Adult and Continuing Education Commons^™

Designing For Who Actually Shows Up: A Signal Framework For Online Adult Learners In Cybersecurity And Information Technology, Chad Whistle, Mayyada Al-Hammoshi

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Online adult learners pursuing cybersecurity and information technology credentials represent one of the fastest-growing student populations in American higher education, yet the frameworks institutions use to support their success were not designed for them. This population, disproportionately drawn from the 41.9 million Americans who hold some college credit but no credential, arrives workforce-embedded, time-constrained, and skeptical of institutional systems that previously failed to serve them. Existing persistence models grounded in traditional student integration theory inadequately account for the behavioral patterns, motivational structures, and credential expectations that define this learner. This paper proposes the SIGNAL Framework (Skills-based credential architecture, Integrated AI-informed …

From Fragmented Services To Integrated Support: A Proposal For A Centralized Adult Learner Center, Paul Cullen

Masters Projects

Research shows that higher education institutions provide a wide range of resources to their students. However, limitations in availability, accessibility, and navigation create a fragmented experience for adult learners. This fragmented experience often exacerbates barriers experienced by adult learners, such as difficulty navigating decentralized services and lack of availability outside standard business hours, that negatively impact the learner experience and outcomes, resulting in reduced persistence and retention. This project proposes a solution to this fragmentation and shows how the digital transformation in higher education can be utilized as an enabling approach to improve availability, accessibility, and navigation of services for …

A Qualitative Case Study Of A Wraparound Workforce Education Program In Alabama, Deborah Foster

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined how integrated community involvement shapes the educational resilience and personal development of nontraditional adult learners in a workforce education program in Alabama. Drawing on social cognitive, transition, and ecological systems perspectives, the study explored how self-efficacy, life transitions, and environmental systems influence student experiences, stakeholder roles, and developmental outcomes. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations, and document analysis and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings revealed that wraparound support functioned as an integrated system in which services were coordinated across stakeholders rather than delivered in isolation. Within this structure, three core components—integrated systems, holistic engagement, and …

University Placed-Based Community Engagement And Adult Learners: A Field Report In Mutual Flourishing, Elisabeth Stevens, Kate Witvliet, Abbie Lipsker, Craig Mattson

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Although higher education increasingly focuses on both community engagement and adult learners, community-engaged research rarely considers them together. This article bridges the gap in the literature between undergraduate adult learners and community engagement. Providing one example of a partnership that considers adult learners as necessary partners for community engagement, Calvin University’s 49507 Initiative is a place-based community educational project in southeast Grand Rapids, Michigan, focusing on the goals and needs of adult learners in the 49507 zip code and adjacent neighborhoods. Through 12 focus groups in the community, adult residents discussed their interests in higher education, identified barriers to higher …

Confessions Of A Beginning Dutch Learner, Kristin Lems

Faculty Publications

I have studied, taught about, and learned new languages throughout my lifespan. In fact, it has been the very core of my teaching career.  Now, I have the humbling experience of testing those truths against a new enterprise:  learning Dutch.  I spent last summer in the Netherlands, pursuing family roots and acquiring what Dutch I could.  I took no formal classes but did attend a free dropin class at the local library, where - believe me - I was the lowest learner in the lowest group! Here are some of my insights, from notes taken during that summer:

Adult Learners' Perspectives Of Ai Applications In Supporting Andragogy, Jinhee Kim, Xi Lin, Seongryeong Yu, Rita Detrick

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Emerging roles and capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have the potential to support andragogical education and enhance learning experience for adult learners (ALs). However, the effective use of AI to support multifaceted components of andragogy including involvement, experience, problem-centered, relevance remains under explored. Furthermore, research on AI design principles to support ALs and andragogy is limited. This study, therefore, aims to investigate ALs perceptions of AI applications in enhancing andragogy and to explore the essential design principles of AI systems for andragogy. To this end, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 ALs facilitated by 11 scenarios of AI …

Cultivating A Sense Of Belonging: Pathways Of Support In Higher Education, Tanya M. Tarbutton, Lori B. Doyle

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

Institutions should proactively consider the need for cultivating a sense of belonging among online adult students with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Hispanic and first-generation learners face unique challenges to overcoming potential barriers associated with obtaining an advanced degree. The impact of higher education institutions (HEI) on the overall development and betterment of society cannot be overstated which adds a level of importance regarding the experience of all learners from any context. A conceptual framework, based on research specific to supporting diverse learners, will be explored. In addition to drawing on the tenets of the sense of belonging framework, facets of …

Examining The Relationship Between Social Capital And College Enrollment Among Latina Adult Learners: A Mixed-Methods Study, Josefina Balbuena

