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When mechanics’ and similar institutions became established for adults by the middle of the nineteenth century, there was goodwill amongst committee members and volunteers to teach the classes. The institutes were not government-funded and relied on patronage and membership fees to fund them. There was a shortage of teachers for the classes as those who were qualified were trained to teach in schools. In any case, many institutes could rarely afford to appoint more than one or two, if any, qualified teachers. However, the reputation and ongoing success of such adult institutions depended on good-quality teaching and learning. The Great Exhibition of 1851 in London had highlighted that Britain was losing its leading industrial position in the world. This shook the government and as a result royal commissions were set up which, ultimately, resulted in the Technical Instruction Act of 1889 and the Local Tax Act of 1890, both of which in their own way resulted in state-funded support for adult technical education. Between 1900 and 1940, further education was established but the First World War and the Great Depression prevented expansion. The findings of the McNair Report of 1944 highlighted the need for technical training colleges to support those wishing to teach and lecture in further education. The paper summarises how teacher supply was variable for adult education and how teacher training for the lifelong learning sector came about. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Supporting Transitions and Recovery (STAR) Learning Centre is a Recovery Education Centre designed to support housing tenure and community integration among people experiencing mental health challenges and housing instability in a large urban setting. Grounded in principles of emancipatory adult education, and user involvement in program design and delivery, the Recovery Education Centre supports student empowerment, and strengthens key domains of individual vulnerability to homelessness. The Centre can complement traditional mental health services and foster service provider reflexivity, confronting individual and institutional discrimination towards this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible, technology-rich learning spaces develop at rapid speeds worldwide, while many institutions in Germany are lacking guidance. The recently founded Learning-Research Centre of Media University Stuttgart released a research database to spark the missing synergies. Information on worldwide trends in design, research methods, and organizational development are presented in a portal spurring inspiration and supporting the exchange of good practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]