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Evaluating Digital Learning Platforms: The Role of LearningExpress Library in Adult Learning Adult Learning Pub Date : 2024-03-14 Michael Chambers
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Light and Delight: Playful Learning as an Ideology and Methodology in Adult Education Adult Learning Pub Date : 2024-03-08 Mohammad Ali Heidari-Shahreza
This article, a conceptual and theoretical piece, opens a window on “playful learning” as a philosophy of education and a suite of diverse pedagogical approaches, methods, and techniques. The paper criticizes the serious ambience of adult education with its high levels of instrumentalism and performativity. It argues for playful learning as an ideology and methodology to realize the light (i.e., the
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Exploring Roots of Profound Moments: An Empirical Study Adult Learning Pub Date : 2024-03-08 Laura B. Holyoke, Elise Kokenge, Nanci Jenkins, Jonathon A. Ball, Heather Heward, Shannon Wilson
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the components of a profound moment. We provisionally defined a profound moment as an experience that intentionally or unintentionally continues to surface in consciousness, has transformed an individual’s fundamental perspectives, and been integrated into an individual’s life. Participants who the researchers felt had experienced highly memorable
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Reflective Case Study of a Literacy Instructor Teaching English to Refugee Adult Learners Adult Learning Pub Date : 2024-02-26 Clarena Larrotta, Shannon D. Ture
The United States has been the global leader resettling refugees since the 1970s; its resettlement program is the largest in the world. The state of Texas has a high number of admissions and longstanding refugee programs which makes it a strategic site for research. This article reports findings of a reflective case study within an open enrollment literacy program in Central Texas. It describes the
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Book Review: Adult Learning in a Migration Society Adult Learning Pub Date : 2024-02-21 Victoria K. Suarez
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Using a Student-Developed Case Study Activity for Online Discussion Guided by a Three-Tier Case Method Model Adult Learning Pub Date : 2023-01-13 Xi Lin
This qualitative study examines student learning experiences toward a student-developed case study activity for online discussion guided by a three-tier case method model. Forty-five students were ...
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The Innovative Use of Technological Tools (the ABCs and Ps) to Help Adult Learners Decrease Transactional Distance and Increase Learning Presence Adult Learning Pub Date : 2023-01-05 Scott L. Howell, Michael C. Johnson, Jana C. Hansen
One of the pedagogical benefits that emerged from the pandemic period for adult learners was that teachers, in addition to supporting institutions, were more willing to consider and introduce techn...
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‘One Person Cannot Change It; It’s Going to Take a Community’: Addressing Inequity through Community Environmental Education Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-12-19 Wendy Griswold, Meera Patel, Edith Gnanadass
Environmental injustice is often an intersection of economic, social, and environmental disparities. Addressing the inequities borne by communities overburdened with such disparities requires local...
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Women Academics’ Learning as a Result of Being Bullied Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-10-10 Lisa Baumgartner, Jill Zarestky, Vincente Lechuga
Like other workplaces, bullying occurs in academia. Additionally, women report more frequent and severe forms of bullying than men. The purpose of this qualitative study was to unearth women academ...
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Teaching through Pain: Finding Peace, of Sorts, after Unimaginable Loss Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-10-04 Robin Redmon Wright
This evocative autoethnography is an exploration of learning and perseverance during a particularly dark time in my personal and professional life. In a period of just over 3 years, my spouse and I...
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A Critical Discussion of the Work-Life Experiences of Scholar Practitioners Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-08-19 Sunny L. Munn, Debaro Huyler, Gustavo Roque, Tonette S. Rocco, Patty Delgado, Jocelyn Y. James
The ability to understand how our work-life experiences impact our pursuits as emerging scholars, parents, and individuals is critical to our successful performance in each role. We explore the int...
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Using Aristotle’s Four Causes to Evaluate and Revise Curriculum Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-08-13 Jonathan E. Taylor, Elizabeth Sondermeyer
Over 2000 years ago, Aristotle wrote of four distinct causes at play in the world we know. Those causes, the material cause, the formal cause, the efficient cause, and the final cause, were meant t...
