John M. Dirkx
- Dr. Mildred B. Erickson Distinguished Chair in Higher, Adult and Lifelong Education
- Established through a gift from W. Bruce Erickson
- Educational Administration
Bio
John M. Dirkx is a professor and Mildred B. Erickson Distinguished Chair (Emeritus) in Higher, Adult and Lifelong Education at Michigan State University. He also serves as the director of the College of Education’s Master of Arts in Education (MAED) online program. Dirkx joined Michigan State University in 1996.
His current research interests focus primarily on teaching and learning in higher and adult education contexts.
Dirkx’s current research activities focus on short-term faculty-led education abroad programs for graduate students; professional development for higher education teachers in developing countries; the role of higher education’s capacity building in international development; and the spiritual and transformative dimensions of work-related learning for adults.
He is the former editor of the Journal of Transformative Education and Adult Education Quarterly, the primary author of A Guide to Planning and Implementing Instruction for Adults: A Theme-based Approach, and editor of Adult Learning and the Emotional Self.
He has also published numerous book chapters and journal articles on teaching and learning in higher and adult education and work-related learning.
He is currently working on a book, with Laura Bierema from the University of Georgia, on re-visioning the concept of learning leaders in the fields of adult and continuing education and HRD.