Assessed demographic characteristics, attitudes toward lifelong education, and class format preferences of older adult students enrolled in credit classes. More respondents were employed, home owning, and younger than auditing and nonparticipant elders, with 16 percent having fewer than 12 years of education, and 4.8 percent no previous experience…

Experiential learning programs award college credits for learning achieved through job and life experience. The evaluation of such experience by academic standards provides many adult students a focus for planning the continuation of their education. (SK)

Examines alternative perceptions of the community college educator in light of the learning needs of returning adult students. Discusses the educator's emerging multifaceted role as a facilitator who, beyond teaching students new and needed facts and skills, teaches them how to learn. (JM)

Classified mothers as continuous attenders, returners, and before- and after-pregnancy dropouts based on school attendance before pregnancy and postpartum. Found that majority were in same group at both assessment times and that predelivery school performance was strongest predictor of delayed grade-placement. Also found that school attenders…

Analysis of National Longitudinal Survey of Youth samples shows that, for both associate degree and nondegree community college programs, returning adults experience the same earnings increases as continuing high school graduates. Returning males in nondegree programs receive an earnings effect 8-10% above that of continuing students. (SK)

A critical ethnography of reentry students in higher education showed how they construct "studenthood" as instrumental and transferable means of making them viable higher education participants. Studenthood is conceptualized as surrogate occupation, a prerequisite for completion of higher education and entry into desired employment.…

A sample of 36 adult students in New Zealand who returned to secondary school compiled diaries of their experiences. Little support was given to the notion of adult students as highly motivated. Major difficulties were financial dependency, part-time work, and external commitments. Adult students appeared highly individualistic on all…

The author describes problems facing typical adult reentry students and discusses how vocational education programs need to maintain the flexibility to overcome these problems. The benefits of enrolling adult students are also covered. A questionnaire to determine program readiness for reentry students is provided. (CH)

A study was designed to predict student performance in the introductory accounting course, specifically the performance of nontraditional students. A predictive instrument to measure mathematical abilities was employed; outcomes were compared to individuals' final course grade. Results indicate that a brief math skills test can predict performance…

Discusses the unique needs of adult students entering or reentering a college or university setting and the issues related to developing a support group for meeting these needs. Describes Enriching the Adult Student Environment (EASE), a comprehensive counseling group designed to meet the needs of adult students. (Author/NB)

Draws upon theories of homophily and reference groups to argue that experiential similarity (similar status transition) is more important than structural similarity (age, gender, and marital status) in determining sources of emotional support and stress following life events. Arguments are supported by longitudinal data on social networks of…

Head-injured students making the transition back to school need to relearn how to learn. Strategies are offered for helping these students deal with such problem areas as organization skills, abstraction, attention and concentration, making transitions, writing, and information processing speed. (JDD)

Interviews with 67 North Wales students taking access to higher-education courses (76% female, 24% male) indicated that women find a supportive environment in access courses but the transition to higher education was difficult. The culture does not accommodate different gender perspectives or family responsibilities. (SK)

A study of 87 college students over 21 progressing from the first to second year of a social science program showed that younger and older students had very different patterns of performance and progression. Entry route to university had a strong influence on progression. Disaggregation of age groups was determined to be important in such…

An effective team-based, group-oriented personal development from a woman's perspective course explores the effects of several issues on the re-entry woman: the role that society and culture play in influencing women's vocational choices; women's roles; the economic necessity of work; stress; and relationships. A team-based approach provides a…