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A Teacher, an Advisor, and a Counselor: An Autoethnographic Narrative of an English Language Instructor Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-08-12 Maja Stojanović
Using a personal narrative approach, I examine my experiences with teaching English to adults from a Balkan country. As I focus on understanding my teaching experiences, I frame my analysis through...
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Continuous Challenges: Case Study of a Sustainable University Adult Education Graduate Program Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-05-30 Royce Ann Collins, Jeff Zacharakis
Through their history, adult education graduate programs have flourished and dwindled and sustainability always seems to be in jeopardy. This case study examines one program’s growth, decline, and ...
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Co-Occurrence of Sociocultural Elements and Self-Direction in Learning Situations: A Police Organization Case Study Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-05-29 Soila Lemmetty, Kaija Collin
Adult’s self-direction and self-directed learning (SDL) have become topics in the discussion of work-related adult learning and an autonomous approach, emphasizing responsibility and independence, ...
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Emergency Distance Education Experiences of EFL Instructors and Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-05-23 Merih Ugurel Kamisli, Aylin Akinlar
This qualitative phenomenological study was designed to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructors and learners with emergency distan...
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The Super-vision of Autoethnographic Dissertation Studies: Transformative Stories of the Supervisor and the Supervised Revealed Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-04-28 Elizabeth J. Tisdell, Gina C. Whalen, Mira Johnson
The purpose of this paper is to explore the super-vision of dissertations, from the perspective of the supervisor and two supervisees who did dissertations that had an evocative autoethnographic co...
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Utilizing Autoethnography Within a Course Structure to Support Developing Scholars Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-04-28 Carol A. Olszewski,Keli P. Pontikos,Kyle A. Znamenak,Matt L. Selker,Toni M. Paoletta,Karrie A. Coffman,Catherine A. Hansman
Developing scholars sometimes struggle to situate their own position in the research and to comprehend how that affects their attitudes and behaviors. They frequently experience imposter syndrome and feelings of inadequacy, which lead to anxiety toward the research and publication processes. This paper presents a method for incorporating collective autoethnography into a graduate course context, aiming
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“I’ll Take Two Please … Sike”: Paying the Black Tax in Adult Education Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-04-28 Edith Gnanadass,Daryl R. Privott,Dianne Ramdeholl,Lisa R. Merriweather
We live in a society wherein anti-Black racism is pervasive. It infiltrates every aspect of life, including work life spaces. In spite of the recent call for higher education to become antiracist, a tall order for an institution literally and figuratively built on racist attitudes and behaviors, higher education continues to be a cesspool for racism. Literature is replete with stories of the toll working
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An Autoethnographic Reflection of Adult Learning and Paternal Grief Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-04-28 Rob E. Carpenter
This study examined my experience as a doctoral student following the death of my son. The focus of this research is on the interaction of paternal grief and adult learning in the context of higher education. The central emphasis seeks to offer existential bearing to the interplay between the narrative identities of adult learner and paternal griever that is seldom considered in combination for adult
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Advances in Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry Edited by Tony E. Adams, Robin M. Boylorn, and Lisa M. Tillmann Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-04-28 Elizabeth A. Golba
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Shorthand for Racism: Grade-Level Equivalencies and Everyday Anti-Blackness in Adult “Basic” Education Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-04-28 Amy Pickard
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The Voices of Adult Education Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-04-28 Carol Rogers-Shaw,Lilian H. Hill,Davin Carr-Chellman
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Adult Learning as Metamorphosis and Popular Education for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Gender Diverse, and Queer+ Equality: The Story of Leonard Matlovich Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-04-20 Trevor G. Gates, Dyann Ross, Bindi Bennett
Critical events in Leonard Matlovich’s life depict a reluctant activist for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/gender diverse, and queer+ (LGBTQ+) equality. He served in the US military and subseq...
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Book Review: Designing the Online Learning Experience: Evidence-Based Principles and Strategies Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-03-31 Leann M.R. Kaiser
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Older Adults in Adult Learning 1989–2020: A Literature Review Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-03-28 Lisa M. Baumgartner, Bora Jin, Junghwan Kim
Older adults are a growing population. This article reviews the literature on older adults in Adult Learning from its inception in 1989 through 2020. Topics focus primarily on program reports, prog...
