Cites studies showing that U.S. students are inadequately prepared for competition with foreign workers and are uninformed about the international environment. Argues that the community college student population is an excellent target for expanding study abroad programs. Describes a program designed for the nontraditional, working student and the…

In a survey of 289 adult continuing education students (90 percent response), subjects rated items related to attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction as motivating factors. Findings suggest that adult instruction should stimulate curiosity, be immediately useful, address expectations, be low risk, and allow practice of new knowledge and…

Investigated graduate students' (n=291) perceptions of graduate student role and how they perceive faculty to define that role; traditional- and nontraditional-aged masters students' definitions of graduate student role; and differences in perceptions based on respondents' sex, age, and Holland type. Results suggest that traditional- and…

Interviews with 43 mature women students were followed 10 years later by interviews with 23 of them. The experience of education provided them a means of self-evaluation. Most worked in teaching, social work, or the public sector, which reduced potential dilemmas about self-perception and enabled an expressive rather than an instrumental view of…

Discussion (including one teacher's journal entries) of a team-teaching experience involving a university English-as-a-Second-Language class of 27 touches on advantages and disadvantages and organizational approaches. (CNP)

Describes Empire State College, a four-year Arts and Science institution in New York that provides distance education for mainly adult students who need an alternative to traditional higher education. Topics include mentors, student needs, access to libraries, the use of technology, and social services. (LRW)

Responds to a previous article on native-language (L1) use in the collaborative interaction of native English-speaking adult learners of Spanish as a second language, which found that the L1 serves a critical function in students' attempts to mutually define task elements, provide each other with scaffolding help, and externalize inner speech.…

The success of Great Britain's Open University has become a model for distance education in the United States. The Open University is nonselective in admissions and designs its courses for part-time students and working adults. It plans to begin enrolling American students in a new sister institution, the United States Open University. (MSE)

At-risk adult literacy learners (n=20) were randomly assigned to a control group or one of three treatments: counselor-teacher team support, small-group instruction with students not at risk, or one-on-one tutoring. All in the treatment groups persisted longer than controls. The small group method was most effective for retaining students. (SK)

Comparison of the first-year performance of 100 adults who entered the University of Glasgow via the Scottish Wider Access Programme (SWAP) with 89 who attended both SWAP and preuniversity summer school found few differences in persistence. However, patterns of prediction emerged, which could form the basis for interventions for those whose…

A study of native language (L1) use in the collaborative interaction of five dyads of native English-speaking adult learners of Spanish as a second language (L2) found that L1 serves a critical function in students' attempts to mutually define task elements, provide each other with scaffolding help, and externalize inner speech. (Author/MSE)

Suggests that the distinction between "genre" and "text type" is important and useful. The article presents an analysis of various texts from two genre-based coursebooks, one which focuses on adult second-language literacy development, and another which focuses on writing in academic context. The article also suggests ways to…

Reports a study that examined the events leading to a career decision in physical education teacher education (PETE) and investigated participant-described behaviors of two delayed-entry PETE students. Interview data revealed that significant life experiences prompted participants to reevaluate their career goals and pursue PETE careers. (SM)

Argues that an understanding of the dynamics of life transitions is crucial to effective adult education programs. Examines the "stage/phase" theory of transitions, maintaining that transitions occur in predictable sequences, and the "life event" theory, which views transitions as the result of social processes. (22 citations) (MAB)

A British government project funded open learning in public libraries. Early provision of open learning packs expanded into uses of information technology. The project demonstrated that supporting adult learning is a core service of the public library. (SK)