This paper presents the results of our research related to the motivation of the adults when learning. Our analysis is focused on the comparison of the motivational features of adults learning process in four Eastern and Central European countries (Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine). The research is based on a qualitative survey. We used questionnaire of our design to learn about their motivation to participate in trainings, their interest and the possible hindrances. The subjects of the study are adult learners from the mentioned countries (N=556) who were in contact with the research partner institutions. Our results show that the majority of the respondents looked for pragmatic opportunities in learning useful for work and life, but also wanted to develop their interests and expand their knowledge. No country-specific characteristics were found, and potential differences were only observable in some cases.

The purpose of this study was to investigate adult learners’ perceptions of the use of Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs) in a university classroom in Taiwan. The participants were undergraduate students in a Master’s program. Research data were obtained through students’ interviews, site observations, and students’ reflective journals on the course website. Interviews were conducted with six adult learners who were also working professionals. The research data indicate that adult learners valued the benefits of using IWBs in instruction and workplace learning and pointed out that instructors’ readiness and competence determine the effectiveness of IWB integration in classrooms. Another important finding revealed in this study suggested that instructors need to develop creative IWB lesson plans that fully utilize the advantages of IWBs in order to ensure that IWBs are effectively and continually used in adult education/training settings.

The article points out the need of educational research on the illiteracy phenomenon in the societies, where compulsory education is enforced. The scale of illiteracy and lack of knowledge about functional illitera cy in the present time poses a number of challenges for science. The most important are: identification of groups with reading and writing deficits and etiology of illiteracy phenomenon, reflection on the essence of functionally illiterate adults learning, the role of school and other agents of socialization in reading and writing development, literacy opportunities in the workplace or the contribution of the arts to popularize adult literacy and breaking social taboo, which is inability to read and write in highly developed countries.

Objective: The study aims to determine whether educationally active women present signs of transformative learning in their own experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus of the study is the relationship between experiencing transformative learning in a pandemic and the sense of loneliness, received social support, sense of life satisfaction and age. Methods: The study was conducted among 258 educationally active women – part-time students, as well as students of the Universities of the Third Age. Age of the surveyed women: from 19 to 87 years. Data were collected using the online test method. A statistical significance of differences was tested with the U Mann-Whitney test and the two proportion z-test. Results: Most of the surveyed women manifested elements of transformative learning in their experience of the pandemic. Those scoring high on the Transformative Learning in a Pandemic Situation scale have had their life satisfaction decrease to a greater extent than those scoring low. The group scoring high on the Transformative Learning in a Pandemic Situation scale is characterised by a higher sense of loneliness. No relationship was found between perceived manifestations of transformative learning and age, social support, place of residence and education. Discussion: The transformative potential of learning can be seen in a pandemic situation. The obtained data provide arguments supporting the supposition that the feeling of loneliness, influencing the lowering of satisfaction from life, is a factor triggering learning and leading to the change of habits of thinking and acting of educationally active women.