Social Movement Learning and Adult Education
Summary
Social movement learning examines how adults acquire knowledge, skills and identities through participation in collective campaigns for social change. Unlike formal education, this learning is embedded in practices such as protests, community organising, popular education circles and digital activism. It encompasses political education workshops, storytelling, peer mentoring and skill-sharing, fostering critical consciousness and collective agency. Adult learners in these contexts often develop competencies in leadership, negotiation, research and self-organisation, while also deepening their understanding of power relations, social justice and environmental sustainability. Across the globe, social movement learning intersects with decolonial approaches, ecofeminist perspectives and digital literacy, reflecting diverse cultural traditions and struggles. By foregrounding lived experience and relational pedagogy, it challenges individualistic and technocratic models of adult education. Practical applications range from climate justice campaigns in urban centres to land rights struggles in rural regions, demonstrating the capacity of social movements to act as dynamic sites of lifelong learning and community empowerment.
Research from Nature Portfolio
No recent Nature Portfolio content available.
Social Movement Learning and Adult Education publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in social movement learning and adult education across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Social movement learning: The process by which participants in collective campaigns acquire knowledge, skills, values and identities through shared action and reflection.
Popular education: A participatory pedagogical approach rooted in grassroots organising, emphasising dialogue, critical reflection and community empowerment.
Transformative learning: A theory of adult education focusing on deep shifts in worldview and self-understanding through critical reflection.
Critical consciousness: An awareness of social, political and economic inequalities that motivates individuals to challenge oppressive systems.
References
- Social movements as learning spaces: the case of the defunct Anti-Privatisation Forum in South Africa. Review of African Political Economy (2022).
- Deriving a theory of learning from social movement practices: A systematic literature review. European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults (2023).
- Taking risks: Exploring ecofeminist, climate-just popular education. European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults (2023).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.