This monograph for community educators is intended to provide a basic background in adult education and some of the basic principles of adult learning that will assist in development of more effective adult education programs. Section 1 focuses on the role of adult education, especially lifelong learning, and the community educator's role in adult…

This volume reviews literature and current practices in both the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) and adult education that are pertinent to development and implementation of a PSI program for nontraditional adult learners. Chapter 2 provides a review of literature and current practices of PSI, especially that research providing evidence of…

This module on characteristics of adults as learners is the ninth of 11 modules in the set, Introduction to Teaching Adults. Designed to meet the learning needs of part-time continuing education instructors, these modules can be used as resource materials for local workshops or study-discussion groups, as self-instruction (each module takes…

Designed for college instructors and administrators, this 14-chapter monograph discusses the education of adult learners who are returning to school and working toward undergraduate or advanced degrees. Chapter I examines the number of adults who are returning to college, trends since 1945, and the information sources used in preparing the…

Research is examined on learning and memory from text across the adult life span. The outcomes of the extant studies are contradictory. Clarification of these confusing findings is obtained by examining variations in the learner variables of education level and performance on vocabulary tests. Problems are considered in equating the learner…

A nationwide Adult Education Programme (NAEP), with the object of providing adult education to 100 million adults within five years, was inaugurated in India in October, 1978. A conference held in New Delhi in June, 1979, discussed the problems of training enough adult education instructors to implement the program throughout the country,…

This compilation contains the following research reports on child language: (1) "Nouns: Love 'Em or Leave 'Em" by Dianne Horgan; (2) "Logic in Early Child Language" by Roy D. Pea; and (3) "Theories of the Child's Acquisition of Syntax: A Look at Rare Events and at Necessary, Catalytic, and Irrelevant Components of…

This paper describes an on-going experiment about training adult (Latin American engineers about to come to France) beginners in oral expression. The first goal is to acquire the communicative means necessary to cope with four top priority situations and then master the communicative functions involved in understanding and making oneself…

Trends in college enrollment patterns, along with reference to the historical development of the university, are considered, and the university's response to population shifts and the role of life-span development in that response are addressed. It is proposed that the response of higher education to declining number of youth should not be simple…

The workbook is a step-by-step guide for the person who wishes to begin or return to college. It begins with a questionnaire for exploring one's personal goals for seeking a college degree. It is followed by a checklist of various training programs, skills, and other life experiences through which one may have gained knowledge equivalent to that…

Future directions of higher education are influenced by changes that have been occurring in the life cycle and "learning cycle." Traditional ages of formal education are becoming less rigidly defined, and higher education may now be viewed not only as a pre-work ritual but also as a process to be pursued by everyone from 18 to 85. Colleges need to…

An historical overview of research on second language acquisition considers research topics examined in observational/longitudinal studies and experimental studies. The questions that have reappeared across both observational and experimental studies concern: (1) whether second language learning is the same or different from first language…

SERIOUS PROBLEMS EXIST IN RETRAINING OLDER WORKERS, BUT WHERE AN APPROPRIATE METHOD OF TRAINING CAN BE DEVELOPED, OLDER TRAINEES CAN ACHIEVE RESULTS COMPARABLE WITH THOSE OF THEIR YOUNGER COLLEAGUES. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE MIDDLE-AGED LEARNER INCLUDE LONG AND UNINTERRUPTED LEARNING SESSIONS, GREATER CONSOLIDATION OF LEARNING BEFORE NEW…

This is the eighth of eight volumes consisting of series of publications of the Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults (CSLEA), such as Notes and Essays, Research Reports, Occasional Papers, and Conference Reports. These materials provide both theory and practice in the area of non-credit adult liberal education offered by colleges…

This monograph presents what illiterate and formerly illiterate adults have said regarding what it is like to be unable to read in a world that presumes everyone is literate, and of experiences they have had while acquiring the ability to read and write. In later chapters the authors, who were involved in the Vermont Adult Basic Education (ABE)…