Prevailing modes of instruction and inquiry privilege knowledge generated by academic elites.
Ongoing research challenges the relationship of educational institutions to social action.
If we consider published research in adult education, we might observe that most questions that count are those of scholars in the field. However, if our goal is movement toward a better world, then the locus of questioning shifts from scholars to normal people - people and communities with troubles, hopes, and dreams. In postmodern thought, the search for the right questions is outmoded. Perhaps our search for questions to drive research in the new century will lead us to explore the realities of most people on our planet. Outside of North America, Europe, and Australia, globalization increases disparity as it pushes the majority to expanding margins and the prosperous center shrinks.