MOOCs for learning the basics of programming have become popular among people with a diverse range of backgrounds, interests and learning contexts. Studies show that learners who enrol in MOOCs tend to have different motivation from learners in traditional courses, but it is not known how motivation differs for people with different backgrounds.…

Mature-age postgraduate students are those who are late to higher education or have returned to postgraduate study after an educational hiatus in industry. While some mature-age students seek a postgraduate qualification out of extrinsic motivations such as for vocational reasons, there are older non-traditional students who seek higher status;…

This research undertook to determine what motivates adults to continue learning while other less cognitively strenuous, and admittedly more hedonistic, choices exist. Many older adults desire to seek out and integrate knowledge about their environment, thus improving or stimulating intellectual functioning. Comparative analysis was used to…

The Department for Education (DfE) commissioned Kantar Public and Learning and Work Institute (L&W) to undertake research to understand adults' experiences of, and decisions about, learning. This report presents the findings from in-depth interviews with 70 learners and focus groups with 16 adults not currently learning, and recommendations…

This paper is a reflection, on the basis of empirical research conducted in Italy, on theoretical, methodological and systemic-organisational aspects linked to the recognition and validation of the prior learning acquired by adult learners or workers who decide to enrol at university at a later stage in their lives. The interest in this research…

This paper focuses on recognition of prior learning as part of a national policy based on European Union guidelines for lifelong learning, and it explains how recognition of prior learning has been perceived since it was implemented in Portugal in 2000. Data discussed are the result of a mixed method research project that surveyed adult learners,…

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) is an issue within the context of lifelong learning, given the (South African) issues of equity and redress, the international demands on adults to contribute to the knowledge economy, qualification inflation and increased competitiveness for knowledge workers. In the process of conscientisation and in an…

Prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) is the practice of reviewing, evaluating, and acknowledging the information, skills, and understanding that adult learners have gained through experiential or self-directed (informal) learning rather than through formal education (Thomas, 2000). As our current economy and workplaces experience rapid…

Originally aimed at young learners, Robert Schumann's maxim that "There is no end to learning" also applies to increasing numbers of people beginning and continuing to learn music as adults. This article presents a discussion on how researchers in the field of adult education discuss the adult learner and learning. Topics include: (1) adults'…

The term "college kid" seems all but meaningless these days, given the rising numbers of adults on campus. The current economic downturn is funneling hundreds of thousands of over-25 Americans into postsecondary education--and that trend is sure to intensify as the global, knowledge-based economy demands workers with ever-higher levels of…

Commentators in the profession are asking why adult continuing education students seem preoccupied over getting "a good grade" and "finishing school quickly" rather than pausing to consider how the teaching/learning process helps their personal growth and valuing learning for learning's sake. The purpose of this study was to identify, categorize,…

This book assembles over 50 papers from the 7th Triennial European Research Conference of the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA), which was held from the 4th to the 7th of September 2013 at Humboldt-University in Berlin. The title of the conference was "Changing Configurations of Adult Education in Transitional…

This article focuses on the recognition of prior learning and the figure of thought it represents in Swedish policy on adult education. It can be seen as a technique for governing the adult learner and a way of fabricating the subject. We are tracing this thought back in time to see how it has changed and what it consists of. The material analysed…

These proceedings record the 70th Annual Conference and Meeting of ACHE (Association for Continuing Higher Education) held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The conference theme, "The Next Generation: Access and Opportunity in CHE" challenged attendees to think about the coming new age and its…

The concept of lifelong education is discussed in this the last of four transcripts of radio programs on college today. Dialogue is presented in the following area: Ronald Gross on lifelong learning; the old view of lifelong learning; the view of the President of the University of Rhode Island; classes on the Long Island Railroad (Adelphi…