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A Trauma-Informed Inquiry of COVID-19’s Initial Impact on Adult Education Program Administrators and Instructors in the United States Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-03-02 David A. Housel
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on adult education programs globally, transforming in-person operations to distance, online enterprises often overnight. Many administrators, instructors, and program staff have been inordinately burdened physically, economically, and socially by the pandemic in ways that could be considered traumatic. The pandemic has also revealed how the insufficient
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The Hidden Labors of Adult Learning: Emotional, Gendered, and the Intersection Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-02-25 Makena Neal, Benjamin D. Espinoza
Arlie Hochschild’s theory of emotional labor (1983) has become a staple framework for understanding the tension that exists between outward emotional expression and inward emotional realities. In it, Hoschild (1983) introduces us to the idea of emotional management, the expectations that are put on us to manipulate the display of our emotions—act—in order to put the experiences of others first. Recently
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Developing Effective Recruitment Strategies for African American Men to Earn Alternative High School Credentials Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-02-24 Michael T. Miller, David M. Deggs, Valerie H. Hunt, Lona J. Robterson, Callie Embry
African American men have among the worst high school completion rates of any population in the United States. The consequences of dropping out of school are serious and include high levels of unemployment and incarceration. Attempts at recruiting these men to return to complete a high school credential have not been broadly successful, and the current study was designed to identify the best ideas
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Designing and Delivering Effective Online Instruction, How to Engage the Adult Learner Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-02-14 Linda Dale Bloomberg
Access to different forms of education has become more prevalent in recent years. Online learning design requiresinnovative pedagogical practices. Dr. Bloomberg provides strategies for online course design, student engagement, andpedagogical methodology.
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Public Libraries: Your Partner in Increasing College Literacy Among Nontraditional Prospective Students Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-02-05 Africa S. Hands
The Netflix docudrama, Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal, illustrates how college admissions, particularly at elite colleges, favors the privileged. Higher educational attainment overall favors the informed. Prospective students have many options when it comes to earning a college degree, with some of the more visible options (e.g. for-profit institutions) to degree attainment
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Rising from the Ashes of Academic Burnout: Beneficial Effects of Humor in Adult Education Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-02-03 Mohammad Ali Heidari-Shahreza
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Using Group Messaging to Facilitate Peer Support Among Early Doctoral Students: A Thematic Analysis of One Cohort’s Text Messages Adult Learning Pub Date : 2022-02-01 Julie M. Galliart, Elaine Thornton, Robin Freeman, Susan Bradley Pospisil, Brendan Csaposs, Kathleen Dorn, James Eller, Kenda S. Grover
Students face multiple stressors while earning their doctorates. Since peer support is a common recommendation for easing this stress, we realized graduate students, faculty, and academic program administrators might have interest in how our cohort used group messaging to facilitate peer support early in our studies. We conducted a thematic analysis examining how group messaging helped new doctoral
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Motivations and Barriers for Adult Learner Achievement: Recommendations for Institutions of Higher Education Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-12-27 Yamini Bellare, Adam Smith, Kelcee Cochran, Samuel Garcia Lopez
Recent trends in higher education indicate a steady increase in the number of adult and non-traditional learners returning to complete college degrees. Though higher education can provide numerous economic and career enhancement opportunities, adult learners experience several challenges when they return to college. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to gather and analyze data from
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Individual Learning Accounts: A Comparison of Implemented and Proposed Initiatives Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-12-11 Phyllis A. Cummins, A. Katherine Harrington, Takashi Yamashita
Access to lifelong learning opportunities has long been discussed in terms of the economic benefits conferred by access to and engagement in further education by members of the labor force, particularly within the global knowledge economy. However, equitable access to lifelong education opportunities, particularly for low-skilled adults in the labor force, has been lacking. The Organisation for Economic
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Educational Attainment, Literacy Skills, Nativity, and Motivation to Learn Among Middle-Aged Adults in the United States Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-12-04 Shalini Sahoo, Roberto J. Millar, Takashi Yamashita, Phyllis A. Cummins
Research on factors associated with motivation to learn (MtL) is limited, particularly among middle-aged adults and immigrants. This study examines educational attainment, literacy skills, and nativity (foreign-born vs. native-born) as predictors of MtL in middle-aged adults living in the United States. Nationally representative data of middle-aged adults between the ages of 40 and 65 years were obtained
