In this group of presentations from the 1978 National Conference on Higher Education, three researchers examine the need for the educational community to become more creatively responsive to the learning needs of adults. K. Patricia Cross delineates the difference between "adult education" and "adult learning". She discusses findings on adult…

Although the origins of self-help groups can be traced back to early history, the self-help movement as we know it today began almost 50 years ago. Approximately 15 million Americans currently belong to about 500,000 different self-help groups. Adults in transition are likely to seek both formal and informal sources of help when faced with…

Many degree programs for adults include a self-directed learning component to offer learners the opportunity to use mature skills in a flexible learning environment. Problems with making the self-directed component work may be the learning setting, learner attitudes, and fears of both skilled and less skilled adult learners. Some learner fears are…

The Personal Adult Learning Lab was establsiehd at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education (GCCE) at the University of Georgia to serve self-directed adult learners and conduct research on self-directed learning. The lab allows adult learners to design, conduct, and evaluate their personal learning experiences while proceeding at their own…

Part two of the final report on the adult independent learning program focuses on the following: (1) discussion of the 11 data collection categories developed to meet the information needs of specific groups--advisors working with adult learners, planners monitoring service performance, library policy decision makers responsible for determining…

The Office of Library Independent Study and Guidance Projects, College Entrance Examination Board and 11 participating public libraries report on the adult independent learning program. This is a historical and descriptive analysis of accomplishments between July, 1972, and June, 1975. Coverage includes project planning and coordinating activities…

This is part 2 of a report on the adult independent learning program issued by the Office of Library Independent Study and Guidance Projects of the College Entrance Examination Board, and nine participating public libraries. The framework of the evaluation and its application is detailed, and the aggregate results presented include profiles of…

An 18-month study examined the way adults learn in rural settings, particularly those adults over the age of 25 who have not completed a high school education or its equivalency. The study was organized into three major phases. The first phase consisted of a survey interview of 93 adults living in a rural county in Vermont. The second phase…

An overwhelming response to the model Extended Learning Programs in the greater Cleveland area and in southeastern Ohio, under the leadership of Ohio University, has indicated that there is a sizeable group of adults with interrupted college programs and unfulfilled career plans whose unique needs were not or could not be met by existing programs…

The relationship between adults' self-directed learning readiness (SDLR) and selected variables was examined in a study of 25 Hong Kong Chinese Baptist Churches. A Chinese version of the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) was administered to a stratified sample of 820 adult learners and 210 youth learners, and a modified version of the…

This planning guide and collection of resources is designed to help higher education faculty become more aware of current research and thinking on adult learning and to participate actively in institutional changes that make campuses, particularly in the California State University system, better able to meet the needs of adult students. Each of…

These proceedings contain 50 papers. Selected brief titles include: "A Comparative Analysis of Costs and Perceived Effectiveness of Postgraduate Continuing Education for Mississippi Pharmacists" (Bellande); "A Conceptual and Empirical Perspective on Adult Education Program Planning Theory" (Boshier); "Self-Directed Adult Learning" (Brookfield);…

These proceedings contain the texts of the following 44 papers: "Adult Development in Midlife, Childless Women" (Rita Keneipp); "Analysis of the Relationship between Cognitive Style (Field Dependence-Field Independence) and Level of Learning" (Eugene Tootle); "Reconceptualizing Adult Education Participation" (Peter Cookson); "Adulthood:…

Although lifelong learning was a term created to mean cradle-to-grave learning, it has come to mean specifically adult learning and education. The adult learning force in the U.S. is huge and growing in size as well as interest. Since eighty-five percent of the active adult learners are high school graduates, they are eligible for postsecondary…

The conference proceedings reported in this publication represent the deliberations, problems, and prospects associated with adult education as a field of academic inquiry. The following papers or summaries are included: "Adult Education Research: Issues and Directions" (Deshler, Hagan); "Comparative Perspectives for Research about…