A consolidation of ACE research 1990-2000: Review of research

Introduction

A defining feature of ACE provision is the central focus on the learners and their needs. ACE is less concerned than other education sectors with graded systems of formal education.

Adult and community education (ACE) is essentially about adult and community learning. However the ACE sector is diverse and difficult to simply demarcate from other forms of adult learning.

ACE is held together in its diversity by its commitment to, and ownership by the community, as well as by its distinctive approaches to adult learning. A defining feature of ACE provision is the central focus on the learners and their needs. ACE is less concerned than other education sectors with graded systems of formal education. Across Australia there are differences in how adult and community education is defined and delivered. But ACE is generally based around the learning needs of adults in local, neighbourhood or regional communities.

The past decade has seen an increasing volume and range of research on adult and community education in Australia, sponsored by multiple sources, and targetted to multiple audiences for professional, philosophical, financial and political purposes. This report provides a consolidation of this large body of qualitative and quantitative research on the scope of ACE participation patterns, on the outcomes and contributions of ACE and on the opportunities and challenges facing ACE throughout the decade. It identifies the key strands of research effort as well as the research gaps, and suggests future research directions. The study highlights the diversity of ACE across Australia, and explores implications for its boundaries, its relationship to government and community, and its amenability to national research and policy.