Recounts a young teacher's awakening to the problems and conflicts in community college education, explores issues particularly related to adult students, and provides case studies that exemplify the goals, problems, and needs of reentry, first-generation students. Offers guidance on working with adult students. (DMM)

Describes the Instructional Telecommunications Consortium's 1991 "Symposium on Telecommunications and the Adult Learner," reviewing reasons the symposium focused on telecourses, and discussing five major imperatives for the continuing expansion of telecourses: thinking strategically, identifying learning needs, redefining telecourses, raising the…

Investigated learning style characteristics of adult community college students. Compared to students (n=113) with other decision-making styles, dependent decision makers (n=31) appeared to have reduced motivation for learning, limited persistence, and less acceptance of responsibility for their learning. Findings suggest these characteristics be…

Of 115 adult literacy students interviewed, 59 were contacted 8 months later to collect data on characteristics, academic and social integration, program and goal commitment, and withdrawal decisions. Factor and discriminant analyses identified 14 variables that accurately predicted the present status of 76 percent of completers, persisters, and…

A study of adults learning French as a second language showed that enhancing the pedagogical environment through development of a French phonetic training program resulted in improved discrimination and production ability among the students. (39 references) (LB)

Perspective Discrepancy Assessments completed by a dean, 50 mentors, and 60 current and 35 former adult students, as well as interviews with 26 dropouts, found that the dean and mentors ranked remedial work, outside commitments, and financial aid as obstacles. However, dropouts cited mentors' lack of counseling experience, understanding of…

Discusses the proliferation of college guides for prospective students and describes and evaluates 11 guides that address the opportunities in higher education for the older student, minorities and women, Christian and Jewish students, and students with special needs. (eight references) (LRW)

Accommodating older students in teacher education requires changes in course scheduling and admission policies, using paid internships for student teaching, selecting master teachers comfortable with mentoring older students, and making special financial, child care, and other arrangements to meet individual circumstances. (SK)

Maintains that, to reach the many adult nonreaders who resist established literacy programs, the values that these programs espouse must conform to the learners' own beliefs and not be rooted in the status quo. (SR)

Describes how three tutors helped an adult progress from a nonreader to a competent and enthusiastic reader, using an approach rooted in whole-language research and practice. (SR)

Explores developmental needs of adult students from age and gender perspectives, reviews implications, and makes recommendations for adapting academic and student services to accommodate those needs. (Author)

Examined nonpersistence among 83 nonpersisting students using Tinto's model and compared retention risks for traditional-aged and nontraditional-aged students. Found that traditional- and nontraditional-aged students showed same risk factors for dropping out: both had parents with low educational levels, attempted to combine education with…

Reviews research on the relationship between self-directed learning and selected demographic predictors. Concludes that student age may be an important determinant of success at the college level but is not significant in postsecondary art education programs. Finds that education level is a more accurate predictor among older adults. (CFR)

A study investigated, within a cognitive attentional framework, whether amount (single/multiple) and type (teacher-centered/learner-centered) of exposure to the same morphological information had positive effects on first-semester adult learners' second language development of morphological forms, and whether there is any differential performance…

Draws on the perspectives of 11 older women preparing to become teachers in the United Kingdom to illustrate the dilemmas faced by mature teacher trainees. Mature women frequently become isolated and marginalized in college and face discrimination when looking for jobs. (SLD)