This article explores the relationships among student-centered doctoral study for scholar-practitioners, adult development, and transformative learning. In this research study, the authors describe a project that explores an expanded conceptualization of doctoral education that is grounded in an integrative perspective on adult development and on…

The failure to appreciate the nature of adult development and its relationship to learning and teaching is in part theoretical and in part due to weak research methodology. New and more effective methodologies use a combination of cross-sections of groups and longitudinal studies. Consideration of adult learner self-concept is also vital. (MSE)

While Jean Piaget's work as it relates to the development of childhood and adolescent cognition has long been explored, only recently has the usefulness of Piaget's theory in the study of adult cognition been studied. Recent research by educational psychologists has raised serious doubts about Piaget's theoretical position that the highest level…

Intended for adult educators, this book is a comprehensive overview and synthesis of what is known about adult learning. Part 1 describes the context of learning. Chapters 1-4 describe the following: the sociocultural context; the range of settings and ways they influence learners and the learning process; literature on who participates in formal…

Two studies examined modifiability in intellectual functioning in older adults. The fluid-crystallized theory provided a theory base for the research. (Fluid intelligence follows a normative decline through adulthood, while crystallized intelligence remains stable or even increases.) In the first study thirty subjects (average age 69.2)…

A theory concerning low achievement of student that applies to adult education is developed, based on an interconnection between cognitive and affective domains. A holistic picture of what happens to students may be gained from Piaget's theory of intellectual development, Bloom's hierarchy of cognitive abilities, theories proposing that what…

The concept of lifelong learning has become important in recent years as adults increasingly need to adapt and innovate, become more flexible workers, and take more active roles in the education of their children. Most of the discussion of lifelong learning, however, is couched in terms of formal educational institutions. But informal learning may…

Classical and contemporary research studies were examined to develop a definition of wisdom and explore its constructs in human development and consciousness. First, wisdom was defined as an emergent characteristic of mature adults that is built upon intelligence, experience, and reflection and includes metaphysical and cognitive components.…

This textbook is designed to introduce undergraduates to the scientific study of aging in adults. Among the topics covered in the book's 15 chapters are: approaches to the study of adult development and aging (research methodology and related issues, a life-span perspective, ethical issues); theories in the study of adult development (models of…