This study investigated adult student experiences with instructors in online classes. Using expectancy violations theory as a lens, we conducted 22 interviews to understand reasons students enroll in online classes, expectations for instructors, and behaviors instructors employed that may or may not meet expectations. We conducted a thematic…

In Denmark various non-traditional students are mature-age students who already have some kind of a vocational background. When applying to do a professional degree, most of them fall outside the traditional admission requirements, which is why individual assessment of applicants is necessary for bachelor programmes. This article examines the case…

Teaching adult learners in a community-based educational setting differs in many ways from applying typical campus-based or online instructional best practices. Adult learners show tremendous diversity in their backgrounds, approach learning in a myriad of different ways, and rely heavily on their past experiences to help guide their future…

Building on narratives of students in adult education in Sweden, where the majority of the students are young adults, this paper argues that adult education has both negative and positive aspects in helping individuals to be recognised as valuable. Students, often part of the precariat class, have not always been able to survive in the job market…

Open University (OU) students are typically mature students who combine studying part-time with work or caring responsibilities; the average age of OU language students has been dropping, and about 30% of our new students are now under 25. The traditional view of adult learners who study languages is that they often study for pleasure or personal…

The Center for the Study of Adult Literacy (CSAL) seeks to improve our understanding of ways to advance the reading skills of adult learners. Our web-based instructional tutor uses trialogues in the AutoTutor framework to deliver lessons in reading comprehension. We have found a way to manipulate proven comprehension strategies to fit the daily…

This article examines motivations behind participation in education based on interviews with Irish prisoners. It begins by considering the relationship between education and rehabilitation, especially the latter's re-emergence in a more authoritarian form. Drawing on results from the research, this article argues that the educational approach,…

L2 input, such as a reading text, constitutes a rich source of information on how meanings are expressed in the L2. Helping learners to use this information effectively should be one of the main goals of L2 teaching. In this article, I propose textbased guided output (TBGO) as a technique for "pushing" learners to make better use of the…

The purpose of this research is to understand more clearly the lived experiences of married doctoral students with children who are enrolled in a cohort-based program. Attempting to maintain a strong family relationship, balance a career, enroll in a doctoral program, and provide for a family is an avalanche of emotion and pressure on all members…

Adjunct faculty members have become predominant within North American colleges and universities as the individuals tasked with teaching non-traditional learners. The post-secondary education industry has seen the adjunct population more than double between the years 1967 and 2000 ("Trend," 2000; Wilson, 1998). The institutions have…

The inclusion of online elements in learning environments is becoming commonplace in Post Compulsory Education. A variety of research into the value of such elements is available, and this study aims to add further evidence by looking specifically at the use of collaborative technologies such as online discussion forums and wikis to encourage…

This study highlights learners' perceptions about their experience with self-access materials with a qualitative orientation as the best way to understand nuances of how students learn and what they need from learning materials. This paper presents English as a foreign language learners' attitudes when interacting with the computer-reading section…

This white paper, an update to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association's (SHEEO's) 2014 "Moving the Needle" report (Carlson & Zaback, 2014), examines innovative policies to improve college affordability for students from families in the two lowest income quintiles, using updated data and analyses. The policies…

As the price of a public college education has risen at well above the rate of inflation for decades, college affordability has become a key concern in public policy discussions. At the same time, recent high school graduates from lower-income and middle-income families are nearly 20 percentage points less likely to enroll in college the following…

Employers seek employees with skills that have been correlated with specific credentials including academic certifications, industry certifications, and college degrees. In order to meet these demands, policymakers are pressing higher education institutions to facilitate higher rates of credential completion among college students. This requires…