This paper examines what is known (and not known) about adult college students. It reports on a study which compared different age groups in different types of institutions and reviews the research about how adults learn and methodologies for teaching adults. The study compared age distributions at four Texas institutions: the University of North…

This statement examines the nature and impact of foreign language proficiency and personnel shortages in the Army, State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), discussing strategies used to address these shortages and efforts made to address current and projected shortages. All four agencies reported…

This paper discusses motivation of adult learners. The first section discusses the adult learner, including the concepts of andragogy and pedagogy, as well as student-centered learning. The second section summarizes changing student demographics and predictions. The third section presents principles of adult learning. The fourth section covers…

Recently, the topic of reflection and the development of reflective practitioners have received a great deal of attention. Four elements are central to critical reflection: assumption analysis, contextual awareness, imaginative speculation, and reflective skepticism. Definitions of critical reflection often reveal differing theoretical…

The impact of the war and its sudden ending has increased the need for educational readjustment work among veterans and industrial workers who desire more secondary education or need high-school credit or diplomas as prerequisites for entering various occupations or for further training. In an effort to ascertain what policies were being put into…

Examines learning problems encountered when adults return to the university as students, including lack of educational counselling, pressure of outside commitments, outdated mathematical and science skills, and anxiety about study skills. Strategies to assist mature students are described. (JJD)

Secondary and postsecondary vocational teachers in Minnesota were asked their preferences in format, time, and provider of special-needs related inservice activities. Most popular choices, respectively, were workshops, the professional days option, and expert teachers. (SK)

A rationale is developed for the use of competency-based professionally oriented undergraduate education, with examples cited from the literature. The Theory-Practice Curriculum Model proposed is described in terms of its characteristics and advantages for the nontraditional student population. (Author/MSE)

Describes a humanistic approach to in-service education called colearning, where participants are actively involved in the learning process. Colearning suggests that designers of adult learning experiences consider the relationship between adult development, life events, and resulting changes in learning patterns. Describes use of the concept in…

Describes the Colonial Junto organized by Benjamin Franklin in 1727 as a discussion club to debate politics, morals, and natural philosophy, and the later American Philosophical Society which extended (and continues) the subject knowledge. The present-day Junto Center for Continuing Education in Philadelphia is an adult education information…

The problems and needs of adults returning for higher education are discussed. It is important for learning institutions and nontraditional programs to investigate the types and the scope of these problems and needs and the availability of support the student will receive from others to help overcome the problems. (Author/MLW)

A study to identify the needs of mature adults by use of a questionnaire sent to undergraduate faculty asking for their perceptions of adult students is discussed. Results indicate interest in the needs of the adult population but that there is little experience with this audience among the faculty. (Author/MLW)

A rationale for learner-centered education and practical suggestions for the development of learning contracts based on individual objectives and attained skills are offered. The educator-as-learning-facilitator, developing the learner-facilitator relationship, and developing objectives are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Native English-speaking advanced French students' ability to match the perceptive performance of native-speaking Francophones was investigated. The results suggest that linguistic competence may be based on perception and production and that biological constraints in adult language learning may be a psychomotor rather than a psycholinguistic…

A personal assessment of changing attitudes about the skills required in the teaching of adults, gained from over 30 years' experience in one extramural department, is offered. Teacher-performer, narrative techniques, group discussion, small group learning, communication, and discovery learning are discussed. (MLW)