Disability in Adult Education: A Literature Review Since the Field's Inception

This article reviews the existing literature on disability in adult education, highlighting key findings and identifying gaps that warrant further research. We conducted a literature review of all published research articles on disability in three flagship journals within the North American adult education research community: Adult Education Quarterly (AEQ), Adult Learning (AL), and the Journal of Transformative Education (JTED). The findings, based on the content analysis of 15 selected articles, reveal a still minimal but growing interest in disability research within adult education, alongside some methodological and theoretical gaps. By advocating for methodological diversity and greater use of adult learning theories—especially in lifelong and informal learning contexts—this study provides a roadmap for future scholarship aimed at comprehensively addressing the learning experiences of adult learners with disabilities. Implications for adult education research and practice will be provided.