There is an urgent need to address the social dimension of higher education more forcefully and coherently, particularly in view of the economic downturn across Europe. This is the conclusion of the new Eurydice report, which looks at national policies on access to higher education, funding and student support. The report, covering EU Member…

North Dakota State University (USA) have been using video conferencing as a delivery mode for farmer education for about twenty years and report that their farmers find this delivery method both practical and worthwhile. With the number of New Zealand farmers attending learning events decreasing, due mainly to time and cost, maybe it is time to…

In 2009, "Community College Week" named Northeast Alabama Community College (NACC) one of the fastest growing community colleges in America. In the early 2000s, the college, which is located in the rural Appalachian region of Alabama, had begun efforts to increase enrollment. These efforts included providing online registration, online…

In July 2011, the Welsh Government published the first data on adult literacy and numeracy in Wales since 2004. The summary information from the National Survey of Adult Skills in Wales shows that there has been an improvement in literacy levels (though challenges still remain), but little improvement in numeracy. Discussions are ongoing with…

The quality of life in a community is directly tied to the capital available to its citizenry. The idea of capital refers to the resources related to the population--the wealth, the open-minded nature of individuals, the potential for jobs, and putting skills and talents to use to earn a living. There have been a wide range of studies and efforts…

This paper reports on work undertaken within a pilot study concerned with the design, development, and evaluation of online computer science training courses. Drawing on recent developments in e-learning technology, these courses were structured around the principles of a learner-oriented approach for use with adult learners. The paper describes a…

Women adult students face particular constraints when pursuing degrees. This paper uses focus group data to explore the educational pathways, barriers, and supports of women students. Women's educations are shaped by personal and structural gendered forces, including family, economic, and workplace issues. Women report conflict over short-term…

Understanding what is lacking in the online teaching literature is critical to helping researchers and practitioners develop programs and support mechanisms for online teachers in higher education. This review formulates a critique of the standards- and competency-driven vision of online teaching from the perspective of transformative learning…

To compare the efficacy of instructional programs for adult learners with basic reading skills below the 7th-grade level, 300 adults were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 supplementary tutoring programs designed to strengthen decoding and fluency skills, and gains were examined for the 148 adult students who completed the program. The 3 intervention…

Swain's Output Hypothesis proposes a facilitative effect for output on the acquisition of second language morphosyntax. In the context of classroom instruction, a number of studies and reviews suggest that explicit instruction in pragmatic elements promotes development. Other studies have offered less conclusive evidence of the effectiveness of…

In 1979, when the author began as an academic instructor at the Central Coast Adult School, located inside the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo, California, he saw his teaching role in the traditional sense of imparting knowledge through the school's curriculum. Over time, however, his viewpoint changed as he came to recognize that the…

This paper presents the appendix to "Marketing and Student Recruitment Practices for Master's-Level Graduate Programs, 2012" report. Included in this appendix are: (1) Ratings of the primary practices measured in this study, displayed by institution type; (2) The practice of purchasing prospective student names and addresses; (3) Ratings of…

With older students being the new majority on campus today, it is imperative to understand the experience of adult learners who decide to return to school to complete their degree. The reasons for this surge of older students enrolling in undergraduate degree programs include the need for a more educated workforce as well as the national…

This phenomenological study examined the transition of a group of adult English language learners from an Adult Basic Education program to a community college. The purpose of the study was to gain a deeper understanding of the driving forces of Adult Basic Education English language learners who had successfully transitioned from a non-credit…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain an understanding of the lived experiences of female adult learners pursuing graduate degrees online. As online graduate programs have become increasingly popular and more readily available in the last decade, more women than men are enrolling in online graduate programs in addition to…