A study was conducted to compare adult learning experiences within formal educational programs in rural areas with those in urban areas, predominantly at the postsecondary level. It focused on the phenomenon of adult learning in rural settings by analyzing participation rates, needs assessment data, interest inventories, program evaluations, and…

This paper provides a synthesis of research and theory directly related to retention of adult students. In the first of five major sections, readers are provided with a brief discussion of the nature and significance of the dropout-retention problem. Section 2 reviews research findings relating to who drops out and why. Sociodemographic,…

A study was conducted to identify older graduate student applicants and the graduate school selection process. Older students were operationally defined as over age 30 or those who received their baccalaureate degree eight or more years ago. Information about the characteristics of older graduate students was obtained from the Graduate Record…

The effects of career counseling on subsequent job satisfaction in mature women returning to college was investigated. Subjects, women 25 years or older upon graduation, were drawn from two populations--one that had been involved in career counseling through an established counseling program for mature women, and one that had not. While career…

THIS ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY REFERS TO MATERIALS PARTICULARLY USEFUL TO TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS INTERESTED IN DEVELOPING SPECIALIZED PROGRAMS FOR ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND LITERACY SITUATIONS. INCLUDED ARE PROFESSIONAL AND PRACTICAL REFERENCES TO ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATION, ARITHMETIC AND MATHEMATICS, CITIZENSHIP, AND PERSONAL ADJUSTMENT.…

A statewide survey was commissioned by the California Community Colleges during Fall 1979 to assess public attitudes toward the colleges and to determine the need for vocational education among the California adult public. A stratified random sample of adult residents within each of California's seven community college regions was selected for a…

Faculty attitudes toward older learners were studied using an adaptation of Kogan's (1951) attitude scale and methodology. Forty-nine faculty members from various colleges and universities in Ohio and Indiana were subdivided into two groups: those who had taught in a structured higher education experience aimed at people over 60 years of age and…

Motivation is vital to all learning with the possible exception of incidental learning. Home study may adapt motivational learning theory to its goals by considering basic concepts with related examples. First, the more advance reasons an individual has to believe in the value of home study, the more likely will be the success of educational…

GRADED AND NONGRADED CURRICULUMS ARE REVIEWED, AND COMPARED, AT THE FLORIDA STATE PRISON. DATA WERE OBTAINED FROM A LITERATURE REVIEW, INTELLIGENCE AND ACHIEVEMENT TESTS, PUPIL INTEREST INVENTORIES, STUDENT RECORDS, OBSERVATIONS, CONFERENCES, AND CASE STUDIES. IT WAS FOUND THAT THE GRADED CURRICULUM HAD WEAKNESSES IN THE LANGUAGE ARTS SUBJECTS,…

Mature students undertake studies at colleges of education, vocational institutions, and long term residential colleges, usually as a sequel to interests and studies cultivated in adult classes. Increased demands in teaching, social services, and management, as well as demands for upgrading of technical skills have increased educational…

The document presents a literature review, providing a summary of existing research findings relevant to all types of schooling interruptions. The section on the noncollege interruptee examines primary and secondary schooling: the types of programs available, characteristics of returnees, probabilities of program completion, and effect of…

The report, based on a 1974 sample of 47,000 households, describes the school enrollment of older adults working toward a high school or college diploma or a trade school certificate. Data, summarized in narrative and tabular form, show that two-thirds of the one and one-half million students age 35 and over in the United States were enrolled in…

The monograph examines British full-time adult students in the context of education and stratification systems of industrial society. It attempts to test propositions concerned with how a system of educational selection regulated the ambitions of the post-war generation, and how it inadvertently created widespread feelings of discontent. The…

In order to determine the characteristics of the noncredit Community Services student at Montgomery College, data gathered from the 7,905 registrations received between May 1975 and March 1976 were tabulated and analyzed. Results indicate that the typical student is a 25-34 year old female secretary or housewife, living in the Gaithersburg area,…

With emphasis on the developmental psychology unique to adults, the author presents a comprehensive document of research and progress pertaining to adult learning and change. Section 1 reviews age cycles of adulthood as well as changing career patterns for men and women. Also examined are changes with age in leisure and interest patterns,…