Focus groups conducted with 17 working adults found they were attracted to a degree completion program because of the adult learning environment, flexibility, applied content, and collaborative climate. The high level of participation, quality of responses, and dynamic group interaction confirmed the usefulness of focus groups for continuing…

The factors and motivations contributing to the presence of increasing numbers of mature women in college are examined, and seven proposals are offered, representing an attempt to develop a total community college program which will meet the needs of mature women students. (NHM)

Midlife developmental concerns of returning women students included a focus on the future, the experience of a culminating event, and a mentor relationship. Needs assessment and other programs should reflect these concerns. (Author/JAC)

Describes the WI/SE Choice Scholarship program for non-traditional adult students offered by Wichita State University and Sedgwick County to encourage recruitment and enrollment of adult students. (TE)

Theoretical and practical guidance is provided to anyone involved in teaching, curriculum development, or program planning for writing instruction for adult students. A broad range of situations in which adults learn to write are explored. Three parts include 13 chapters on the following topics: (1) understanding the distinctiveness of adult…

The primary goal of the postsecondary needs assessment in Northeastern New York State was to provide adult education planners with information for program planning and evaluation. Questionnaire respondents included 1,055 individuals from four subregions: Albany Center, Outer Albany, Plattsburg, and Utica-Rome. Data analysis is focused on: (1)…

Addresses issues that have arisen in planning for short-term language teaching projects involving business English as a Second Language. The issues discussed include the expectations of client groups, conflicting instructional paradigms, theoretical notions supporting the approach taken in the program and how program and curriculum development can…

The Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council (GPLC) conducts an urban, volunteer-based literacy tutoring program for adults that emphasizes goal setting. The council believes that students entering the literacy program should understand why they are there, what GPLC can do for them, and how they can apply themselves to get the maximum benefit from…

This bibliography contains references to research reports, program descriptions, and educational philosophy expositions concerned with the motivation of adult literacy students. The eighty-two entries are from around the world, and some are in French and Spanish. The literature covers a wide range of topics, including programs for volunteers,…

A Texas study examined what individual learning and/or other needs were identified by adult basic education (ABE) students. It also assessed ABE teachers' propensity to identify the same student needs and determined if these needs were met within the ABE program. A literature review focused on learner types, past experience, program development,…

Issues in distance education at the tertiary level in Australia are addressed in three papers. The need to provide mature students with information before course attendance is discussed by Edward R. Reid-Smith in "Why Educational Advisory Services for Mature Students?" During 1982-1984, new external students at Riverina College of…

The instructor of a course focusing on basic academic and job readiness skills for welfare recipients at the Goodwill Employment Help Center in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, conducted an action research project to determine whether developing personal mission statements would increase students' motivation in her course. As new students were accepted…

The majority of employment and training programs are designed as one-size-fits-all, leaving approximately 85 percent of participants unsatisfied, unmotivated, or forced back into a job with no chance of advancement. In targeting a clientele of single parents and dislocated workers, an action research project, called Chance to Advance, conducted in…

Project REDEAL (Research and Evaluation of Distance Education for the Adult Learner) was designed to investigate the motivation and management of adult learners in the distance educational setting of Athabasca University in Edmonton, Alberta. During the course of the 22-month project, specialists compiled a series of research and technical reports…

Papers from the 1992 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages include the following: "Flesh Out Your FLES Program: Developmental Sequencing in Teaching Units" (Zoe Louton, Robert Louton); "Lights! Camera! Action!...Using the Camcorder as a Tool, Not a Toy" (John Liontas); "The Yorktown High School…