Adult Learning in a Migration Society

Chad Hoggan and Tetyana Hoggan-Kloubert have brought together several committed researchers from various parts of Europe, inviting them to reflect, discuss and write about one of the most urgent challenges our societies cope with today. This has resulted into a set of highly imaginative papers, reflecting on practices and theories of education, learning, dialogue, empowerment, trauma alleviation and story-telling. The book meets an urgent need in the field of adult education and beyond, where practitioners, activists and researchers continually engage themselves to create humane conditions of encounter and growth for people who desperately hope for a new beginning, respect and opportunities in a world that confronts them with many unforeseen challenges. Education professionals and practitioners will find much inspiration in this collection of captivating contributions.

Danny Wildermeersch

Professor Emeritus of Social and Cultural Pedagogy

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Leuven, Flanders, Belgium

Adult Learning in a Migration Society is a timely and welcome contribution to the field of adult education. Authors from eleven countries in Europe and North America explore the role adult education plays in the development of migration societies. Chapters address not only the nature of the learning that takes place both at the individual and societal levels, but the tensions inherent in this learning such as integration versus indoctrination, adaptation versus resistance, the benefits and challenges of receiving societies. Woven throughout the chapters is the notion that such adult learning is transformative in nature as both the individual migrant and the migration society are continuously engaged in making meaning of the migrant experience. This volume robustly captures the importance of adult learning, and transformative learning in particular, in grappling with one of the more contentious issues in today’s world.

Sharan Merriam

Professor Emerita of Adult and Continuing Education (co-author of Learning inAdulthood, 2020)

The University of Georgia

Athens, GA

In Adult Learning in a Migration Society, the reader is brought into the experiences of migrants, volunteer workers, counselors as well as researchers across different geographical locations. With a specific emphasis on the experiences and meaning making of migrants, the book provides thoughtful insights on what it means to be forced to flee one’s own home, enter a new country, and the struggle to make a new home. The chapters together provide well needed food for thought for all those who are interested in issues pertaining to migration and learning.

Andreas Fejes

Professor and Chair of Adult Education Research

Linköping University

Linköping, Sweden

A very timely book that reinforces the historical narrative that every member of society is a product of migration, a global phenomenon occurring since the beginning of recorded history. Yet, the backlash that confronts today’s immigrants must be brought to the forefront of education, particularly adult education, where advocacy for diversity and inclusion form the bedrock of the scholarship and practice of the profession. This book profiles the works of international scholars who share perspectives and experiences of migrants as they transition from their beloved homeland to find "home" in foreign lands. Highlighted in the discourse are persistent challenges, current practices, governmental responses, and the resilience of a people in transition. An important text from which to educate on the challenges and promises of migration in global contexts.

Mary V. Alfred

Professor of Adult Education

Texas A&M University

USA