• When: Thursday 4 June 2026 @ 1:00pm AEST
• Duration: 1 hr
• Cost: FREE for ALA members | $65 non-members

This webinar explores how global capitalism, digital disruption, and changing worlds of work have reshaped how we understand language, literacy and numeracy (foundation) skills in Australia.

The session invites critical reflection and discussion on how today’s foundation skills landscape increasingly positions learners as consumers and what this means for practice, policy, and the future of adult education.

Garry and Peter are co-authors of the book: On the Problem of Foundation Skills and the Futures of Work, Series, Global Education in the 21st Century, Volume: 13

Book link: https://brill.com/display/title/71873

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garry is a lecturer in the School of Education at Deakin University, Australia, in initial teacher education programs and vocational education.

His research focuses on the role that education, language literacy, numeracy (foundation) skills and vocational education play in the lives of various groups such as the culturally and linguistically diverse, people with a disability, young people and displaced workers.

He has also worked as a teacher in the fields of language, literacy, numeracy, and vocational education for over 20 years.

Peter is a Professor in the School of Education at Deakin University, Australia, in initial teacher education programs. He is a co-founder of the Young People’s Sustainable Futures Lab a Not-For-Profit incorporated association (YPSFL – https://youngpeoplesfutureslab.org ). The Lab partners with young people, educators, employers and policymakers to co-design and test interventions that strengthen wellbeing, learning and transitions into work.

He is a social researcher who has published extensively on young people and new cultures of education/work/democracy in the context of the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis/COVID pandemic, the emergences of artificial intelligence, and with the challenges associated with the climate crisis.

The post On the Problem of Foundation Skills and the Futures of Work – with co-authors Dr Garry Argent and Professor Peter Kelly appeared first on Adult Learning Australia.

Date: Friday, 22 May 2026

Time: 1pm – 2pm AEST

You are invited to attend this year’s AGM as we celebrate, reflect, and welcome new faces to our Board while thanking those whose terms have ended.

We’re delighted to announce that our special guest speaker will be NDIS Commissioner Louise Glanville.

On the topic Contributing to a Sustainable NDIS through Learning, Louise will look at the role of learning in strengthening the capability and capacity of the NDIS workforce. She will also explore how learning supports people with disability to participate fully in community, work and everyday life, building skills such as communication, literacy and confidence.

This promises to be an engaging session that sheds light on crucial issues within our field.

Our AGM will be online via Zoom, and all are welcome to attend; however, only ALA members have voting rights.

Please RSVP by COB Wednesday 20 May to secure your place at the AGM.

Register here

You will receive a confirmation email upon registration, and the Zoom link will be sent the day before the AGM. Please save the date in your calendar.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Our AGM guest speaker

Louise Glanville has been the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissioner since 2024.

She is an experienced Chair, CEO, Deputy Secretary and Commissioner across legal, social and government sectors, and is a member of the BreastScreen Victoria Board.

Louise is the former CEO of Victoria Legal Aid, and Deputy CEO of the National Disability Insurance Agency. She has also held chair roles for National Legal Aid, the Victorian Government’s Metropolitan Development Advisory Panel and the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority.

The post 2026 Annual General Meeting appeared first on Adult Learning Australia.

A big thank you to our members, partners and supporters in the sector for everything you’ve contributed along the way, we couldn’t do this without you.

Below are some highlights of our achievements this year:

Professional Development

ALA delivered 10 professional development webinars during 2025 covering topics such as helping adult learners to improve their writing, intergenerational Aboriginal learning during NAIDOC Week and creative LLN approaches using AI. More than 1,200 people registered for these webinars.

ALA members can access these and other past recordings here. We are already organising our first webinars for 2026, and members and non-members can register for those here.

Adult Learners Week – 30 Years

This year marked 30 years of Adult Learners Week in Australia, a UNESCO initiative funded by the Australian government. We launched the Week with our partners in Devonport, supported by Libraries Tasmania and local learning organisations, under the theme Celebrate Learning Together.

The focus on regional and rural communities highlighted the breadth and diversity of learning across Australia. It gave us a chance to put a spotlight on some of our fantastic adult learners, events and activities. Watch our highlights video.

