Power in Practice: Adult Education and the Struggle for Knowledge and Power in Society

"...well written, very readable, and well referenced anddocumented...Highly recommended." (Choice)

"This book will be the single most important contribution to ourfield's knowledge base in the past two decades. The authors havemanaged to shift the focus of adult education back to the socialconcerns that were taken for granted when the field was founded. Weare ready for this long overdue book. Indeed, we have been yearningfor this book. It will tilt our field back towards its moralcenter." (B. Allan Quigley, chair, Department of Adult Education,St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia)

"Cervero and Wilson have done us a great service. Until now, thedebate on power in adult education has been disparate and sporadic.In this book, Cervero and Wilson set about putting this right. Theyhave invited leading writers in the field to examine theory andpractice in terms of power. They have not asked them to abandontheir own particular passions but to revisit them, analyze them,and take their thinking further. And they have asked them to locatetheir thinking and rethinking in descriptions of practice. Power inPractice is a wonderful book-full of case studies, updatedtheories, new perspectives, and evidence that adult education canand does change people's lives." (Michael Newman, senior lecturerin adult education, University of Technology, Sydney,Australia)

"This is a must read book for practitioners and professors. Theauthors have clearly and provocatively reconceptualized our fieldof practice: power and privilege can no longer be ignored. Theadult educator is on the 'hot seat' for the decisions made;facilitators are no longer benign, objective professionalsexecuting their prescribed roles. Each of us must own up to ourchoices of who will and who will not profit from the programs weplan or administer." (Phyllis Cunningham, distinguished teachingprofessor, Northern Illinois University)