Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia College of Education professor Ronald M. Cervero and a colleague from Cornell University, Arthur Wilson, have received the 2006 Cyril O. Houle World Award for Literature in Adult Education.
Their book, published in 2006, titled, “Working the Planning Table: Negotiating Democratically for Adult, Continuing and Workplace Education,” received the award from the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE).
“We were pleased to receive the award because it affirms the importance of focusing on the practical ways that educators can address issues of power through democratic planning,” Cervero said.
The award is given for publications that “reflect the universal concerns of adult educators, are relevant to adult educators in more than one country, exemplify high standards of scholarship, are well organized and well written, and contribute significantly to the advancement of adult education as a unified field of study and practice.”
Rosemary Caffarella, professor and chair of the department of education at Cornell University said Cervero and Wilson “have once again truly challenged the field of adult education in how we view the planning of programs for adults through three lenses: theoretical, empirical and practical.”
Cervero received the 2005 Leadership Award from the Association for Continuing Higher Education (ACHE).
Cervero, head of the college’s department of lifelong education, administration, and policy, has become one of the nation’s most preeminent scholars in adult and continuing education. He has contributed groundbreaking theory and research to the field, including six books he authored or edited, 28 book chapters and 57 articles he authored or co-authored. Two of his books, Effective Continuing Education for Professionals and Planning Responsibly for Adult Education: A Guide to Negotiation Power and Interests, are used as primary sources in adult education throughout North America.
In 2003, Cervero was inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in recognition of his career achievements. Three of his journal articles have received Okes Awards for Research from AAACE in 2001, 1998 and 1996. His work has received the 1989 Cyril O. Houle World Award for Literature in Adult Education and the 1990 Frandson Award for Literature in Continuing Education.
ACHE also recognized Cervero’s national reputation as an outstanding teacher. He has served as a visiting professor at Harvard University, Penn State University, Columbia University and the University of British Columbia, among others. He was nominated by his COE peers for UGA’s highest teaching award and was voted the college’s Outstanding Teacher in 1997.
Cervero earned his Ph.D. in adult education from the University of Chicago and taught at Northern Illinois University before joining the UGA faculty 20 years ago.
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