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Despite their potential, Latinas are often underrepresented in higher education, facing unique challenges and barriers. Objective: The study will investigate the role of social capital in the college enrollment decision of Latina adult learners. Methods: A convergent mixed-method approach will be used to examine how social networks and access to resources impact their choice to pursue higher education. To determine how social capital links to the possibility of enrolling in college, this study proposal will combine quantitative data from the Bridging Social Capital Questionnaire (BSCQ) with qualitative information from in-depth interviews. The interviews can highlight other elements that could …

Nontraditional Students Enrolling In Online Education: Assessing Outcomes And Barriers To Success, Kua Vang

Master's Projects

Online education has significantly reshaped how colleges and universities define and evaluate academic achievement. In March 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the U.S. government enforced social distancing regulations that affected operational continuity for higher education institutions. The need to transition from traditional classroom instruction to online was unavoidable. Institutions were not prepared, however, and their shortcomings in providing high-quality online learning for students were exposed. The inadequacy can be due to higher education institutions decade-long mindset of seeing online education as a less credible alternative. As a result, institutions are more eager than ever before to invest …

A Comparison Of College Readiness Among Adult And Traditional-Age College Students, Oxana Rosca

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This dissertation examines age-based differences in college readiness by comparing newly enrolled adult undergraduates (age 24 and older) with traditional-age undergraduates at two public institutions: a large online university serving primarily working adults and a residential research university serving primarily younger students. The study uses secondary data from 5,447 incoming students who completed the Diagnostic Assessment and Achievement of College Skills (DAACS) Reading and Mathematics assessments between May 2022 and May 2023. The primary goal was to test whether adult and traditional-age students differ in reading and mathematics readiness after adjusting for background characteristics.

Multistage bifactor and unidimensional two-parameter logistic …

Exploring Andragogical Content Knowledge And The Implementation Of Andragogical Principles In Literacy Facilitation Among Adult Literacy Facilitators In Nigeria, Emmanuel D. Mabayoje, Sunday A. Itasanmi

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This study investigated adult literacy facilitators andragogical content knowledge and how andragogical principles are implemented as well as professional development needs of the literacy facilitators in Nigeria. The study adopted a quantitative research approach and the participants of the study consisted of 120 adult literacy facilitators in Oyo State, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire consisting of 4 domains (demographic data, andragogical content knowledge, use of andragogical principles, and training needs) was used as data collection instrument. Data collected from the study were analysed using mean, standard deviation and chi-square. Results revealed that literacy facilitators’ andragogical content knowledge is high and the …

Faculty Perceptions And Integration Of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy In Programs Designed For Adult Learners, Jennifer Mattingly

Dissertations of Practice

Enrollment in colleges and universities has become increasingly diverse and with the looming demographic cliff, many institutions have turned more attention to the adult learner population. However, the diversity of the adult learner has often been overlooked, including in research about how culturally responsive pedagogy is incorporated into adult learning models. The purpose of this case study was to learn about how faculty in adult learning degree programs perceive and integrate culturally responsive pedagogy into their teaching practices. The case site was a department that offers degrees specifically designed for adult learners at a small, private liberal arts institution located …

Investigating The Critical Literacy Practices Of Adult Learners: A Case Study Of Four Leveled Reading Courses At A Community College, Anna Fontaine

Dissertations

This study investigates the critical literacy practices of adult learners at a community college. Student participants were selected from four different leveled reading courses. In this study, four guiding questions were adopted from Klenner and Sandretto (2011): (1) How do students make personal connections to text?; (2) In what ways do students identify multiple points of view in the text?; (3) In what ways do students identify where people in the text and included or excluded from social situations?; (4) In what ways do students discuss the influences the text has had on their views of society? These four questions …

Remediation As Perceived By Community College Students: A Case Study, Amy Katherine Justice Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this single instrumental case was to understand how community college students in rural Tennessee perceive the impacts of mandatory remediation with regard to finances, time, and effectiveness. The theory that was used to guide this study was Malcom Knowles’ adult learning theory. This case study was conducted with qualitative measures by utilizing a survey, journaling, and interviews with a sample of students from a community college in rural Tennessee who were assigned to remedial placement in the areas of math, reading, and/or writing. This method of data collection provided students with the opportunity to share their individual …

Silently Correcting Your Grammar: Responses To Feedback And Adult Learners' Rural Writing Ecosystems, Jessica Marie Kubiak

English Theses & Dissertations

Over a century ago, rhetoricians called on writing instructors in the U.S. to accept and even encourage language diversity among learners. Yet scholars of composition, rhetoric, and writing studies are still advocating for this via arguments for linguistic justice and translingualism, even referring to strict adherence to a single, mainstream standard for language use as a kind of violence. This disconnect between scholarship and practice is evident in the silences surrounding first-year composition language instruction. This dissertation charts that disciplinary disconnect and then describes how adult students at a rural, open-access community college experience first-year composition feedback, with special attention …

