Adult Education as Ethical Practice
Abstract
This article explores the values that shape the identity and practice of adult educators in contemporary learning environments. Drawing on a reflective analysis of an unpublished keynote address delivered at the 2025 Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe (EPALE) Ambassadors Event in Athens, and engaging with traditions of critical, humanistic, and transformative adult education, the article develops a conceptual framework around nine interrelated values: adeptness, benevolence, connection, connectivity, camaraderie, commonality, congruence, compassion, and community. It argues that effective adult education cannot be reduced to techniques, competencies, or vocational outcomes alone, but is fundamentally relational, ethical, and potentially emancipatory. Through engagement with the work of major adult education theorists and relevant research, the article contributes a value-oriented framework for understanding the identity and practice of adult educators in times marked by inequality, uncertainty, and social fragmentation. The discussion emphasizes that adult educators contribute not only to knowledge acquisition but also to the cultivation of dignity, agency, participation, and social transformation. The article thus highlights the importance of values in shaping educational relationships, professional practice, and the wider transformative potential of adult education.