The author suggests that the specification of common literacy demands that are valid on the societal level, that is, which are applicable and meaningful to diverse adults living in diverse environments, is an impossible task. He further suggests that the development of a valid and uniform national curriculum for functional literacy is equally…

Discusses philosophical and theoretical aims of preretirement education and outlines steps in a comprehensive approach to curriculum development and course design for this form of recurrent education. (SK)

Adult learning is problem centered, and adults are motivated by personal growth. Curriculum design should promote information integration, account for learning style differences, and include transfer strategies. Facilitators should offer a safe, comfortable environment, and exercises should have fidelity. (SK)

Reviews David Kolb's Experiential Learning Model, stressing its potential for developing or redesigning curricula for adult learners to include learning modes focusing on concrete experience, active experimentation, reflective observation, and abstract conceptualization. Offers a checklist for assessing which modes are accommodated by an…

Problem-based learning (PBL) as a professional development model is an authentic means of stimulating reflective, insightful, professional growth. This paper describes a conference session that modeled the PBL professional development model as participants engaged in an actual PBL and created their own PBL professional development model. The…

Adults are the most rapidly growing population in American higher education. The National Center for Educational Statistics estimates that adult students will be 46% of all enrollments in the 1990s, which is good reason to give careful thought to their specific educational needs. M. Knowles, in "The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species,"…

Political science education is currently experiencing a variety of pressures in the form of increasing demands for expanded and more effective educational opportunities in applied professional studies, basic civics instruction, flexible learning programs, and programs for an increasingly adult undergraduate population. An effective response to…

Argues that college students are generally less dependent and more motivated to learn than is generally assumed, based on a survey of 252 third-year University of South Africa students. Recommends that academic departments find new ways of accommodating learner self-direction, re-examine traditional teaching paradigms, and continuously evaluate…

Six theme articles discuss facilitating adult learning in agricultural education; the farm management education program in Minnesota technical colleges; a field-based model for adult education in agriculture; new directions in Texas adult agricultural education; needs, benefits, operation, and funding of adult agricultural education; and…

Asserts that community colleges have a responsibility for all students' developmental growth. Reviews human development theories to support a Grounded Formal Theory Approach (GFTA) to redesigning the college environment to meet adult needs. Outlines the seven-step GFTA process, which comprises developmental and content theory. Provides an example…

Discussion of nontraditional entrepreneurial universities and challenges that they pose to library administrators at more traditional universities highlights experiences at the University of Phoenix (Arizona). Topics addressed include adult learning theories; curriculum development; learning resource services; accreditation issues; fair use;…

This paper reviews and uses current research to present guidelines for curriculum development and delivery. The presenters demonstrate why manipulatives, laboratories and other "hands on" approaches are not appropriate introductory learning tools for adults. They argue that laboratory and similar strategies are the tools of an…

The paper presents some of the organizing principles that have emerged in the process of designing higher education programs for adults. The analysis relies on some of the recent research and literature on adult development, life stages, and learning interests. The organizing principles were not predetermined, but have resulted from years of…

The Socratic method of teaching, which uses open-ended questions asked in a logical sequence, is discussed. Suggestions for structuring curriculum content around seven adult learning principles and Socratic process analysis systems for student motivation are included. (SLW)

Drawing from a review of the literature, this paper explores the role of university and community college faculty in teaching the growing number of adult students and potential adult students. First, section I offers background on the growth in adult enrollments at Fullerton College (California). Next, section II profiles the adult college…