A volume in Adult Education Special Topics: Theory, Research,
and Practice in Lifelong Learning
Series Editor: Kathleen P. King, University of South Florida
Developing and Sustaining Adult Learners is the second volume in a series of scholarly publications associated with the
annual Adult Higher Education Alliance (AHEA, The Alliance) conference. The title of this volume, derived from the
theme of the 2012 conference co-sponsored by American Association of Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) in
Las Vegas, NV, encompasses significant issues and questions at the forefront of the field of adult education. At the
conference, scholars, practitioners, and adult educators gave presentations and received feedback on some of the most
significant and timely issues in their praxis. The Alliance, which values collaboration, transformative dialogue, and
collegiality among professionals, considers this volume a continuation of those conversations as the presentations were
expanded into chapters. We are glad that you are joining the conversation.
This volume confirms not only that adult learning, higher education, and both fields of research have many contexts, but
also that there is so much more to learn about different perspectives and opportunities for research and practice. Opportunities for symbiotic relationship abound. We
hope that Developing and Sustaining Adult Learners will be a book that you pull off your bookshelf, or open in your e-reader, often. We know that as we engage in
program and course planning, design and teaching, this book will provide needed refreshment and new vision. When research ideas seem too similar, this volume will
also provide many seeds for new opportunities.