The idea of the university has been a matter of intense debate for well over a century. The essential nature, role and purpose of the university have long been questioned. The debate has only intensified as universities have multiplied and expanded across the globe, and the demands made upon them by different stakeholders have grown and…

Should unique adult higher education programs be preserved and even championed, or should such programs succumb to the pressures of the day and get folded into more conventional higher education? This essay argues that, in addressing such vital questions, we need to become more aware of the relationship between human development and college study,…

Higher education students, formally adults, are nevertheless subject to adultism. The co-authors of this article--the director of the Students as Teachers and Learners (SaLT) program and three undergraduates who have worked in pedagogical partnership with faculty through SaLT--discuss how this program counters adultism on three levels:…

More young people with a diagnosis of autism are enrolling and successfully completing higher education courses than ever before and this is set to increase; however, while there is a burgeoning body of literature surrounding the transition into this stage of education, there is a paucity of research that investigates the transition as this…

Prior research has demonstrated both socialization and selection effects for the relationship between antisocial peer affiliation and externalizing problems in adolescence. Less research has evaluated such effects postadolescence. In this study, a cross-lagged panel analysis was used to evaluate the extent of "socialization" (i.e., the…

The 36th Annual Adult Higher Education Alliance (AHEA) Conference was held on March 10-11, 2016 in Orlando, Florida, on the campus of the University of Central Florida. There were 48 presentations from scholars and practitioners from 20 states who participated in the conference. The contributions to these proceedings represent the best of the…

The purpose of this study was to explore the relevance that executive mentors' Dream journeys had for their mentoring practices. Dream journeys are the visions of where young adults see themselves in the future, and how they integrate themselves into the adult world over time. It was anticipated that a better understanding of executive mentors'…

Although higher education understands the need to develop critical thinkers, it has not lived up to the task consistently. Students are graduating deficient in these skills, unprepared to think critically once in the workforce. Limited development of cognitive processing skills leads to less effective leaders. Various definitions of critical…

Recent research has called for complex holistic models of college student development, but traditionally, scholars have focused heavily if not exclusively on creating models that emphasize only psychological explanations and probe only one dimension or aspect of development. This article synthesizes a wide range of theories and models to construct…

The purpose of this study was to increase an understanding of spirituality's place in the holistic adult adjustment of new faculty members during their transitional years at a public research university. Many have been concerned about the sense of fragmentation experienced in the academy and have called for cultural reforms of the conditions that…

In this paper, through the theoretical lens of life-course research and reproduction theory, we employ 15 years of longitudinal data from the British Columbia, Canada "Paths on Life's Way" project to examine the extent to which educational and career pathways of this cohort of 1988 high school graduates are gendered, individualized,…

The purpose of this research study was to investigate the phenomenon of the conflicting roles, such as parent, spouse, employee, caregiver, and community member/volunteer, associated with the lives of nontraditional college students and to reveal how these conflicting role obligations influence these students' persistence toward the attainment of…

A study was conducted of all Christian theological seminaries and divinity schools in the United States and Canada. The search was for Christian higher education courses, programs, and degrees offered by these graduate schools. Only a few schools offer courses per se in Christian higher education. Eight schools offered courses of instruction…

In this essay, the authors begin by examining and challenging the way in which faculty vitality has been operationalized in the past, arguing for the value of institution-specific analysis of the faculty vitality issue. They then propose alternative models for understanding previously unexplored aspects of faculty vitality, drawing on research in…

Examines the relationship between adult development and preparation for roles in educational leadership and administration as exemplified by the master's degree program in educational leadership/administration at St. Mary's College. Considers the program's philosophical foundations and modes of operation. (DMM)