Adult Education for Health and Wellness

Book excerpt: This volume addresses the relationship of adult education and health from different perspectives. One task of adulthood is caring for one's health and, for many, caring for the health of children, a partner or spouse, and/or aging parents. Changes in health or the desire for improved health often prompt the need for individuals to learn--and adult education can play a vital role in enabling this learning. Editor Lilian H. Hill, associate professor of adult education at the University of Southern Mississippi, and contributing authors assemble a comprehensive review of the critical issues involved including How adults learn while coping with chronic illness Health education within adult literacy, adult basic education, and English as a Second Language classes Approahces to help adults evaluate and learn from online information The influence of globalism on health and more. Concluding with Hill's own argument that health is a social justice issue, the volume illustrates how adult educators need to be involved in health education because they have valuable skills and knowledge to contribute, and because it is a meaningful arena in which to demonstrate the field's commitment to equity and social justice. This is the 130th volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. Noted for its depth of coverage, New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education is an indispensable series that explores issues of common interest to instructors, administrators, counselors, and policymakers in a broad range of adult and continuing education settings, such as colleges and universities, extension programs, businesses, libraries, and museums.