The majority of states in the U.S. have adopted a performance-based funding (PBF) policy, but we know very little about how PBF adoption affects completion outcomes among underserved subgroups of students or whether specific design elements of PBF policies exacerbate inequities facing traditionally disadvantaged students. In this study, we show…

It was not known if, or to what extent, there was a statistically significant difference in intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and self-regulated learning (SRL) between degree-seeking adult learners who passed versus those who failed, were at-risk of failing, or dropped their most recent online mathematics course in the United States. The…

Pursuing postsecondary education is complicated for adult learners with children, also known as parenting adult learners (PALs). PALs must consider family expenses in addition to college expenses and make tough decisions about how to spend their time across their academic, work, and family responsibilities. Nonetheless, PALs are highly motivated,…

Today, seven out of 10 Americans use social media to communicate with one another, follow news stories, learn, and for pleasure. The problem is social media is underutilized by university faculty as a communication and curriculum tool for adult learners. There is a gap in the literature focusing on the university-level use of social media for…

The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to capture how graduates of adult high school diploma and equivalency programs in California told their story of persisting in the completion of a high school diploma or equivalency certificate. The four types of motivation regulation involved in organismic integration theory were used as the…

As a concept for preparing and promoting adult student success in an undergraduate, Interdisciplinary Studies degree program with an online senior capstone, this article analyzes how the senior capstone serves as the penultimate component in the students' degree completion. To capitalize on student success, academic advisors and faculty members…

Problem-solving skills in a digital environment are a prerequisite to a better future for all citizens in the Fourth Industrial Revolution era. To investigate the relationship between age, gender, computer use, and adult learners' problem-solving skills in a digital environment, this study analyzed the 4,540 Korean participants' problem-solving…

This systematic review of the literature on emotional abuse and women's experiences in higher education explored current and foundational literature to gain a better understanding of how nontraditional female adult learners who previously experienced emotional abuse manage their journeys in higher education. No literature was found specifically…

Research on social emotional learning (SEL) and employability skills has shown positive outcomes for learners over the past three decades. They both represent skills and competencies that are important for adult learners in gaining workplace success. However, rather than focusing on each set of competencies separately in instruction, adult…

Mathematical dispositions, or an individual's behavioral (i.e., things they say and do), cognitive (i.e., attention and memory), and affective (i.e., emotions and beliefs) tendencies related to mathematics, are critical to the learning of mathematics and choices related to STEM. Previous research has suggested that adult learners may possess…

Research on learning strategies and learning motivation in different educational contexts has provided valuable insights, but in this field, low-educated adults remain an understudied population. This study addresses this gap by means of a person-oriented approach and seeks to investigate whether quantitatively and qualitatively different learner…

Twenty-five-year-old inner-city students acquiring their high school diploma via an online forum experience stress. The research question is: How do faculty develop effective strategies to help online adult students mitigate stressors (from curriculum or technology)? The conceptual framework used in this research aligns with both the wellness…

The concept of the ideal student is one that has generated much research across many disciplines across the globe and continues to stimulate debate about teaching and learning within higher education. This paper explores the concept of the ideal student in relation to the experiences of mature female students enrolled onto a Foundation Programme…

The purpose of this study was to assess adult English Learners' perceptions of using Microsoft Teams in classes. Specifically, the study aims to explore the strength and direction of the correlation between the elements of the technology acceptance model (TAM) and using Microsoft Teams in English language courses. This study addressed the…

This transcendental phenomenological study aimed to understand the time management decisions of persistent non-traditional online learners over 30 at large institutions offering online programs in the United States. The central research question is: What are the shared time management experiences of persistent non-traditional online students over…