We Learn From Others: An Adult Educator's Experience with International Education Practice

• Published in: Adult learning (Washington, D.C.) D.C.), 2005-01, Vol.16 (1-2), p.11-13
• Main Author: Ntseane, Peggy Gabo
• Format: Magazinearticle
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult Education; Adult Educators; Adult Learning; Comparative studies; Conferences; Educational Practices; Experiential learning; Global Approach; Illiteracy; Independent study; Industrial Revolution; Informal Education; International Education; Learning Processes; Lifelong Learning; Military training; Multicultural education; Proverbs; Research methodology; Social Justice; Teaching Methods; United States
• ISSN: 1045-1595; 2162-4070
• DOI: 10.1177/104515950501600104

According to Cookson (1989), international education is "the systematic study of the process whereby men and women (in individual, groups, or institutional settings) participate in or implement organized learning activities that have been designed to increase their knowledge, skill, or sensitiveness, and that take place across international borders" (p. 71). The idea of joint adult education practice by adult educators from nations throughout the world is not new because it has evolved over time. As an adult educator who is both a product of international education institutions and one with a passion for international adult education practice, the author shares her personal experiences and lessons learned from participation in international adult education. Combining the cultural socialization and indigenous learning models of collective learning with the individualized learning models of the United States helped the author focus her adult education work on the function of spearheading global social justice. Based on the author's experiences, this article demonstrates that finding the links in the world in which people live is the real starting point for the principle of adult education with a global perspective.