When an art tutor adopts the role of assistant to a disabled artist it is difficult not to move from helping with the physical handling of materials on the one hand into the actual creative process on the other, thus influencing how the artwork looks. Ecas is an Edinburgh-based charity which promotes opportunities for physically disabled people to…

This mixed-methods study develops, operationalizes, and tests a new conceptual model of community college student engagement. Themes emerging from participant observations and semistructured interviews with 30 adult students enrolled at a Large Best Practices Community College (LBPCC) over the 2005-2006 academic year are used to guide selection of…

This action research study sought to understand what contributed to the success of two adult learners who had previously been left behind by the educational system. The findings revealed the importance of supportive educators, as well as a personal support system. In addition, their participation in this study was an empowering experience for the…

This grounded theory study investigates adult student persistence at a community college. Student persistence in college is a prerequisite for degree achievement, which correlates with higher earnings and overall better quality of life. Persistence rates remain low for adult students, who combine their college endeavors with responsibilities to…

As education continues to integrate technological advancements into learning and instruction, a resource dedicated to the latest findings and implications becomes necessary. This handbook provides academicians, researchers, and practitioners with a comprehensive view of the historical, conceptual, theoretical, and practical perspectives of…

This supplemental report expands on the findings of the 2010 National Freshman Attitudes Report from Noel-Levitz by examining the wide-ranging attitudes and motivations of incoming, first-year students at two-year community, junior, career, and technical colleges. Specifically, this report contrasts the attitudes of: (1) Adult versus…

This article reports on a study that examined the choice and use of academic reading strategies of adult learners who were identified as proficient and less proficient readers. The major objective was to explore the potential influence of their adult characteristics on their use of their academic reading strategies. Data were gathered using…

U.S. Department of Education studies reveal that, by various measures, almost 75 percent of college students today are "non-traditional." While the "non-traditional" label used to refer mostly to students beyond the 18-to-22 age range (about 40 percent of college students are older than 22), the phrase now connotes students of all ages who are…

In 2010, the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) released a report on a multi-institutional study on prior learning assessment (PLA) and adult student outcomes. The study examined data from 62,475 adult students at 48 colleges and universities, following the students' academic progress over the course of seven years. The data from…

Many adult students struggle to finance their educations, often contending with work and child care expenses in addition to the extra cost of remedial courses. Moreover, there is little need-based grant aid to help. This report presents early findings from an evaluation of a program in New York City targeted to low-income adults (ages 22 to 35)…

This study explores the web-navigation practices of adult learners in higher education and re-conceptualizes the concept of the organizing circumstance of self-managed learning, originated by Spear and Mocker (1984). The theoretical framework draws on funds of knowledge theory from a cultural historical perspective and elaborates a Vygotskian…

This report describes self-reported attitudes and motivations of first-year college students nationally at the beginning of the undergraduate experience, based on a 100-item motivational assessment administered in the summer and fall of 2010. Highlighted this year are attitudes that may limit academic engagement, suggesting the need for…

This report has been prepared in direct response to the Action Plan on Adult Learning "It is always a good time to learn" (European Commission, 2007), and, more specifically, to its stated objective of increasing the opportunities for adults to achieve a qualification at least one level higher than they previously held. The document…

The experiences of Chinese learners on two e-learning programmes in China were investigated, focusing particularly on the formation of learning communities. Data were collected using a range of instruments to access the learners' perspectives in depth and detail. Archer's account of reflexivity as the mediating power between structure and agency…

In the rapidly changing world of higher education, innovative approaches to teaching adults are needed to drive instructional practices for helping to prepare the professionals of the future. The papers collected in "Innovations in Teaching Adults" were originally presented at a conference at City University of Seattle. The authors of…