Focusing on university programs for adult learners, this discussion of distance education reviews existing programs, including the British Open University and the Annenberg/CPB Project; discusses course design; and describes the integration of a variety of media including television, video cassettes, audio, computer assisted instruction, radio,…

Reports on a five-year study of more than 19,000 adult students or potential students from 35 states conducted to determine the respondents' demographic characteristics, educational plans and preferences, and learning and developmental needs. (DMM)

A study of graduate social work students indicates that "nontraditional" students (older, married, and working graduate students) experience less rather than greater stress than other students. (Author/MH)

A survey of all part-time students over 25 years old enrolled at North Carolina State University looked at the relationship of four kinds of learning motivation (self-improvement, job enhancement, social contact, and job change) to gender, age, educational level, and income. Implications for recruitment and retention are discussed. (MSE)

To estimate reading difficulty of items on a sentence repetition task, a study had 50 adult English as a second language (ESL) students repeat each of 26 sentences immediately after two presentations. High-difficulty items were derivationally more complex than low-difficulty items, and the most difficult items involved the processing of…

A self-assessment unit developed to encourage accuracy in English as second language teaches adult students to: determine and assess the cost of errors in their native language; develop sensitivity toward errors in their native language; and focus on accuracy in speaking and writing. (Author/CB)

Metropolitan State University's efforts and services to meet the special needs of nontraditional students, especially adults, include improvement of access to the institution, development of strong foundation skills, development of opportunities for student and faculty involvement, funding for diversity, and attention to self-study and research.…

A collaboration between an urban antipoverty agency, Action for Boston Community Development, and a private higher education institution, Lesley College, is described. A bachelor's degree program for adults associated with human service agencies is provided. (Author/MLW)

Describes a study of differences in reported symptoms of psychological well-being and academic attainment among United Kingdom Open University distance learners aged under 30, 30-40, and over 40. Results indicate several factors combine to affect academic performance of different age groups, but students over 40 exhibited greater sense of…

A survey of older adult students at Britain's Open University to learn their characteristics, motivation, expectation, and attitudes about the institution is summarized. Results show that although most adapt well to distance education, certain factors such as cost and examinations are of concern to the students. (MSE)

A discussion of some admission policy issues arising from the underrepesentation of working class students in British universities looks at the characteristics, standardized achievement test results, the socioeconomic status of college applicants and those admitted, and special issues concerning adult students. (MSE)

This handbook is designed to help community-based organizations that provide adult education improve their program quality in order to better achieve results that matter. The target audience for this handbook includes administrators and other members of program improvement teams in community-based organizations that want to use Equipped for the…

Background: Universities of the 21st century have a new majority in the non-traditional student. Today, the non-traditional student represents 73% of all undergraduate students, making this group the New-Traditional student. Despite this shift in demographics, there remains a paucity of theories that can assist colleges and universities in the…

An action research study attempted to identify the learning style prevalent among 7 male and 3 female adult learners in an Adult Basic Education (ABE) program in New York City and the attributes of a classroom environment that promote the retention of adult learners. These four learning style modalities were considered: concrete experience,…

An action research project was conducted to understand the learning style profile of Irish adult learners better and to integrate the findings into development seminars for adult education teachers and tutors. The Grasha-Riechmann Student Learning Styles Scale (GRSLSS) was chosen as the research instrument to explore Irish adults' learning styles…