In this group of presentations from the 1978 National Conference on Higher Education, three researchers examine the need for the educational community to become more creatively responsive to the learning needs of adults. K. Patricia Cross delineates the difference between "adult education" and "adult learning". She discusses findings on adult…

This retrospective picture of college students over the past 30 years reflects what has been written about students in "Change" magazine between 1969 and 1999. Using the analogy of a museum gallery, the student portraits are grouped into five eras; each of which dominated the literature for approximately 10 years. The Gallery of Student Protest,…

One of the perennial problems with universal education is the diversity in achievement it brings to the average classroom. Educational structures are needed that not only accept individual differences but also offer explicit recognition of their value to a democratic society. Young people growing up in the information society are going to have to…

Lifelong learning is a movement described as real, necessary, and desirable. A major goal of higher education is seen to be the creation of an equitable learning society in which each individual is helped to become an active agent in his or her own education. (Author/MLW)

If colleges were to accept the mission of helping each student to learn as much and as well as possible, the organization of education would change. In that the three fundamental practices of education--classes, semesters, and grades--are counterproductive to the goal of maximizing student learning and exist only to meet administrative and fiscal…

This paper examines services that link the adult learner's interests to the learning resources of the society. Two sets of research studies are used as a background for analyzing needs and services. The first set of studies consists of thirty state and national surveys or needs assessments of "learners,""would-be," or "potential learners." The…

The state of knowledge about adult part-time learners and the programs designed to serve them are reviewed. The primary sources of information were recent data collection projects sponsored by state and national agencies to determine the characteristics and needs of adult learners and potential learners. Selected program descriptions were also…

Patterns that emerged from reviewing course syllabi on adult and continuing education are discussed, and a sample syllabus is presented. These courses are offered as part of graduate level studies in the field of higher education administration. Seventeen professors provided syllabi from 43 courses taught at 9 universities. Modest agreement on…

Demographic trends, mid-life career changes, increased competition in the labor market, and the idea of learning for its own sake are contributing to new adult learning patterns. Adult information centers and educational brokering services are important links in addressing equal opportunity and effective utilization of learning resources.…

Although lifelong learning was a term created to mean cradle-to-grave learning, it has come to mean specifically adult learning and education. The adult learning force in the U.S. is huge and growing in size as well as interest. Since eighty-five percent of the active adult learners are high school graduates, they are eligible for postsecondary…

The literature on adult learners is reviewed, and two models of adult learning are developed. Demographic, social, and technological trends that stimulate the increasing demand for learning opportunities are examined, and the views of those who see dangers in new pressures on adults to participate in organized learning activities are considered.…