“Class” is in Session: Activism and Adult Learning in Unpaid Student Practicums (original) (raw)
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Learning through social action belongs to a discourse of 'emancipatory learning', 'social purpose education', 'critical pedagogy' and 'radical adult education'. As a body of knowledge it is also broadly referred to as 'popular education'. The term 'radical adult education' describes how people both individually and collectively learn through their engagement with community development activities or by their participation in social movements (Foley 1999, Horton & Freire 1990, Jesson & Newman 2004, Newman 1994, 2006). Jesson and Newman (2004) state "learning in the sense we use here means learning by people acting collectively to bring about radical and emancipatory social change" (Jesson & Newman 2004: 251). For the purpose of this article, the term radical adult education will be used to describe this way of learning.