As the number of traditional-aged students steadily declines in the United States, colleges and universities must seek to attract and enroll the large number of adults who have some college but no degree. This research sought to understand how one southern mid-sized institution recruited and enrolled a consistent number of adult learners over…

Adult learners' retention, persistence, and completion remain a significant challenge for many higher education institutions. The purpose of this action research study was to investigate the factors and improve persistence for part-time older adult learners of color enrolled in a credit-bearing certificate program within a small college in a large…

In recent years, colleges and universities have witnessed an increase in the number of adult learners entering higher education (Hardin, 2008; Osgood-Treston, 2001). The growth in adult students attending college encourages institutions to better understand the specific needs of the adult learner population. While adult learners may enter higher…

This paper reports on a study of five motivational orientations in continuing education among working adults. The influence of motivational orientations on their academic achievement was identified. The study involved 159 working adults who enrolled into part-time programs in an Open University in Sabah. Boshier's Education Participation Scale…

Adult learners, and women in particular, have to combat a number of specific barriers to participate in lifelong learning opportunities. Frequently, delivery modes of adult learning programmes do not take these varying demands into consideration (McCulloch & Stokes, 2008). However, when they do, positive results ensue. This case study…

This paper presents data on the vocational education and training (VET) in Denmark. VET plays a key role in the Danish strategy for lifelong learning and meeting the challenges of globalisation and technological change. The Danish education and training system comprises a mainstream system providing qualifications at all levels, from compulsory…

Over the past year lifelong learning in universities has come under the spotlight of politicians, educationalists, journalists and adult learners. For some, the concern has been about countering the fall-out from changes in public funding and challenging the reduction in provision--and even closure--of university departments. A number of…

The relationship between the academic labour market and the global labour market provides an important context for this research. There appear to be growing numbers of part-time lecturers at universities worldwide, which is seen as an extension of casualisation of labour more generally. From a social justice perspective, it is therefore of concern…

In this paper we analyse the dynamics of adult participation in part-time education and training throughout the 90s and into the 2000s using data from 14 waves (1992-2005) of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). We study the volume (stocks) of participation and non-participation and the gross flows between states. This analysis provides a…

Although many private Christian liberal arts programs exist today that seek to foster servant-leader (SL) development within their students, there is a void of both literature and data that details how servant-leadership development occurs and what contexts may be appropriate or necessary for this development. The purpose of this study was to…

This article examines a longitudinal case study exploring the experience of a cohort of part-time, adult, work-based learners, mostly experiencing higher education for the first time. A wide range of instruments, including diaries and interviews, were used to collect data to explore, in some depth, the nature of the learning experience. Data…

An instructional systems design approach to distance education systematically applies instructional principles based on how people learn in order to create an effective learning environment. A performance-based philosophy and authentic performance assessments, including portfolios, are important elements. (Contains 16 references.) (SK)

A characteristic shared by the majority of adult students is that they are undertaking part-time study. For these adult learners one of the major difficulties is how to find time for their study. This paper reports the coping mechanisms that part-time adult students adopt to meet the additional demands that study puts on their existing commitments…

A probability sample survey of 1,541 residents of Ontario, Canada investigated: (1) the scope of involvement of adults in deliberate part-time learning activities, and (2) the possible role that educational communications media could play in extending educational opportunities to adults. Involvement in education varied according to age,…