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…

This qualitative evaluation focused on the problem of student attrition at a northern California college, its attendance policy, the policy's impact on previous students' decisions to persist in school, and on administrators' attempts to increase retention. The purpose for this study was to evaluate the participants' perceptions about their…

This paper discusses the need for new model and approach to solve the problem of illiteracy of the most backward section of the society-women among scheduled and other backward classes. The empirical support for the study is testing, interview and observation conducted on the present status of 100 from among 1,500 adult learners who attended a…

To pursue doctoral degrees is a growing choice for many adult learners who come to doctoral study with a range of personal, professional and educational backgrounds. This qualitative study explored perceptions about writing collected through a phenomenological interview process. The study applied socio-historical perspectives of writing in…

"Meeting the needs of the learner is at the heart of all our proposals", is the claim in the ministerial foreword to "Putting Learners at the Centre", the document in which recent pre-legislative proposals for reforming the post-16 education sector are set out by the Scottish Government. Such a grand claim warrants scepticism.…

This article focuses on how Kansas State University (K-State) built partnerships with all 19 community colleges in Kansas and streamlined the process of providing place-bound adult students with access to complete a bachelor's degree while continuing to live, work, and serve in their home communities. Kansas State University (K-State) has been an…

The adult learner is typically a motivated student who comes to class prepared to pay attention. They also come with cognitive and emotional stimuli not related to the course's content, which can be distracting especially at the start of a class or following a break. Ways of dealing with the problem of start-of-class attention, and for that…