Community colleges and Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) programs developed partnerships to improve access to post-secondary education for adult learners and General Educational Development (GED) recipients. However, the number of students that use the GED to gain access to college is disproportionately low compared to the quantity of GED…

Adult education has been available so that immigrants can assimilate into American culture by acquiring the English language skills and vocational skills that they can use for employment. However adult education programmers encounter problems regarding student retention. Evening adult programs have had several problems. The Latino adult students…

The purpose of this qualitative research study is two-fold: (1) to narrate the realities and perspectives of adult students' learning experiences in a General Education Development (GED) preparation program in a Mid-western urban city; and (2) to document the thinking of the former director of adult education at the state level to understand the…

Prior to this research, limited research existed on the California High School Proficiency Examination (CHSPE) or perceptions community school student and principals have on alternative high school diploma options, such as the CHSPE. Grounded in the literature, the purpose of this study was to conduct a mixed methodology embedded multiple case…

Options are limited to gaining a high school equivalency for dropouts. The General Education Development (GED) exam provides people who have left school one way of gaining their secondary school credential. Employing the use of in-depth interviews, auto-ethnography, and participant observation, this study reports the descriptive findings of twelve…

According to the instructors and administrators at a local adult education (AE) program in Houston, Texas, retaining and graduating general education development (GED) students has been a constant challenge. Locating GED attendance barriers could enable AE programs to develop techniques that increase student retention and graduation rates. The…

Sokolowski (2000) summarized the phenomenological attitude by saying, "We look at what we normally look through" (p. 50). Through interviews and document analysis, this study looked at the lives of six students and their decision to return to their education to earn a high school diploma. The purpose of this study was to illuminate how…

Although teachers continue to implement an array of best practices, learners identified as unsuccessful according to criteria may lack engagement to succeed in the current curriculum activities. Even as teachers continue to apply best practices in the classroom, data does not support continued improvement of student engagement and achievement of…

This dissertation analyzes the motivations, perspectives, and barriers of adult learners returning to school to receive a high school diploma after previously dropping out of a traditional high school setting. Specifically, this study explored the backgrounds, discrimination factors, income variables, perspectives, and environmental and emotional…

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe what factors contributed to interrupted persistence among international students, in a General Education Development (GED) preparation course, in an adult continuing education department, in a community college setting, located in an urban area in New York City. The study utilized a qualitative…

This qualitative study embraces the pedagogy that effective General Education Development (GED) teachers can enhance students' academic learning. The study explores what makes an effective GED teacher, such as attributes and instructional strategies. Three methodologies are used: 1) two ninety minute interviews with GED teacher using Seidman's…

The vision statement of one large Midwestern community college is "dedicated to helping students achieve lifelong fulfillment by providing a quality, innovative and responsive learning environment. Each day, [the college] champions the aspirations of individuals, communities and the state..." Helping each individual realize a lifelong…

The General Educational Development (GED[R]) Tests, established in 1945, helped determine soldiers' high school qualifications for the workforce, as they returned home from WWII. Because many soldiers dropped out of school to join the military, achieving a certain score on the test was a way for them to demonstrate that they had attained high…

This study explores the use of cogenerative dialogue (cogen) in an Adult Basic Education (ABE) program located in New York City, and the ways in which students and teachers collaborated to cogenerate resources that afforded a positive and equitable learning environment built on solidarity and new perspectives on teaching and learning of…

This study investigated the services provided to students' participating in career preparation programs (e.g., career counseling, mentoring, apprenticeships, work-based learning, or GED programs) provided by the Massachusetts One-Stop Career Centers. A study conducted by the President's Task Force for Disadvantaged Students (2003) found that…