There has been some debate over whether skill sets have the capacity to be part of a more flexible skilling solution, one in which vocational education and training (VET) in Australia is enhanced. This proposition is explored using a case study of agrifood students who were enrolled in TAFE NSW Statement of Attainment in Rural Production Studies…

The Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) provides written testimony on the Senate Higher Education Committee interim charges exploring student financial aid and the issue of student loan debt Texas institutions of higher education. This paper highlights recommendations for strengthening and improving the financial aid system in Texas to…

Language development is frequently characterized as a process where learning proceeds implicitly, that is, incidentally and in absence of awareness of what was learned. This article reports the results of two experiments that investigated whether second language acquisition can also result in implicit knowledge. Adult learners were trained on an…

Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, comprises three primary units that each serve a distinct population: the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) is a residential college for roughly 2,800 traditional-age undergraduates; the College of Adult and Professional Studies and Graduate School (CAPS/GS) serves roughly 2,200 adult learners at both the…

A multiple-probe, multiple-baseline, across-subjects design was used to examine the writing performance of four low-achieving adult students with and without disabilities enrolled in general equivalency diploma (GED) preparatory classes. Students' writing was evaluated before instruction and after self-regulated strategy development (SRSD)…

The proliferation of postsecondary programs for working adults is not surprising, given the importance of a bachelor's degree to employment and higher earnings. However, the demographics of adult learners have changed significantly over the past 30 years, when degrees for adults targeted a middle-class population. Adults now return to college…

In this piece, the author experiments with re-presenting particular stories through poetic texts that contextualize and honor difference in experience between GED students and instructors. These poetic re-presentations stem from an ongoing study that explores (a) adult basic education instructors' perceptions of their pedagogy and interaction with…

In this paper, we examine interviews with 34 stakeholders including tutors, administrators and adult education policy analysts who were working in the area of adult numeracy and/or literacy education. This provided opportunities for our research team to build up a clearer picture of the current status, plans, benefits and barriers related to…

The purpose of this study was to explore the practice of Farmer-Field Schools (FFS) theoretically framed from the perspective of transformative learning theory and non-formal education (NFE). Farmer-Field Schools are community-led NFE programs that provide a platform where farmers meet regularly to study the "how and why" of farming and…

This exploratory qualitative study focused on 1) the learning needs of Aboriginal adult learners residing in selected First Nations communities in rural Alberta and 2) the potential for increasing access to e-learning education. Through open dialogue with First Nations community leaders, Aboriginal adult learners, and Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal…

According to the U.S. Department of Education (2004), more than 40% of approximately three million learners in the federally-funded adult education programs are in the area of English as a second language (ESL). These learners, the majority of whom are immigrants and refugees, represent a huge diversity of cultural backgrounds and nationalities,…

Many states are experimenting with mechanisms for making college more affordable while maintaining quality and access. This report examines promising or innovative state programs to improve college affordability and credential attainment. Many of these approaches show innovative thinking and bear watching to see if they result in meaningful…

Heritage learners of minority languages can play a lynchpin role in reversing language shift (RLS) in their families; however, in order to enact this role, they must first overcome certain barriers to re-integrate the minority language into the home domain. Using a combination of conversation and narrative analysis methods, we demonstrate how both…

Based on 22 focus groups conducted at institutions located in a Midwestern metropolitan region, this study explores working, commuting and adult-learner college students' implicit theories about financial aid policy and seeks to understand how students make sense of their own experiences in paying for college. The institutions participating in the…

This article, based on an ethnographic study of an urban General Education Development (GED) program, suggests that for some marginalized young men of color, Adult education programs are counter-spaces of spatial justice in opposition to previous negative school spaces. Framed by critical race theory (CRT) and drawing on critical geography and…