Compared with other age groups, the literacy practices and creative outputs of older adults (50+ years) have been seldom researched. Generally, research about older adults has tended to focus on decline and agential passivity, rather than potentiality. In this article, we report on a small ethnographic study of older Australians who were part of a…

Jack Mezirow's (1978, 1991, and 2008) transformative learning (TL) theory was developed with transforming society in mind. However, that intent has been overshadowed by a dominant focus on individual transformation and a rational cognitive approach to critically assessing assumptions as the path to transformation. We (the authors) wonder what…

Previous research has revealed how mature students are more likely to drop out of university education, achieve poorer degree outcomes and have greater family, financial, caring and work commitments to contend with than their younger peers. In response to calls for further empirical work on mature students' university experiences and informed…

This article's purpose is to address a hitherto unexplored topic in the history of education: the story of the "Cátedras Ambulantes," officially referred to as "Misiones Pedagógicas" during the final years of the Franco dictatorship and the beginning of the transition to democracy (1966-1977). The study is based on a…

Continuous professional development is critical for Extension staff, and many agriculture-focused Extension employees are tasked with outreach related to a wide variety of natural resource topics. The purpose of this study is to help prioritize trainings needed by Kansas Extension agents and specialists based on their current level of knowledge…

Education and skills policy since the 1970s have exhorted employers to put themselves at the 'heart of the system', to engage voluntarily with colleges and other providers, in a range of roles and activities, some of which may be beyond their competence and experience. However, employers do have an important role to play, but that role should be…

Adult Education in the Republic of Ireland has experienced exponential change. Since 2013, the Further Education and Training (FET) sector has developed and implemented a range of strategies and policies transforming the landscape. Policy implementation is a complex process and as the 16 Education and Training Boards work to interpret FET policy…

Dropout is a global and complex phenomenon affecting all universities. This study aimed at investigating the intrinsic and extrinsic factors causing dropout at the Open University of Mauritius (OU). Secondary data about 1885 learners were collected for five intakes and three levels of study -- foundation, undergraduate and Master courses. The…

Introduction: Looking close at the philosophical orientation of institutions and educators allows the examination of whether teaching practice, in this case, higher education, is consistent with the purpose of education. Objective: In the interest of gaining a historical understanding of the role of the Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica (UNA) in…

This article demonstrates how recent advances in technology allow fine-grained analyses of candidate-produced essays, thus providing a deeper insight on writing performance. We examined how essay features, automatically extracted using natural language processing and keystroke logging techniques, can predict various performance measures using data…

By mid-March 2020, with COVID-19 infection numbers rising across the United States, in Rapid City, South Dakota, the Career Learning Center of the Black Hills (CLCBH) staff moved quickly to respond to the new needs of CLCBH adult learners. Several areas of need quickly emerged: digital access and digital literacy, i.e., more access to computers…

Grit and mindset are two of the hottest topics in education today, but research on their predictive power for academic success is inconclusive and rife with gaps and limitations. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between grit, mindset, self-regulated learning (SRL), and academic outcomes for adult students attending…

This dissertation explores the stories of lived experience of mature women returners within the habitus of a single institution of higher education: The University of Washington Tacoma (UWT). This urban-serving university in Washington State was founded more than 30 years ago as an upper division branch campus designed to serve a place and…

This dissertation research reports on the experiences of a team of community college educators who develop, implement, and teach an introductory biology course on the inverted classroom platform. Research questions addressed include: (1) What have been the motivations and professional influences of the instructors for transitioning to the inverted…

Learning an additional language as well as acquiring skills for careers and educational opportunities are lifelong learning endeavors. Adult English language learners (ELLs), particularly those at the beginning English proficiency levels, require instruction offering opportunities to meet their goals in life. Using tasks in English as a second…