Publications

We published three editions of Quest magazine, showcasing Adult Learners Week,  innovation in literacy and numeracy, sector developments and member news. Three issues of AJAL were also released, with new co-editors, Piper Rodd and Cheryl Ryan taking over mid-year from Trace Ollis. Rob Townsend and Jeffrey Bryant Jones oversaw our special edition on creative pedagogies, and we will bring you a special webinar on this topic in March 2026.

International Representation

In October 2025, ALA was the sole Australian civil society representative endorsed by the Australian Government to attend the UNESCO/UIL GRALE 6 capacity-building workshop in Shanghai. With delegates from across the Asia–Pacific, the Global Report on Adult Learning and Education(GRALE)  workshop strengthened understanding of the GRALE 6 survey and promoted consistent reporting standards.

ALA is now working with the Department of Education and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to ensure Australia’s national reporting aligns with global expectations and reflects community-based adult learning.

Advocacy and Government Engagement

During this year, we met with Andrew Giles, Minister for Skills and Training, Tanya Plibersek, Minister for Social Services and Ged Kearney, Assistant Minister for Social Services and other federal and state government representatives. We released multiple media statements, wrote to a range of Ministers, and participated in key advisory committees including the Foundation Skills Study Steering Committee, ASQA groups and the Reading Writing Hotline.

I was also pleased to contribute to the judging of the 2025 Australian Training Awards in one of their key categories, and to support successful advocacy for the North Melbourne Language and Learning Centre. Working with Neighbourhood Houses Victoria and ACEVIC, we were able to help secure a safe relocation for the Centre prior to the North Melbourne public housing tower (where it was located for many years) being demolished.

Projects and Sector Support

ALA managed several Victorian Government projects in collaboration with state peaks, focusing on digital literacy, professional development and sector capacity building. We secured Cyber Security project funding from the Department of Home Affairs and continued to provide administrative and financial support to smaller adult education organisations which rely on our infrastructure to run their operations.

Learning Changes Lives (LCL) Foundation

Through our charitable arm, the LCL Foundation, we awarded 6 x $500 scholarships during Adult Learners Week and funded a digital literacy program for Aboriginal learners at Tauondi Aboriginal College in South Australia. You can read about these at the LCL website.

65 Year Celebrations

Finally, 2025 was a special year, as we celebrated ALA’s 65th anniversary. Across the year, we invited people to send 65 celebratory messages recognising ALA and the adult and community education sector. These were shared across our social media and in Quest and have now been collated as a record of ALA and our sector in 2025. You can read my reflections on the milestone in the Special Edition of AJAL, which celebrated its 65^th anniversary this year.

Acknowledgements

I want to thank our Board, especially our Executive: President Kathleen Priestley, Vice-President John Sheen, Treasurer Ron Wilson and Secretary Isabel Osuna-Gatty for their leadership throughout the year. My thanks also to AJAL editors Trace Ollis (who finished part-way through the year), Piper Rodd and Cheryl Ryan.

We acknowledge and thank our Federal and State Government funding bodies for their support: the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Jobs, Skills Industry and Regions (Victoria).

I would also like to thank and acknowledge our hardworking staff team – Tracey, Sharmy, Sophie, Henrik, Natalie and Wendy – all part-time, whose commitment has kept everything moving forward. We are sad to farewell two of our team members, Sophie Arnold (Communications Coordinator) and Natalie Corrigan (Membership and Engagement Officer). We thank them sincerely for their contribution and wish them every success in their future endeavours.

Jenny Macaffer

Adult Learning Australia

CEO

The post CEO’s Annual Reflection – 2025 appeared first on Adult Learning Australia.

AJAL Volume 65, Number 3, Special Edition, November 2025

EDITORIAL

Robert Townsend and Jeffrey Bryant Jones

Celebrating 65 Years

Celebrating 65 years of Adult Learning Australia 1960-2025
Jenny Macaffer

Refereed articles

Therapeutic Theatre as a process for the inclusion of students with mild dementia in Adult Community Education courses
Jeffrey Bryant Jones

Performing pedagogy: Exploring the impact of theatre in trauma-informed teacher education
Anne Southall, Juliana Ryan, Siobhan O’Brian and Melissa Giles

Reimagining learning spaces: A call to action for the Schools of Social Work
Ashwathi Muraleedharan and Lizy P.J.

