Adult Education and the Pursuit of Wisdom: New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, No. 131

Times of change always feel complex, and today's world seems to be changing constantly in more ways than we can track. Adult educators working with adult learners desire deeply to act and speak with wisdom that will offer a sense of truth and stability. Further, as lifelong learners, most of us—educators and learners both—are on a quest for wisdom. Indeed, who among us has never wished for wisdom? Perhaps we wanted to do the right thing for someone in trouble, or save a threatened relationship; perhaps we sought wisdom as understood by the ancients, or wondered how to follow a spiritual path in the light of a great wisdom tradition. Maybe we just wanted to maximize our retirement plan so our family would be cared for when we are gone. Adult education has helped us to become more knowledgeable; perhaps it can also expand our capacity for wisdom.

There is little available consideration of the meaning of wisdom in the field of adult education. This volume explores the possibility of educating for wisdom from multiple perspectives, through the insights of several adult education practitioners who share their own experiences and call upon many bodies of literature. Hopefully, it not only will contribute knowledge about wisdom itself, but also will facilitate wise teaching and learning for and by adults.