A University’s Relationship to Activist and Academic Research in Adult and Popular Education

This article in English provides insight into the history, development and implementation of popular education in Australia. Rick Flowers, director of the Centre for Popular Education at the University of Technology in Sydney, describes his personal journey as well as the journey of his research group toward action and participatory research. Applied and participant oriented research and seminars no longer want to distinguish between academic and action research and teaching and resolutely attempt to implement both. This development was driven by the question of what role universities have and can take on in adult and popular education. The article also points out the theoretical background to the development in the content and organization of the research institution. Marxist educational discourses should be combined with Paulo Freire‘s approach to a "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" and theories on community education from the German speaking world. The very personal article finishes with examples of the concrete work done by the Centre for Popular Education. (Ed.)