Although the emphasis on adult literacy/basic education is increasing, the high dropout rate from programs in these areas is a concern. Why learners choose to participate or not to participate in such programs can be understood in terms of three sets of factors. Learner-inherent factors include self-evaluation, goals, and capabilities. Life…

This publication contains 11 papers, all of which reflect the emphasis on literacy that continues to dominate adult education at the end of International Literacy Year. The papers include four presentations from conferences related to literacy held in 1990, one on literacy and peace held in Indonesia and one on literacy in China held in Macao. The…

The purpose of a review of course materials and teaching methods in the area of adult development and learning was to identify commonalities that existed in course titles, objectives, content areas, texts, required reading, resources used, course requirements, and instructional processes. Thirty-two course syllabi and 1 curriculum guide from 24…

A discussion of adult learners and a description of instructional reading strategies--based on thinking--for adult learners are presented in this paper. A definition of adulthood and the nontraditional learner in the paper highlights adults' cognitive skills, interests, and literacy levels, while the metacognitive awareness of disabled and good…

A study of the kinds of requests for foreign language information made by adult students of Spanish, and a comparison of the kinds of inquiries made by students aged 19 to 23 and those over 55 years, are reported. The objective was to learn more about what language learning processes are contributing to the difference in success of the two groups.…

The four year Teacher Development Program in Ohio features inservice programs which are based on adult learning styles; the learning is self-directed, experiential, job-related, problem centered, and individualized. Staff development activities encourage participants to be actively involved, allow flexibility and freedom of choice, use a variety…

This discussion of the relationship between self-directed learning, adult development, and distance education presents findings from researchers in the field of autonomous learning. In addition, the implications of self-directed learning for the curriculum and teaching methods in distance education are considered. The document is divided into the…

In the last decades of the 20th century lifelong learning became a key concept for solving social and economic problems in highly industrialized countries. Lifelong learning was the societal response to conditions in a rapidly changing economic world. Humans have always learned in the normal course of their lives, but this learning was informal.…

Adults enrolled in local adult basic education programs at six sites in Louisiana were used to compare the credibility of Adult Performance Level (APL) competency-based instructional programs (experimental group) with traditional adult education instructional activities (control group). Focus was on determining the correlation between grade level…

This selected annotated bibliography contains eighty-three entries (includes books, reports, guides, papers, and articles) relevant to teaching adult vocational education learners. The citations are organized alphabetically by author and each one includes some or all of the following: source, title, sponsoring agency, publisher, city, state, date,…

This monograph for community educators is intended to provide a basic background in adult education and some of the basic principles of adult learning that will assist in development of more effective adult education programs. Section 1 focuses on the role of adult education, especially lifelong learning, and the community educator's role in adult…

This volume reviews literature and current practices in both the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) and adult education that are pertinent to development and implementation of a PSI program for nontraditional adult learners. Chapter 2 provides a review of literature and current practices of PSI, especially that research providing evidence of…

This module on characteristics of adults as learners is the ninth of 11 modules in the set, Introduction to Teaching Adults. Designed to meet the learning needs of part-time continuing education instructors, these modules can be used as resource materials for local workshops or study-discussion groups, as self-instruction (each module takes…

Designed for college instructors and administrators, this 14-chapter monograph discusses the education of adult learners who are returning to school and working toward undergraduate or advanced degrees. Chapter I examines the number of adults who are returning to college, trends since 1945, and the information sources used in preparing the…

Research is examined on learning and memory from text across the adult life span. The outcomes of the extant studies are contradictory. Clarification of these confusing findings is obtained by examining variations in the learner variables of education level and performance on vocabulary tests. Problems are considered in equating the learner…