What stories do I tell now? New times and new narratives for the adult educator

Globally, the world of adult education has been much transformed in recent years. While there has been an expansion in the provision made available to adults, the profile of that provision has shifted with a greater emphasis placed on work‐related and certificated education and training, and an increased diversity in learning settings. This has led to a sense of crisis over the meaning of adult education as a specific form of provision and what it means to be an adult educator.

This article examines the ways in which these changes have found expression in the narratives through which adult educators construct their practices and experiences as meaningful. We argue that there is an interaction between the impact of contestation and change in the field of adult education and learning, its narrative or story‐telling practices and the processes by which the identities of adult educators are formed. We examine the significance of this interaction by drawing on three inter‐related themes‐‐the so‐called turn to textuality, the changes taking place in the economy and the organisation of work including the work of adult educators, and contemporary debates over (post) modern identities. In this way, we demonstrate the significance of new theoretical perspectives in providing insights into the contemporary condition of adult educators.     

Flexibility,reflexivity and reflection in the contemporary workplace

Within contemporary changes there is an increased reflexivity wherein social formations, organizations and individuals are required to change, to learn to change, and change to learn. Lifelong learning has become central to education and economic policy, with an increased emphasis on individuals, workplaces and providers of learning opportunities becoming more flexible. This article explores some of the evidence for the emergence of different workplace practices and identities in response to and as part of the development of reflexive modernization and the significance of pedagogies of reflection in these changes. It suggests that pedagogies of reflection are integral to reflexive modernization, flexible lifelong learners and changes in the workplace.     

The stress of travel

International travel is an essential part of the life of elite athletes, both for competition and training. It is also becoming increasingly common among recreational sportspersons. Long-distance travel is associated with a group of transient negative effects, collectively referred to as 'travel fatigue', which result from anxiety about the journey, the change to an individual's daily routine, and dehydration due to time spent in the dry air of the aircraft cabin. Travel fatigue lasts for only a day or so, but for those who fly across several time zones, there are also the longer-lasting difficulties associated with 'jet lag'. The problems of jet lag can last for over a week if the flight crosses 10 time zones or more, and they can reduce performance and the motivation to train effectively. Knowledge of the properties of the body clock enables the cause of the difficulties to be understood (an unadjusted body clock), and forms the basis of using light in the new time zone to promote adjustment of the body clock. Sleep loss and its effects are important components of jet lag, and attempts to promote sleep by the use of melatonin and other hypnotics are also relevant. Sleep loss is also found in those who undertake challenges that involve long periods where the normal consolidated sleep of 8 h length is not possible. Advice on sleep regimens in such circumstances is given.