News
Announcing SCUTREA Roundtable Event
Join us for a SCUTREA Roundtable Event at the 2025 Conference
We are excited to announce the upcoming UALL/SCUTREA conference, taking place from June 16th to 18th, 2025 at the University of Liverpool. This event, co-hosted by the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL) and the Standing Committee on University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults (SCUTREA), promises to be an enriching experience for educators, researchers and practitioners interested in the field of adult education. The conference will focus on the theme “Sustainable, Equitable, and Future-Facing Universities,” emphasising the pivotal role of lifelong learning in addressing contemporary challenges.
One of our featured sessions, “SCUTREA in Adult Education: Reflections, Directions, and Collaborative Futures,” aims to engage participants in dynamic discussions about SCUTREA’s ongoing contributions to adult education research. This roundtable session will feature insights from prominent figures in the field and will explore the importance of incorporating diverse voices into our educational practices. We encourage conference attendees to participate and collaborate in this session. You will have the opportunity to engage with our community, learn of our archival resources, and contribute to shaping future imaginings of SCUTREA in the adult education landscape.
Five key adult educators and scholars will be on the panel:
Dr Anil Awesti is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Lifelong Learning, University of Warwick. His expertise lies in the field of inclusive education, with a specific focus on making higher education a socially just space for students from non-traditional backgrounds. Anil actively researches lifelong learning and anti-racism in higher education, contributing valuable insights through his published works. For more information see: https://warwick.ac.uk/study/cll/about/cllteam/aawesti
Dr Sharon Clancy holds the position of Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham, specialising in post-16 and adult education. She addresses critical issues of class, culture, and social justice through a psycho-social and historical lens in her writing. Sharon is the Chair of the Raymond Williams Foundation and is involved with the Centenary Commission. She is Co-Chair of SCUTREA and a co-editor of the Studies in the Education of Adults journal. Recently she was awarded a Leverhulme Research Fellowship and will explore “Lost Spaces, Untold Stories: The Vanishing World of Experimental Adult Education,” in October 2025. For more information see: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/education/people/sharon.clancy
Dr Nic Dickson is an Early Career Researcher and adult educator who employs the visual arts and participatory arts-based methods in her work. She is based at the School of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow. She completed her PhD in 2023 in Adult Education and attended her first SCUTREA conference in 2017. Since then Nic has actively engaged with the organisation, advocating for accessible and engaging adult education for marginalised groups. From 2019 to 2023, she served as SCUTREA’s Honorary Secretary. She is now Co-Chair of SCUTREA. Her research emphasises participatory approaches to capture the lived experiences of seldom-heard voices and has involved interdisciplinary collaboration across various divisions of the University of Glasgow including Education, Medicine and Criminology. For more information see: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/healthwellbeing/staff/nicoladickson/
Bonnie Slade is Professor of Adult Education for Social Change (People, Place & Social Change) at the School of Education, University of Glasgow. She has been involved with SCUTREA since 2006, where she began attending conferences as a PhD student. Over the years, she has taken on multiple roles, including Honorary Secretary (2016–2019) and Honorary Chair (2019–2024). Bonnie now focuses on preserving SCUTREA’s rich history and archiving the SCUTREA Conference Proceedings. She is interested in how the Archives can illuminate contemporary issues in adult education and lifelong learning. Her specialism is in how adult education can work as a tool for social change and individual empowerment. She is the Co-Editor of the Journal of Adult and Continuing Education.
For more information see: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/education/staff/bonnieslade/
Dr Nalita James is a Reader in Lifelong Learning at the University of Warwick and Fellow of the Warwick International Higher Education Academy. She leads a Learning Circle focusing on adult learners’ experiences in higher education and serves as Co-Editor and Board member for the Studies in the Education of Adults journal. In June 2022, Nalita was awarded Honorary Membership of SCUTREA for her impactful work. Her research interests include the sociology of education, access to higher education, and evolving patterns of voice and identity in adult education. For more information see: https://warwick.ac.uk/study/cll/about/cllteam/nalita-james/
