One way to approach the question of whether teaching adults is different is by examining the types of learning in which adults engage. Adult learning has been classified as subject oriented, consumer oriented, and emancipatory. Only emancipatory education has been described as unique to adulthood, but even that claim has been challenged. As a…

The influx of older students has resulted in special needs for the community college. This study investigated the personal and educational needs of adult students (N=198). The independent variables were age, gender, marital status, number of hours enrolled, income, race, and number of children in the home. The dependent variables fell into four…

This guide has been prepared as an aid to the trainer/facilitator of adult education. Section I addresses some of the more common myths concerning adult learners, particularly the 50-plus age group. Section II describes the "to-be" 50-64 age group population, based on literature searches. Section III identifies learners do or do not participate in…

This study investigated differences in learning styles, anxiety levels, and coping techniques in traditional (under age 25 years) versus nontraditional (age 25 years or older) community college students. In the fall of 1997, traditional and nontraditional students completed tests on their learning styles, general anxiety levels, and coping…

This exploratory study examined the college search processes of 25 non-traditional adult students at two central New York State community colleges. Using a modified time-line interview, a method developed in communication and information sciences, the researchers found that the college student's choice process was significantly different for the…

A study was done of adult students at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in 1991 to gather information on the characteristics of this population. A survey instrument defined the non-traditional student or adult learner as any student over the age of 24 attending MTSU. A total of 1,200 surveys were sent to full-time students, and 300…

A survey method was developed and used to determine interest in new course topics at the Learning Institute for Elders (LIFE) at the University of Central Florida. In the absence of a known validated method for course concept testing, this approach was modeled after the "message pretesting," or formative, research used and validated in…

The effects of the graduate experience on the intra- and inter-family relationships among married doctoral student couples were studied. Full-time students 35 years old or less enrolled at Ohio State University in 1982 and their nonenrolled spouses made up the sample. The ways that these students coped with the dual student-spouse role and made…

The dichotomy of language acquisition versus language learning is critically examined by comparing the concepts presented in Krashen's Monitor Model and Stevick's Levertov Machine to information from the field of neurophysiology regarding the brain's processes. It is proposed that support exists for the theory that two very different processes…

Britain's Associated Examining Board for the General Certificate of Education believes that an examination taken by adults should provide room for the use of experience. The article provides two examples of the Board's courses illustrating that policy: "Living Decisions" (based on a BBC series) and "English Language for Mature…

This article examines the evidence and arguments for and against the position that young children are better equipped to profit from foreign language studies than adults, with special reference to FLES programs. Adult and child learning patterns are compared, along with the formal and informal contexts of language acquisition. (CLK)

In the Nordic countries, schooling for adults is a pastime, a passion, and a source of national strength. (Editor)