The problem targeted by the study was that while nontraditional students are increasingly attending college in record numbers, they are more than twice as likely as other students to drop out in their first year of study, indicating the delayed promise of degree completion may never be realized. The study focused on the opportunities and fiscal…

Many postsecondary institutions already recognize that adults comprise a significant portion of their student body -- or they may be starting to recognize the potential for serving more adults as they face declining enrollments from their traditional student pipelines. These institutions realize that they should have programs and services in place…

Retaining students through degree completion is a challenge for community colleges, with nontraditional, adult students being retained at a lower rate than their traditional counterparts. Though student engagement is recognized as an effective strategy for retaining students, there is a gap in research on how effective these strategies are for…

This book explores European governance and policy coordination within lifelong learning markets. Using an instruments approach, the editors and contributors examine the ways in which governance mechanisms employed by the European Union influence policy to regulate lifelong learning, and intervene in lifelong learning markets, at both European and…

Adult learning policies, like any other policies, need to be effective: they need to reach their objectives and attain the desired impacts, which should be carefully defined. Understanding the performance of policies allows policy makers to change and improve them. A growing body of research and statistics provides important insights into how…

Adult learning is alive in many forms. Whether it is helping to improve literacy and numeracy or to prepare people for returning to work, it is clear that, at its best, adult learning brings considerable value to learners and to the wider community. Individuals, their families and the nation as a whole benefit from enhanced social and technical…

Many two-year colleges throughout the nation are intentionally redesigning developmental education programming and practices directed at improving student preparedness and success. Theoretical works from Bloom and Knowles have established that the affective domain is significant to learner preparedness and eventual success, specifically for adult…

Adults are participating in all levels of higher education in increasing numbers due to a variety of societal, cultural, technological, and economic pressures. While many adult students attend 2-year colleges and technical institutions, 4-year colleges and universities are also enrolling substantial percentages of adult students. Nevertheless,…

Adult learners often face barriers to participation in traditional classroom instruction. As technology access grows and adults naturally incorporate technology into their daily lives, adult education programs are finding innovative ways to blend technology with instruction through quality online learning opportunities. This article highlights the…

This issue of "literacy.ca EXPRESS" focuses on the topic of promising practice. Promising or good practice and lessons learned are used to describe useful practices, approaches or ideas. Articles included in this issue: (1) Practitioner Profile: Meet Connie Jones; (2) Highlights from the LAN (Learner Advisory Network); (3) In the…

How well are adult and community learning providers doing when it comes to ensuring equality of opportunity (EO) and valuing diversity? Many are in transition from a defensive position of emphasising legal compliance towards making respect for diversity intrinsic to their strategic aims, plans and actions, according to the February edition of…

This document provides indepth study and support of the "Canadian Language Benchmarks 2000" (CLB 2000). In order to make the CLB 2000 usable, the competencies and standards were considerably compressed and simplified, and much of the indepth discussion of language ability or proficiency was omitted, at publication. This document…

This document is designed to introduce practitioners in the United Kingdom's learning and skills sector to the principles and practice of benchmarking. The first section defines benchmarking and differentiates metric, diagnostic, and process benchmarking. The remainder of the booklet details the following steps of the benchmarking process: (1) get…

A study of adult learning and neighborhood renewal examined how further education (FE) colleges and Local Education Authority (LEA) adult education services contribute to neighborhood renewal in deprived areas and considered how their strategic role might develop in this field. The study indicates that the policy framework for post-16 learning and…

A study examined key dimensions of the pattern of learning and enterprise culture change relating to provision of training and learning services for small businesses in Australia. Barriers to training were both demand- and supply-side factors. Research showed the significance of informal learning that occurs in workplaces of small firms but was…