The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe and better understand the meaning, structure, and essence of the experience of learning for adults labeled with learning disabilities as perceived by adults labeled with a "learning disability." Through a purposeful sampling method, six participants were chosen to participate in recorded…

Adult learners are an important and historically notable constituency for community colleges, and the education of adults is an important part of the community college mission. Therefore, community college leaders would want to be aware of any changes in the adult learning environment created by Early College students on their campus. As with any…

What do teachers, providers and policymakers need to do in order to support disabled learners to "think big and aim high"? That was the question put to delegates at NIACE's annual disability conference. Some clear themes emerged, with delegates raising concerns about funding, teacher training, partnership-working and employment for disabled…

When people retire today they can expect to live for longer than ever before. So much so, that the lifespan model has moved to encompass a "fourth age" of over-75s, for whom an integral part of life is the ability to learn. However, only 14% of people over 75 have engaged in any learning in the past three years. As the pressure on public…

In an effort to gain better understanding of the assessment of prior informal and non-formal learning, this article explores assessors' approaches to portfolio assessment. Through this portfolio assessment, candidates had requested exemptions from specific courses within an educational programme or admission to the programme based on their prior…

Universities across the country are steadily increasing their use of online courses. Society's demand for lifelong learning will encourage the advancement of distance learning. Research tells us that today the average person changes careers every ten years. In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that about 10% of workers change jobs…

The goal of this study was to compare the literacy skills of adult native English and native Spanish ABE speakers. Participants were 169 native English speakers and 124 native Spanish speakers recruited from five prior research projects. The results showed that the native Spanish speakers were less skilled on morphology and passage comprehension…

Factors associated with globalization and unprecedented technological advancement have facilitated the opportunity to take education beyond the boundaries of the physical classroom and geographical borders to serve a global context. While this exponential growth has resulted in more convenient access to learning, increased possibilities for…

Covering a decade during which the "digital divide" came to popular and political attention, and written at a time when the Internet continues to be championed as a means of widening access to educational opportunities, this paper presents an analysis of the social, economic and educational characteristics associated with using the…

This study examines the associations between the speaking proficiency of 181 adult learners of Dutch as a second language and their linguistic competences. Performance in eight speaking tasks was rated on a scale of communicative adequacy. After extrapolation of these ratings to the Overall Oral Production scale of the Common European Framework of…

Since the military became an all-voluntary force (AVF), men and women have chosen to serve as a career, viewing it as a way to accomplish their life goals. Whether these goals include advancing in rank or transitioning into civilian life, service members find themselves needing additional training and/or education while serving. Although the…

With contributions from leading experts across disciplinary fields, this book explores best practices from the field's most notable researchers, as well as important historically based and politically focused challenges to a field whose impact has reached an important crossroads. The comprehensive and powerfully critical analysis considers the…

Gaythorne Row, a terrace of Victorian back-to-back houses in Great Horton, was earmarked for demolition when, in 1986, Bradford Industrial Museum took possession of the three cottages and transported them, brick by brick, to the museum site four miles away. The houses were built in 1876, a year later than the old worsted spinning mill in which the…

Transformative Learning Theory has become one of the leading adult learning theories today and yet students, practitioners, and faculty can find it difficult to use. This useful theory has been applied to a variety of settings, including helping to describe the process which occurs as life mission is related to self directed learning. In the book,…

Social capital connotes concepts such as assets, wealth, resources, and investments. Applying economic-value terminology to relationships highlights the considerable potential benefits and liabilities (social and economical) that have resulted from women's penchant for investment in social networks, whether they are in society, the workplace, the…