This research describes course design elements most valued by adult learners in blended learning environments that combine face-to-face contact with Web-based learning. It identifies the online course features and the instructional design goals selected as most important by a sample of 67 adults and compares the group rankings with those of…

In the US fewer than 3 million students attend classes, while 90 million need basic education and English programmes. Adult education teachers and administrators are often inexperienced in community organising and leadership development. They are often even untrained in adult education. The field is regarded so poorly by government and the public,…

To better understand the world of adult learners, we must remove ourselves from our ivory towers, classrooms, and offices and engage in the practice of adult education programs in urban settings.

This study extends the knowledge garnered from work with younger populations to determine the reading comprehension strategies most important to adults' success on outcome measures and to align them with previously researched interventions. According to an analysis of competence-based standardized tests of literacy (such as the General Educational…

The article reports on a one-year AHRB-funded Innovations project that was designed to evaluate the usefulness, or otherwise, of the application of real-time visual feedback technology in the singing studio. The basis for the research was a multi-disciplinary approach that drew on voice science and acoustics, the psychology of singing and voice…

It is argued that a positive response to lifelong learning policies involves the use of imaginative curriculum design in order to attract learners from disadvantaged backgrounds who are otherwise alienated from higher education. In this article a case study is presented based on the popularity of science fiction within popular culture, beginning…

Principal preparation programs are designed to create and prepare effective school leaders. These programs pursue many pathways to achieve this goal. This study highlighted the significance of framing this pursuit around the Educational Leadership Council Standards (ELCC; Wilmore, 2002) and Malcolm Knowles' (1970) adult learning theory. In…

One of the challenges in content-based instruction in second language classrooms is how to focus on form in a way that is both effective and appropriate. The use of collaborative tasks that push learners to consciously reflect on their own language use (i.e., produce "language-related episodes") while conveying meaning has been proposed as one way…

As increasing numbers of mature students enter schools of social work, it is a challenge and an obligation for field instructors to discover ways to recruit and sustain them in the educational endeavor. Building upon three theoretical perspectives--Freire's pedagogy of the oppressed, Knowles's andragogy, and Schon's reflective learning and…

To explore the influence of theorized motivational properties of possible selves on participants' perceived likelihood of achieving their most hoped-for self and avoiding their most feared self, the authors surveyed 198 low-income rural women attending either adult basic education classes (DHS, n=95) or community college developmental classes…

Many nontraditional female students experience psychological distress related to balancing family and academic roles, whereas others benefit from managing multiple roles. This study of 209 nontraditional female undergraduate students with children investigated factors that influence their psychological well-being. Results indicated that secure…

The aim of this article is to orient those interested in adult community college student research to a wide array of discourses and theoretical tools that can help us understand the underlying complexity of the problems faced by this often-marginalized group. Reviewed are categories of theory about student involvement and engagement, student…

Students more familiar with failure than success can carry inhibiting levels of fear, and mature students are twice as likely to drop out of Higher Education in their first year than younger students. Through its use of conversational and supportive tones, this study guide puts readers at ease assisting the transition to academic study. The author…

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of the extent of agreement with the principles of Confucian philosophy on the learning preferences of students enrolled in a research extensive university in the southern region of the United States. This study also compared the extent of agreement with the Confucian philosophy and…

This study examines the effectiveness of written error corrections versus reformulations of second language learners' writing as two means of improving learners' grammatical accuracy on a three-stage composition-comparison-revision task. Concurrent verbal protocols were employed during the comparison stage in order to study the learners' reported…