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Migrants' workplace experiences in their host society, including failure, shape their social adjustment, yet "how" migrants learn from failures is under-investigated. The study presented here examined how North Korean migrants struggling for a foothold in South Korea sought to learn from failures in their workplaces and everyday life. The article draws on nine months of ethnographic research in South Korean restaurants and cafés employing North Korean migrants. Data sources include informal conversations and loosely structured interviews with five purposefully selected women who started, or planned to start, their own enterprise. The findings reveal that these migrants perceived failure in five interrelated spheres: financial, relational, physical, psychological and professional. Participants developed perspectives to understand failure as an integral part of learning in a new society and adopting unfamiliar role expectations and responsibilities. They also applied knowledge they had acquired through their failures to change their approach to their career and to strengthen their personal and business capacity to obtain a legitimate social position. Paradoxically, failures that were beyond their control, such as legal problems, created opportunities to receive practical support from, and increase trust in, South Koreans. In addition to challenging the discourse that portrays North Korean migrants as deficient, these findings contribute to adult education scholarship on migrants' situated learning in their host societies.

This paper discusses the influence of cultural dimensions on Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) introductory videos. The study examined the introductory videos produced by three universities on Coursera platforms using communication theory and Hofstede's cultural dimensions. The results show that introductory videos in MOOCs are influenced by the national culture of the country in which the university is based. Based on this finding, this paper raises interesting questions about the effect of these cultural elements on potential learners from different countries and cultures around the world. The paper also makes suggestions about introductory video production in MOOCs.

As three academic researchers resisting the existing recognition order through generative, non-instrumentalizing relationships, we represent a substantive move away from the prevailing developmental model of doctoral student preparation. We highlight the struggle against misrecognition in the academy. Drawing on duoethnographic methods, we explore the nature of doctoral study and effective approaches to mentoring doctoral students as future researchers and university faculty. We contribute to the literature on mentoring non-traditional adult learners in higher education by defining organic mentoring as non-instrumental, relational, and collaborative. Additionally, we extend the use of duoethnography to trioethnography by involving three researchers in dialogic storytelling to illuminate overlapping experiences from different angles. Lastly, we further develop the use of Axel Honneth's recognition theory by linking it to adult mentoring in doctoral study.

Drawing on critical theory for adult education, the authors of this article examine the Academic Credit Bank System (ACBS), an open educational system operating in the Republic of Korea since 1998. It was designed to provide both traditional-age and mature students with opportunities to earn academic qualifications, including Bachelor's degrees, at low cost and in collaboration with the traditional system. In a literature review, the authors analyse the system with reference to the underlying ideology (i.e., credentialism, an emphasis on formal credentials) and hegemonic (dominant) characteristics (i.e., the foci of formal education and the educational norms created by the government-centred administrative system) in which ACBS operates, particularly in the context of lifelong learning. The authors investigate why an ACBS degree is still not considered to be equivalent to a traditional degree in the job market. Their data are drawn from the domestic and international literature relating to ACBS, including policy reports which tend to offer only descriptions of ACBS without subjecting the educational system itself to even small-scale analysis. The authors found that ACBS is limited primarily with regard to social recognition and that this systemic limitation is an outcome of Korea's academic credentialism. In particular, they argue that a non-formal learning domain cannot be successful unless the credentials it produces are perceived as comparable to those from the dominant (i.e., traditional) system of higher education. Overall, this study advances the education field's understanding of ACBS by using a critical lens to unveil tensions in practice and identify problems at the ground level, which cannot be identified merely through statistical evaluation. The authors conclude this article with a suggestion of in-depth, qualitative examinations and critical reflection on ACBS.

This article aims to examine the government-centered lifelong learning model of South Korea using two representative lenses of lifelong learning: Nordic and neoliberal models. By investigating the socio-economic and political backgrounds of lifelong learning in South Korea, we address how South Korea has developed an original lifelong learning model that differs from both the Nordic and the neoliberal models. Our examination implies that South Korea's lifelong learning model in its provisions, networks, and inclusion policy requires discernment for promoting better social equity and democratic participation, especially for underrepresented citizens.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for the teaching-learning transaction that conceptualizes knowledge through learner-centered foci emphasizing accessibility, collaboration, and community. Given the importance of access to achieving social justice, UDL is a promising approach to meeting all learners' needs more effectively. In this article, the history and philosophy of UDL are discussed and elaborated, followed by an explanation of how the principles of UDL were used to improve an existing online course offering for adult learners.