Utilising photovoice to engage critical reflection of field placement experiences among international university students
Shane McDonald, Mary-Anne Wallwork and Lauren Terzis

Transformative journeys beyond schooling: Storytelling and poetic inquiry as catalysts for adult learning in community spaces
Tracey Ollis and Vicky Duckworth

Effects of a creative pedagogy (peer instruction) in promoting learners’ subjective well-being in a seniors’ university in China
Chunlin Yao, Zonglin Dai and Yan Zhang

Curious-creativity and ageing: An Australian conversation crisscrossing lifelong learning
Carol McDonough and Samantha Bews

Creative polygogies: Facilitating transformation through perinatal singing
Georgina Veevers-Williams

Creating value for creatives: Considerations in the design and evaluation of an online professional learning community
Liesel M. Arden and Catherine H. Arden

Beyond the stethoscope: Dance, creativity and the healing arts in medical education
Lucy Mayes

Book reviews

Arts education and creative ageing: Older adults as learners, makers, and teachers of art
– By Melanie Davenport, Linda Hoeptner Poling, Rebecca Bourgault & Majorie Cohee Manifold
Reviewed by Carol McDounogh

Writing with students: New perspectives on collaborative writing in EAP contexts
– By Lucy Macnaugth
Reviewed by Garry Argent

Call for papers

Special Edition: Australian Journal of Adult Learning:

Policy, practice and pedagogy: Adult education in times of decaying capitalism and failed democracy

The post New special edition of the Australian Journal of Adult Learning out now! appeared first on Adult Learning Australia.

Cybercrime in Australia is surging, with more than 84,700 incidents reported in 2024–25. That is one every six minutes. Scams and identity fraud increasingly target people with lower digital confidence, including many vulnerable learners.

To support educators and volunteers, particularly in Neighbourhood Houses and Community Centres, ALA has developed a FREE Cybersecurity Literacy program.

This is a self-paced professional development program on Moodle designed for staff and volunteers in adult and community education. It includes practical activities, resources and more.

Funded through the Federal Government’s Act Now, Stay Secure campaign, the program will help educators strengthen learner confidence and reduce online risks.

Join us in empowering safer digital communities.

More info:

Read this CyberSecurity Project Infographic 2

Email projectsmanager@ala.asn.au

The post Join us in empowering safer digital communities appeared first on Adult Learning Australia.

The role includes preparing and producing Quest, ALA’s magazine, which has an emphasis on new or innovative adult education programs that are helping people overcome disadvantage, and co-ordinating and implementing communications and social media strategies.

This is a great opportunity to work in a community environment, showcasing your expertise and passion.

Minimum two years of experience in marketing/communications/social media

Click here for more details and to apply.

The post Join us as Communications Coordinator appeared first on Adult Learning Australia.

In 2025, ALA has been invited to send an Australian civil society representative to attend a capacity-building workshop on the Sixth Global Report on Adult Learning and Education | Institute for Lifelong Learning (GRALE) for the Asian region. The workshop will be held from 15 to 16 October in Shanghai, China. Dorothy Lucardie, former ALA President and current member (pictured), will be attending on ALA’s behalf.

The workshop objectives are to:

· Foster a common understanding of the key concepts and target groups of the GRALE 6 survey and, if necessary, adapt them to the regional context in collaboration with the Shanghai Normal University.

· Introduce the GRALE 6 questionnaire and establish data quality standards for each question.

· Share good practices on using existing data sources to complete the questionnaire through practical exercises and case studies.

Further Information on GRALE 6 (to be published in 2027):

The Sixth Global Report on Adult Learning and Education aims to explore how adult learning and education can respond to and shape the rapid transformations occurring globally. By focusing on the key drivers of change – such as digitalization, economic crises, environmental sustainability, conflict, and health crises – this report will provide a comprehensive understanding of how adult learning and education acts as a catalyst for empowerment, adaptability and positive social transformation. It will consider the agility and flexibility of adult education systems in responding to the urgent challenges of the modern world and ensuring that learners are prepared for both ongoing and future disruptions.

Additionally, it will examine whether a tension exists between the two roles attributed to adult learning and education in this context: fostering the resilience and adaptability of adult learners, on the one hand, and supporting their empowerment and agency within their environment and community, on the other.

The post ALA to represent Australia at international forum appeared first on Adult Learning Australia.