Post-Pandemic Digital Experiences & Attitudes Among Adult Immigrant Esol Learners, Lacey D. Goodloe

Master's Theses

This mixed-methods study considers the current reality of the “digital divide” as experienced by adult immigrant ESOL learners following the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period. Although prior research often assumes foreign-born individuals to have lower rates of access, skills and motivation to engage with technology, or to lack it altogether, this study seeks to contribute a more realistic picture which encompasses the full diversity of digital experiences among the foreign-born population. The review of the literature first covers two levels of the digital divide that often evince socioeconomic disparities: primarily access, skills and usage; and more recently, attitudes and motivation. Then, …

Examining The Experiences Of Adult Learners In A First-Year Seminar Course At A Tennessee Community College, Michell Ivey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of adult learners in a first-year seminar course at Columbia State Community College, located in middle Tennessee, to determine if the content of the course has an impact on the learners’ adjustment to college. With the statewide initiative to reach a goal of 55% of the state’s population having a postsecondary credential, a push has been made to focus on adult learners to help the reach this goal. Understanding and addressing the adjustment needs of adult learners is necessary to aid retaining adult learners through completion. The first-year seminar course …

An Autoethnograpy Of A Baby Boomer In Higher Education: Challenges And Catalysts For Change, Deborra Finlan

Theses & Dissertations

Higher education as a baby boomer brings mental, physical, and economic adjustments, concerns, and insecurities. Additionally, life delivers unexpected challenges and barriers which can cause hardships requiring various types of motivation. Fortunately, there are also catalysts which can contribute toward successes. Literature from four major elements were the focus in this study: motivation, adult learning, challenges, barriers, and catalysts. Theorists and theories included Vroom’s expectancy theory of motivation with the added factor of cost, and Ryan and Deci’s theory on self-determination; Mezirow’s transformative learning and Knowles’s self-directed learning; Cross’s theory on educational barriers—situational, dispositional, and institutional; and Cobb’s social support …

Best Practices Of Exceptional College Professors Who Program Relevance Into Online Distance Learning Courses: A Phenomenological Study, Keri Ann Palasz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this proposed transcendental phenomenological study was to describe specifically the experience of exceptional professors who convey relevance to students in online distance learning higher education courses. The theory that guided this study is Knowles’ Adult Learning Theory (ALT), as it clarifies the relationship between course design and delivery and the characteristics of adult learners. This study addressed four research questions posed to a sample of award-winning college professors who teach online distance learning courses in the American field of higher education to understand better what these professors do to convey relevance in a way that appeals to …

Beginning English Literacy Instruction For Adult Refugees And Immigrants: An Attempt To Decolonize The Approach(Es), Xania Bytof

MA TESOL Collection

Although many organizations offer free “beginning” English classes for adult refugees and immigrants in the U.S., most of these classes depend on written worksheets and other print materials – therefore requiring students to be familiar with the English alphabet in order to follow along. The lack of accessible beginning literacy classes for adult refugees and immigrants puts students with limited or interrupted formal education and those whose language(s) don’t use the roman alphabet at a stark disadvantage. Additionally, most literacy coursework is designed from a Western perspective whose historical, political and social foundational structures hold English literacy and Western funds …

Adult Education For Japanese Immigrant Community: Social Bonding To Social Bridging, Naomi Nakamura

Community Engagement Student Work

Many Japanese who have been living in the U.S. for more than decades identify themselves as Japanese, not U.S. citizens. This so called transnational identity has an impact on how they assimilate or integrate to American social life. The purpose of this project is to explore the better learning environment and the effects of education for Japanese adult immigrants who may not actively participate in local communities. A workshop was held with Japanese residents in the Boston area to explore microaggressions and how people can think about their engagement with their communities. Workshop evaluation findings suggested that there is a …

Junior Faculty Advising For Effective Student Growth And Academic Success: A Qualitative Study, Noreen Powers, Russell Wartalski

Teacher-Scholar: The Journal of the State Comprehensive University

Supporting the academic advising needs of adult learners is paramount for colleges and universities. Research suggests that the faculty advisor's role is pivotal in students' academic progress. At both the undergraduate and graduate levels, faculty advisors are tasked with supporting adult learners in achieving their professional goals and providing resources to ensure their academic success. Specifically, they help students navigate curriculum requirements and provide support both inside and outside the classroom. The tasks and responsibilities associated with faculty advising can vary based on the institution type and program needs. However, junior faculty who take on advising responsibilities at regional public …

Response To There Are No Hard-To-Serve Learners, Only Ill-Served Ones By Erik Jacobson, Montclair State University, Joni Schwartz

Publications and Research

A decade and a half ago, the community of adult educators to which I belonged called the phenomenon that Jacobson describes in There Are No Hard-to-Serve Learners as “creaming.” This is the practice of choosing to serve certain students, in this case those with high scores on their initial GED® practice test or students with advanced TABE® scores, so that we fulfilled our performance objectives and more easily demonstrated employability. We knew what we were doing. The reasons were economic; we needed to show outcomes that would continue to make our adult education program eligible for funding.

