Reflections on AERC 2016: Drawing Tomorrow’s Blueprint from Today’s Inkwell

Abstract

This reflective essay is based on my contribution to the closing panel of the 2016 Adult Education Research Conference (AERC) in which we were tasked to reflect on the conference and share insights on how we draw tomorrow’s blueprint for adult education from today’s inkwell. My reflections are based on a selection of papers from the conference which I read and the sessions I attended. The basis for my comments, like that for any reflections, is selective, partial, and biased toward my interests in the radical adult education tradition which I define very broadly to include those within the field who are explicitly dedicated to investigating, promoting and engaging in adult education for progressive, social democratic, or socialist transformation.