ADULT EDUCATION RESEARCH TRENDS IN CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES: AN UPDATE TO THE 1993 (OTTAWA) CASAE REPORTS.

In 1993, adult education (AE) researchers from 12 Canadian universities were asked to report on research trends at their respective institutions at the annual conference of the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE). The reports were analyzed to characterize and differentiate AE research trends at the universities. Among the study’s main findings were the following: (1) organizational variables (faculty groupings, types of programs offered, administrative policy) have a significant effect on the scope and nature of academic research activities in AE at Canadian universities; (2) the recent trend at Canadian universities toward integration of AE within other administrative units has translated into less basic and emancipatory research and more applied research; (3) AE research is dominated by qualitative research methodologies, with content analysis, interpretive inquiry, and ethnographic designs the preferred methodological choices; (4) internal funding represents more than half the resources available to researchers for conducting research; and (5) because the overwhelming majority of AE research projects supported by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada are in the funding category Education and Work in a Changing Society, most current research in adult education is confined to a limited set of short-term economic (work-related) topics. (12 references) (MN) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

ADULT EDUCATION RESEARCH TRENDS IN CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES: AN UPDATE TO THE 1993 (OTTAWA) CASAE REPORTS Paul Bouchard, Ph.D. Concordia University U.B. OCPARTNIENT OP EDUCATION ORE. ol Educationel Reselkich and Impowelnent ED CATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) ts document has been reproduced ea recewed from Me wean or organization originating It 0 Minor changes have Wren made to improve reproduction quality. Pants or view or opsniorm stated In this dOcw meet do not womanly represent official OERI position or ororr, ABSTRACT: It is possible to identify certain trends in adult education research in Canadian universities. There are areas of intense activity, as well as some important gaps in research interests. Significant polarizations were found between the various organizations’ views of the purposes and applications of research in adult education. RESUME: Il est possible d’identifier certaines tendances de la recherche en education des adultes dans les universites canadiennes. Certains secteurs connaissent une activity intense, alors qu’il existe ailleurs des lacunes importantes. Les organisations consultees presentent une vision polarisee des obje ts et applications de la recherche en education des adultes. It is possible to identify certain trends in adult education research in Canadian universities. There are areas of intense activity, as well as some important gaps in research interests. Significant polarizations were found between the various organizations’ views of the purposes and applications of research in adult education. RESUME: Il est possible d’identifier certaines tendances de la recherche en education des adultes dans les universites canadiennes. Certains secteurs connaissent une activity intense, alors qu’il existe ailleurs des lacunes importantes. Les organisations consultees presentent une vision polarisee des obje ts et applications de la recherche en education des adultes. In 1993, adult education researchers from 12 Canadian universities were asked to submit reports describing research trends in their respective institutions. The resulting papers were presented at the 12th annual CASAE Conference (Ottawa, 1993), and at the 61st ACFAS Conference (Rimouski, 1993). No operational definition of what constitutes a “trend” was given, and the researchers had no standard outline to work with. Consequently, it has been difficult to summarize the findings according to a common framework. Nevertheless, after sifting through the reports, I found it possible to offer a general overview, and to identify some tendencies concerning the state of Canadian university research in adult education. As a doctoral student at the time of my perusal of the CASAE Reports, my personal perspective has been that of naive discovery of the labyrinthine and somewhat perplexing world of university research. Some of the following observations may seem trivial or self-evident to more experienced academics, but represent genuine breakthroughs in my own awareness of the field. For the purpose of this analysis, I retained four dimensions to characterize and differentiate adult education research trends in Canadian universities: 1) Organizational variables; 2) Objects of Research; 3) Research methodologies; 4) Funding. “PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC).” These four categories account for some similarities, and some important differences between research agendas carried out in Canadian post-secondary institutions. 1. Organizational Variables One important organizational variable that seems to affect research is the institutional orientation of each university administration.