Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) programs are unique to the institution and the students they serve. While a variety of best practices persist, the need for academically rigorous and credible programs is ever-present as institutions evolve to keep up with the growing needs of adult learners today. This article provides a case study overview of…

Leader development serves as a strong focus in the mission statements of many business school programs. Looking at business school leader development programs through the lens of adult learning theory, we assert that there is an overreliance on cognitive training (e.g., lecture) as the primary form of education used in preparing future business…

Adult learners are a neglected species in the generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) era. The sweeping changes brought by GenAI in the educational arena have implications for adult learning. GenAI in education will usher in a world of adult learning that will be radically different from its predecessor. However, how adult learners will apply…

Leadership scholar-practitioners seldom need to be sold on the benefits of working together. Rather leadership educators want to know how to teach adult leadership scholar-practitioners how to work together across differences. The aim of this paper is to guide leadership development practitioners on how to nurture leadership that can address the…

Adults who enrol in higher education institutions (HEIs) often have contributions that could serve in enhancing the planning and implementation of their programmes. Importantly, while terms such as active learner engagement and knowledge co-creation dominate adult learning discussions, there are unanswered questions pertaining to how adult…

The ageing labour force, and concerns with productivity and social inclusion have driven foundation skills policy development in Australia and internationally (SCOTESE 2012; Newton 2016). However, little existing literature focusses on the relationships between foundation skills, community education providers and regional location. Thus, this…

The further education (FE) sector in the UK, or post-compulsory education as it is often referred to, has undergone some radical changes in recent years. Historically, FE is synonymous with vocational education and training, providing communities with courses that tended to be in practical, non-academic subjects. Many FE lecturers came from…

Defined as language, literacy and numeracy, and employability skills, foundation skills are essential for individuals to participate in further education, employment and wider society. Community education providers, such as community colleges, neighbourhood houses, faith-based organisations and adult learning associations, are key providers of…

Current higher education practices do not sufficiently address the needs of international adult learners. With higher education's emphasis on pedagogical assumptions, adult learners are both isolated and oppressed by higher education. This article focuses on the following: assumptions of pedagogy versus andragogy, oppression of adult learners…

This article makes the case that Canadian universities--both within and beyond their campuses--must broaden their visions of third-age learners. Canadian third-age learners--defined for the purposes of this article as persons seeking formalized education who are in the stage of life beginning at retirement--are more numerous, active, financially…

Self-directed learning is an important form of adult learning (Caffarella, 1993; Knowles, 1975; Knowles, Holton & Swanson, 2005; Merriam, 2001; Merriam & Caffarella, 1999). The strategies of self-directed learning allow adult learners to cope better with their studies while fulfilling family, work and other commitments. This study…

This paper explores the professional development literature in the educational setting. The different literature pieces are aligned to a framework that requires effective professional development to focus on three concepts: content, context, and process. The content focuses on the "what" question in the programs while the context aims to…

Universities are inundated with detailed applicant and enrolment data from a variety of sources. However, for these data to be useful there is a need to convert them into strategic knowledge and information for decision-making processes. This study uses predictive modelling to identify at-risk adult learners in their first semester at SIM…

Creating a course for teaching project management online in a full online distance-learning environment was a challenge. Working with adult learners from different continents that want to complete a Master degree was an additional challenge. This paper describes how different MOOCs were used to learn about teaching -(meta) e-learning. MOOCs…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify, compile, and describe how community college graduate dental hygienists perceived their initial dental hygiene curriculum preparation and how they subsequently adapted their curriculum preparation in order to perform their responsibilities in their first clinical dental hygiene job.…