Adult ed advocate honoured in Asia

FEDERATION University’s Annette Foley has been awarded an honorary doctorate in education leadership.

The associate professor is also the president of Adult Learning Australia and received the honour from the University of Cyberjaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

For 20 years, Ms Foley’s research and community work has been focused on adult education and lifelong learning.

“Particularly first-step learning, and connecting with hard-to-reach learners, and the importance of that for training and the economy going forward,” she said.

About 14 years ago, a man in Malaysia contacted Ms Foley wanting to do a comparative analysis of the Australian, Singaporean, Malaysian, and German education systems.

He became her PhD student for about six years before going onto become pro-chancellor of the University of Cyberjaya and a member of the council of the University of Malaya.

He suggested FedUni and the University of Cyberjaya form a partnership and put Ms Foley’s name forward for the honorary doctorate.

She said her trip to Malaysia to receive the award was a humbling experience.

“I met dignitaries, people who are important in the Malaysian political system, and the leaders of the university,” she said.

“I felt quite overwhelmed by it all, and beyond the ceremony, I was able to meet academics, which means there are possible opportunities to work with them in the future, looking at their education system and how ours can give them ideas moving forward.”

Earlier in her career, Ms Foley gained a PhD qualification in the area of education as a pathway to opportunities.

“If older people are benefiting from education, it makes them better connected with people and their community,” she said.

“My research has also looked at men’s sheds and how people can integrate into the community through those organisations.”