for the adult learner. Assessment of mental phenomena such as creativity should have defined terms. The findings of this article supported the argument for more attention to be paid to new trends in evaluations used in adult education. One important result of this kind of evaluation is its facilitation of self-confidence within the adult learning setting.

Introduction The benefits of Early Clinical Exposure (ECE) in medical education are often stated but there is limited evidence on how to effectively maximize its learning value. The challenge for medical educators lies in finding ways to enhance the quality of ECE in alignment with students’ feedback, while realizing the learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is to investigate undergraduate medical students’ perception of an innovative ECE intervention in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, developed using design-based research in alignment with adult, experiential learning theories. Methods A convergent mixed methods study design was utilized. The data was collected using a tailormade survey to solicit both quantitative and qualitative feedback. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS. Qualitative data analysis was inductive based on constructivist epistemology. Following the conclusion of the independent data analyses of the quantitative and qualitative datasets, the primary inferences were integrated using the iterative joint display analysis process. Results Out of the 68 students who attended the ECE, 54 responded. The percentage of the total extent of agreement that the ECE: familiarized them with learning in the clinical environment and brought forth the institutional values were 79.60% and 86.43%, respectively. The extent of active engagement and self-directed learning, with a mean of 6.80(2.42), was significantly associated with how much the learners reaped from the learning experience (P < 0.05). A novel conceptual model, namely: ‘Early Clinical Exposure Added Value’, with five interconnected themes, was developed from the qualitative analysis. Integration of findings led to six meta-inferences: Embeddedness in context of learning, System perspective, Patient-centricity, Theory–practice link, Resilience, and Proactiveness. Conclusion The more medical students engage in their learning, the more ECE contributes to building their academic resilience, and propels them in terms of clinical correlations, skills’ development, and values reinforcement. Securing engagement opportunities for the learners, when designing and planning for the ECE, is essential. Optimizing the ECE learning value can happen systematically through continuously developing the respective intervention in alignment with the principles of design-based research and anchoring it in constructivism experiential learning theories.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has become a global health issue and has had a major impact on education. Consequently, half way through the second semester of the academic year 2019/2020, learning methods were delivered through distance learning (DL). We aimed to evaluate the student perspective of DL compared to classroom learning (CL) in the undergraduate dentistry study program at the Faculty of Dentistry Universitas Indonesia. Methods An online questionnaire was sent at the end of the semester. A total of 301 students participated in the study. Results Duration of study influenced student preference. Higher number of first-year students preferred DL compared to their seniors ( p  < 0.001). Students preferred CL for group discussion, as DL resulted in more difficult communication and gave less learning satisfaction. Only 44.2% students preferred DL over CL, although they agreed that DL gave a more efficient learning method (52.6%), it provided more time to study (87.9%) and to review study materials (87.3%). Challenges during DL included external factors such as unstable internet connection, extra financial burden for the internet quota and internal factors such as time management and difficulty to focus while learning online for a longer period of time. Conclusion Despite some challenges, dental students could adapt to the new learning methods of full DL and the majorities agreed blended learning that combined classroom and distance learning can be implemented henceforth. This current COVID-19 pandemic, changes not only the utilization of technology in education but the pedagogy strategies in the future.

Towards the transition to blended and remote education, evaluating the levels of students’ digital competence and designing educational programs to advance them is of paramount importance. Existing validated digital competence scales usually ignore either important digital skills needed or new socio-technological innovations. This study proposes and validates a comprehensive digital competence scale for students in higher education. The suggested instrument includes skills of online learning and collaboration, social media, smart and mobile devices, safety, and data protection. The scale was evaluated on a sample of 156 undergraduate and postgraduate students just before and at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. The final scale is composed of 28 items and six digital competence components. The evaluation study revealed valid results in terms of model fit criteria, factor loadings, internal validity, and reliability. Individual factors like the students’ field of study, computer experience and age revealed significant associations to the scale components, while gender revealed no significant differences. The suggested scale can be useful to the design of new actions and policies towards remote education and the digital skills’ development of adult learners.

Chest CT is emerging as a valuable diagnostic tool for clinical management of COVID-19 associated lung disease. Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to aid in rapid evaluation of CT scans for differentiation of COVID-19 findings from other clinical entities. Here we show that a series of deep learning algorithms, trained in a diverse multinational cohort of 1280 patients to localize parietal pleura/lung parenchyma followed by classification of COVID-19 pneumonia, can achieve up to 90.8% accuracy, with 84% sensitivity and 93% specificity, as evaluated in an independent test set (not included in training and validation) of 1337 patients. Normal controls included chest CTs from oncology, emergency, and pneumonia-related indications. The false positive rate in 140 patients with laboratory confirmed other (non COVID-19) pneumonias was 10%. AI-based algorithms can readily identify CT scans with COVID-19 associated pneumonia, as well as distinguish non-COVID related pneumonias with high specificity in diverse patient populations. Chest CT is emerging as a valuable diagnostic tool for clinical management of COVID-19 associated lung disease. Here, the authors present a multinational study on the application of deep learning algorithms for COVID-19 diagnosis against multiple lung conditions as controls.