The roots that Dr. Maria Montessori established are strong. Her understanding of children and learning continues to be relevant today. The content, sequence, and presentation of lessons still provide relevant learning experiences for today's students. Montessori teachers continue to present these lessons in ways that strike the imagination and…

In this paper the role of spirituality in learning music for North American adult students is explored by examining the case of shakuhachi music. One distinctive character of engaging in music through the shakuhachi is that it facilitates the attainment of an "optimal relationship" between the practitioners" musical pursuit and…

Participation in adult education is today generally considered an individual responsibility. However, participation is the result of a complex bounded agency between individuals, educational institutions and regulating governments. This paper explores the motives of 12,000 European adult learners in formal adult education in 12 European countries.…

This column features essays written by current middle school and high school teachers, media specialists, librarians, literacy coaches, curriculum specialists, administrators, preservice teachers, teacher educators, and adolescent and adult learners. They highlight diverse perspectives on teaching and/or learning with literacies to inspire reader…

This paper focuses on recognition of prior learning as part of a national policy based on European Union guidelines for lifelong learning, and it explains how recognition of prior learning has been perceived since it was implemented in Portugal in 2000. Data discussed are the result of a mixed method research project that surveyed adult learners,…

The study delved into the effect of instructional video materials vs. authentic video materials on vocabulary learning of extrovert and introvert Iranian EFL learners. To this end, Nelson proficiency test was administered to one hundred eighty (n = 180) language learners. Considering 1 standard deviation above and below the mean score, one hundred…

Since the 1980s, task-based language teaching (TBLT) has enjoyed considerable interest from researchers of second language acquisition (SLA), resulting in a growing body of empirical evidence to support how and to what extent this approach can promote language learning. Although transferability and generalizability are critical assumptions for…

This study of community college student-parents used interpretive phenomenological analysis of interview data contributed by 15 participants from three Mountain West Community Colleges. The participants qualified by the following criteria: had delayed college entrance by 2 years or more, had a child not yet in kindergarten, were full-time students…

This study describes adult learners' understanding in learning Islam using andragogy approach in which the study was conducted in Kampung Siglap Mosque and Al-Zuhri Higher Learning Institute. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) educate his companions of who are adults from the shackles of "jahiliyyah," spiritual and intellectual…

The study was an investigation of online adult learners' perceptions of interaction, satisfaction, and performance within an online course using the Blackboard platform. Interaction included learners' interaction with the instructor, content, and the classmates. The effect of student background variables and course-related variables on interaction…

In Israel's Multigenerational Connection Program (MCP), children instruct adults in computer and Internet use. Taking children's advantage in digital literacy as a given, the study examines their generational status in computerized encounters that MCP creates in two schools, one Jewish and one Arab. The data were gathered by means of qualitative…

This study looks at how language ideologies affect and are revealed in language socialization practices in a majority-L1 adult ESL classroom, particularly looking at language use and policy. It draws on recent theories and critiques of language socialization (Bayley & Langman, 2011; Bronson & Watson-Gegeo, 2008; Garrett &…

This study explores relationships between experiences in initial education, subsequent life experiences/opportunities and the decision to return to education later in life. Semi-structured interviews with seven female returners to education, focused initially upon the women's perceptions of their aspirations and motivations at various ages, how…

This study analyzed the effect of mathematics courses on a cohort of students at a 4-year university in order to compare the effect of mathematics on adult students, those 25 and older, and traditional-age students. The transcripts of the 118 adult students and the 3,747 traditional-age students who were freshmen in the fall of 1999 were compared.…

This study reports the development and validation of the Graduate Skills and Attributes Scale which was initially administered to a random sample of 272 third-year-level and postgraduate-level, distance-learning higher education students. The data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis. In a second study, the scale was administered to a…