The Irish Journal of Adult and Community Education: The Adult Learner is a valuable resource that documents the development of adult learning policy and practice. It provides a forum for critical reflection on the practices of teaching and learning, giving priority to subject matter that addresses social exclusion, equality, workplace learning and the study of the teacher/student relationship.
Founded in the mid-1980s, this highly-regarded journal is essential reading for anyone interested in or studying adult learning. It is the only peer-reviewed journal of adult and community education in Ireland.
Read the 2024 edition of the Journal here.
 4.png)
The call is now open for articles for the 2025 special edition of The Adult Learner, the Irish Journal of Adult and Community Education.
The deadline is Friday, 14th February at 5pm.
Download the 2025 Call for Articles for more information.
All articles must follow The Adult Learner Style Guide 2025, available here: Style Guide 2025
Please note that all authors must submit a signed Copyright Statement and a completed Author Submission Statement.
Find information on the criteria for submitting an article to The Adult Learner here: Journal Criteria
To learn more about the peer-review process for The Adult Learner, download this infographic: Peer-review Process
Find out about the peer-review timeline here: Peer-review timeline
If you are interested in contributing to the 2025 edition of The Adult Learner, join us at our Writers' Workshops! They are are hosted by members of the journal's Editorial Board. You can learn valuable tips and ideas about how to develop a great article.
The first Writers’ Workshop will focus on developing articles and answer any questions about the Style Guide This will take place at the end of November. The second Writer’s Workshop will focus on finalising articles and is due to take place at the end of January. If you are interested in attending one of these workshops, please contact the Editorial Office at journal@aontas.com.
Want to know what the Writers' Workshops are all about?
Recordings of previous workshops are available on our YouTube channel.
A workshop on 22nd November 2023 covered the Style Guide and how to develop articles. Take a look:
Download the 2023 edition of the Adult Learner Journal from our Latest Publications.
We held a discussion of the 2023 edition of The Adult Learner Journal on 8 December 2023. The main focus of the discussion was the importance of values in adult learning, and the need to continue to resist output-based models for measuring success. As one attendee of the discussion told the group, “we need to bring the humanity back.” You can read more about the discussion by following this link.
Contributors to the 2023 Journal shared some of the key messages from their articles. There were also discussion groups, hosted by authors and members from the Editorial Board.
Adult Education: Where Are We Now? The articles in this journal look at the shape of adult education in Ireland and ask some searching questions about where the future will take us.
All editions of The Irish Journal of Adult and Community Education: The Adult Learner,
from 1985 – 2024, are available free of charge for download here.
