Adult Learners Ages 40-50
More adults are going back to college and learning new things, and these adults have different challenges than younger students. For example, many of them have been working, have become parents, or have delayed their college entrance by at least one year. A large group of these students are still under 40, but increasingly greater numbers of students aged 40-50 are entering the classrooms at colleges, some for the first time. Some of these individuals have also come from other colleges, since many of these students will attend more than one college in their lifetimes and cycle between various colleges taking classes that they need for a particular job without obtaining any kind of degree. One of the most important things about these adult learners is their persistence in continuing to obtain higher education when, where, and how they can. This persistence pays off for some, but many also become discouraged and do not obtain credit in the classes that they want or need to take (Donaldson & Graham, 1999).
This particular article focuses on persistence as well, as it is one of the most important components of adult learners. They remain in college because they are persistent enough to continue to work through their schooling, but they have needs and challenges that are very different from the younger college crowd. Unfortunately, when most researchers look at student persistence, they look at it in terms of younger students, and the adult learners are often ignored. The difficulties that many adult learners face include spouses that do not think they need to return to college, bad study habits, mixed feelings about college from poor experiences early on, child-care issues, financial problems, and a lack of faith in their own abilities. Because of this, they have different needs and these needs should be addressed by both college faculty and the researchers that study these students (Justice & Dorman, 2001).
Works Cited
Donaldson, J.F., & Graham, S.W. (1999). A model of college outcomes for adults. Adult Education Quarterly, 50, 24-40.
Justice, E.M., & Dorman, T.M. (2001). Metacognitive differences between traditional-age and nontraditional-age college students. Adult Education Quarterly, 51, 236-249.
I saw self-directed learning in my mother as she set her goal, which was to complete each class, and to earn her degree. Motivation to Learn I felt like my mother was really motivated to learn. She was internally motivated because she had always wanted the opportunity to earn her degree in education and to become a classroom teacher. She often spoke about how she wanted to be able to help
This model views literacy as woven into the person's identity, based in turn from his acculturation and participation in his socio-cultural community. Spoken or written communication is understood and appreciated according to who is reading or writing and the context and purpose of the communication. Learners come to the educational setting with individual experiences, perspectives, values and beliefs. They perform tasks subjectively. Their cultural background is, therefore, an essential
In Level 1 almost all of the adults can read a little but not well enough to fill out an application, read a food label, or read a simple story to a child. Adults in Level 2 usually can perform more complex tasks such as comparing-contrasting, or integrating pieces of information but usually not higher-level reading and problem-solving skills. Adults in levels 3 through 5 usually can perform the
Adults With Learning Disabilities It has been estimated (Adult with Learning Disabilities) 1 that 50-80% of the students in Adult Basic Education and literacy programs are affected by learning disabilities (LD). Unfortunately, there has been little research on adults who have learning disabilities, leaving literacy practitioners with limited information on the unique manifestations of learning disabilities in adults. One of the major goals of the (Adult with Learning Disabilities) 1 National Adult Literacy
Learning Objectives for Adult Education Managing and Exploiting the Impact of Classroom Diversity in Adult Arts Education As the American population becomes increasingly diverse, so goes classroom diversity (Cooper, 2012). By the end of the current decade, a White majority will no longer exist among the 18 and under age group. This rapid progression towards a plurality has already impacted primary schools, but the trend toward increasing diversity is beginning to affect
Among the research findings in this regard was the view that field independent student are often more successful in the distance learning environment. Other factors such as introversion and extroversion were discussed and introverted personality types were seen to be more successful in the distance teaching environment. It was also found that extracurricular concerns can have both positive and negative course completion outcomes. Support from family or employer was
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now