Local and global in the formation of a learning theorist: Peter Jarvis and adult education

Holford, John

Abstract

Peter Jarvis is a towering figure in the study of adult and lifelong education and a leading and original theorist of learning. This paper sets out his intellectual and professional biography, maps the main contours of his work and introduces fourteen papers by leading scholars devoted to his work. Five broad phases in Jarvis’ life are identified: (a) youth, self-education, Methodist ministry and early teaching and research; (b) founding of the International Journal of Lifelong Education, authorship of important textbooks on adult and professional education and linking of academic communities in different countries; (c) early research on and theorisation of learning; (d) engagement from the early 1990s with debates on lifelong learning and the learning society; and (e) return to theorisation of learning, particularly from the perspective of globalisation, from around 2000. Recurring themes include ethics and responsibility, the essentially social nature of learning, democracy, and authenticity in human relationships.

Citation

Holford, J. (2017). Local and global in the formation of a learning theorist: Peter Jarvis and adult education. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 36(1-2), 2-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2017.1299994

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 22, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Apr 17, 2017
• Publication Date: Apr 17, 2017
• Deposit Date: Mar 27, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 18, 2018
• Journal: International Journal of Lifelong Education
• Print ISSN: 0260-1370
• Electronic ISSN: 1464-519X
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 1-2
• Pages: 2-21
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2017.1299994
• Keywords: Peter Jarvis, intellectual biography, adult education, learning, lifelong learning
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/856393
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02601370.2017.1299994
• Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Lifelong Education on 17 April 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/02601370.2017.1299994.