Enrolling And Matriculatiing Adult Learners At A Public Community College In Illinois, Christina J. Coclanis-Loding

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Christina J. Coclanis-LodingDepartment of Higher Education and Student Affairs Northern Illinois University, 2021 Carrie A. Kortegast, Director

There are 44 million adults over the age of 24 who hold a high school diploma, and another 35 million adult who have some college credit, but have not earned their college degree. These numbers make adult learners a viable population to attract and matriculate at community colleges. Considering the impact adult learners would have on enrollment in a time when enrollment numbers have been declining and the benefits to the local economies by providing skilled workers, the recruitment of adult learners is …

Investigating Adult Learner Perseverance Through Practitioner Inquiry: Learning From The Voices Of Students And Teachers, Lisa H. Justice

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative investigation was to examine, through the process of action research and design of practitioner inquiry, the experiences of students and teachers in an adult learning program in order to better understand the problem of adult learner perseverance. The program is located in a rural community in the Southeastern United States and serves adults ages seventeen and older who do not have a high school diploma. Often, these specific adult learners are saddled with barriers that prevent their success in our program, and adult educators face challenges themselves to find ways to support learner perseverance. The …

The Attitudes And Learning Styles Of Adult Learners To E-Instruction Of The Spanish Language, Brian Santos

Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between adult learner attitudes toward technology and learning style. A sample of community college Spanish students in a Midwestern city in the United States was surveyed to determine (a) an attitude score toward Spanish E-Instruction based on the Lukow ATUTS (Attitudes toward Using Technology Survey) and (b) a learning style measured by the Kolb LSI (Learning Style Inventory). The majority of participants (n = 151) were aged 18-29 (95%), used between one and five software programs on a daily basis (88%), spent at least 11 hours a week online (88%), and reported an "Accommodating" …

Educating Our Educators: How Teachers Understand Themselves As Adult Learners And Perceive Their Professional Learning Experiences, Desirae` Khampanya

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study investigated how teachers understand themselves as adult learners and perceive their professional learning experiences within a rural school district in North Carolina. This study was a replication of Fitzgerald’s (2014) dissertation and sought to extend the generalizability of the original study. An explanatory mixed-methods design was used, and the two sources of data collected included an online survey and virtual interviews. The results from this study indicated that almost all participating teachers learned best when the core adult learning principles (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2015) were applied to their professional learning experiences, but less than half of those …

Five Instructional Practices To Optimize Peer Feedback Activities Among Adult Learners, Regina C. Rodriguez, Laurie A. Sharp

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

There is a significant need for adult learners to improve their writing proficiency within a variety of contexts. Thus, postsecondary instructors require effective research-based teaching strategies to support adult learners hone their writing skills. While studies on peer feedback abound, little has been done to date to consider ways in which postsecondary instructors design quality peer feedback activities within their courses. The purpose of this article was to describe five instructional practices to optimize peer feedback activities among adult learners.

"Can You Just Move The Curtain?": Stories Of Women From The Educational Underclass At The College Door, Janet Kaplan-Bucciarelli

Educational Studies Dissertations

Although millions of adults with a high school diploma or GED need and want to further their education by attaining a postsecondary credential, the majority do not succeed. It is widely known that marginalized adult learners arrive at college academically underprepared and that they face numerous barriers to participation once they enroll. But very few studies look at adults’ life experiences, assets, and perspectives on college before they enroll—when they are still “at the college door.”

This qualitative study explores the stories of ten women (ages 29-56) in pre-college transition classes in the Northeast US, and how their familial, school, …

Evidence-Based Instructional Strategies For Adult Learners: A Review Of The Literature, Rebecca Carlson Mccall, Kristy Padron, Carl Andrews

Publications and Research

Students who are older than age 25 are increasingly becoming a higher portion of enrollments in higher education. These students, known as adult learners, have different educational needs, expectations, and interests than traditional college students because they enter college with life and work experiences as well as responsibilities. Andragogy is the main theory of adult learning that addresses ways to teach adult learners. While the construct of andragogy is subject to debate, the education field draws on its findings to create learning environments for adult learners. Academic libraries can apply andragogy in their library and information literacy instructional practices. This …