Surveys of the math attitudes of adult basic education teachers and learners, interviews with 8 teachers and 15 learners, and 85 hours of ethnographic observations led to these findings: teaching decisions are minimally influenced by learners; teacher-centered approaches prevail; math instruction is similar to inculcation; teachers and textbooks…

Gives examples of ways adult basic education students and adult educators are using the Internet. Teacher uses include communicating with colleagues, professional development, and research. (SK)

Draws on experiences of mature access students (n=23) in an inner London (England) further education college. Explores the range of opportunities and constraints mature students confront in their efforts to make the transition to higher education. Focuses on the narratives of the seven students who failed to complete the access course. (BT)

Successful adult learners integrate school into their lives by focusing on goals, pacing themselves, maintaining harmony among multiple responsibilities, celebrating achievements, and using support systems. Adult educators can help by showing how goals can be achieved, acknowledging students' problems, and providing flexible structures and viable…

Meta analysis of interviews with 11 groups of four learners and their instructors identified the affective and cognitive content and dynamics of classroom exchanges. Reciprocity was not symmetrical: older learners expected to receive more from instructors than they gave; instructors received almost as much as they gave. (SK)

To increase access to higher education for adults with learning difficulties, they are paired with nondisabled students in a personal portfolio program. They prepare and give multimedia presentations on selected themes. (SK)

Responses from more than 400 British adults who withdrew from part-time vocational and nonvocational further education courses revealed that withdrawal was due to a combination of reasons, more than 60% unrelated to the course or college. College-based reasons included the tutor or teaching methods. Students insisted that they not be labeled…

Responses from 29 of 86 New Zealand universities and polytechnics surveyed portrayed the state of bridging or access courses. The majority are over 10 years old; they vary greatly in terminology, content, length, and clientele. They are making a significant contribution to the participation of underrepresented groups, such as the Maori in higher…

Who are adult learners in higher education, and how do they differ from younger college students? In this chapter, the author presents an overview of adult student enrollment patterns, their participation motivators, and their lifestyle differences from younger college students. (Contains 13 references and 2 tables.) (Author)

Adult learners juggle multiple roles while attending institutions of higher education. Adult students' roles and the implications for adults' success in college are discussed in this chapter. (Contains 13 references.) (Author)

The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning is currently cataloguing alternative programming features that are most effective with adult students in a best practices inventory organized around a framework of high-level descriptive principles of effectiveness. This chapter identifies a few interesting features from a quick survey of this…

A series of four studies identified the conative factors associated with the constructs of desire, resourcefulness, initiative, and persistence through the development of a conceptual model that provides a framework for understanding autonomous learning. The studies ultimately produced a single instrument, the Learner Autonomy Profile, that…

Of the 173 postgraduate adult students who abandoned their studies at Hellenic Open University, 108 were interviewed. Primary reasons for dropping out included difficulty balancing academic workload with employment and family obligations (mainly for female students), miscalculation of time available for studying, and underestimation of the effort…

Although accelerated learning is popular and increasing, it is criticized for being less rigorous and unacademic. Studies measuring accreditation, learning, and student/alumni attitudes show satisfactory learning and positive outcomes. Research has also identified characteristics needed to persist and succeed. (Contains 23 references.) (SK)

Discusses these aspects of accelerated learning program assessment: defining learning goals, selecting instruments to evaluate performance, establishing relationships between performance and other factors, and improving performance and programs using evaluation data. (SK)