ABSTRACT
Although in each of the previous chapters we have explored central ideas about learning, we have not yet given much attention to the experience of the learner. We do so in this chapter, because it has become a key feature of much contemporary thinking about adult learning, and it also allows us to focus on one major dimension of learning missing from the other types discussed earlier-emotion (Boud, Keogh and Walker, 1985:36; Goleman, 1996). Even using the term experiential learning, however, can be problematic for, as Brah and Hoy (1989:73) point out, the term has recently become something of an ideology in education. However, they also note correctly that learning from experience has a long history in education, which stems from a number of traditions.