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The Centrality of Cultural Considerations in Facilitating Training for Adults Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-08-27 Corinne Brion
Teaching and learning are social and cultural activities. Across cultures, people have different ways of communicating, interacting, and learning. Consequently, learning may not occur without understanding the role national cultures play on organizing and facilitating training events. This study is part of a larger study that took place over a period of 6 years, from 2013 to 2019, in West Africa. Using
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Podcast Review: The Third Sector of Education [Audio Podcast] Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-08-25 Thomas A. Rausch
In Leading Learning’s new podcast series, The Surge of the Third Sector of Education, hosts Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele describe the pertinent characteristics of the third sector, as well as its role and often overlooked status within greater education. The target audience of the podcast are educators, researchers, and practitioners outside of the traditional confines of K-12 and higher education,
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Book Review: David Hansen and the Call to Teach: Renewing the Work That Teachers Do, by De Marzio, D. (Ed.) Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-08-24 Erin A. Galfer
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Zooming in on Life Politics: Identity and Reflexivity in a University for the Third Age Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-06-22 Hany Hachem
A late modern rationale for the education of older people has not yet been sufficiently explored. In this action research, I explore Giddens’s life politics as a framework for a late modern rationale for older adult education. Eleven older learners were recruited voluntarily to an online study group conducted via Zoom at a University for the Third Age. Over six sessions, learners attended mini lectures
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Our Time is Now: How the Events of 2020 Will Shape the Field of Adult Education Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-05-26 Steven W. Schmidt
In her piece on the history of adult education, in the Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education, [2] noted "it is important to understand that although nothing is preordained, the past does affect how we view the present" (p. 22). Adult Education and Social Justice In the I Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education i , [1] start the chapter on adult education and social justice with the following:
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Enhancing Leadership Training Through an Experiential Approach: An Online Model for the 21st Century Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-05-06 Anita Samuel, Steven J. Durning
Billions of dollars are spent annually on leadership training and development courses. Unfortunately, this training, both at organizational and university levels, does not appear to consistently result in significant adult learning or better organizational performance. These programs tend to focus on the theories of leadership within closed classroom environments and sometimes present case studies
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Challenges, Changes, and Choices: Immigrant Academics of Color in American Academia Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-04-27 Rosite K. G. Delgado, Qi Sun
Immigration is a hotly debated and deeply polarizing topic in American society. The past few decades have seen an influx of immigrants from Asia, Africa, and the Americas who contend with having a double-minority status. This qualitative study advances an understanding of the lived experiences and acculturation process of immigrant academics of color within American academia. Findings indicate struggles
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Low-Skilled Return Migrants as Adult Learners: A Case of Mongolian Migrants Returning From South Korea Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-04-24 Kyoungjin Jang, Battuya Lkhagvadulam, Wonsup Chang
This is an exploratory study on returning migrants as adult learners preparing to return to their home countries. We examined the educational needs and learning experiences of nine Mongolian migrants returning from South Korea who participated in vocational education programs for imminent returnees. Our qualitative analysis found that returning migrants have (a) the need to bring viable skills back
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Collective Memory Work: A Method for Turning Adult Learners’ Work-Life Experiences Into a Rich Collective Knowledge Resource in Higher Education Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-04-17 Mette Wichmand, Ditte Kolbaek
The aim of this article is to examine collective memory work (CMW) as a method for turning the work-life experiences of adult learners in a part-time master’s program into a collective knowledge resource, thereby strengthening the interplay between theory and practice in the students’ learning processes. CMW is a well-known qualitative research method, but only a limited amount of research has been
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Culture: The Link to Learning Transfer Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-04-15 Corinne Brion
Organizations worldwide spend large amounts of money and resources on developing their employees, yet the money invested in professional learning (PL) yields low to moderate results at best. Because culture is a predominant force in people’s life, multinational corporations and other institutions should take culture into account at every stage of the PL process or they will not obtain the desired return
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Aristotle: Mentor for the Soul Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-03-26 Julia Penn Shaw
Aristotle serves as a valuable, and practical, model for mentors of adult learners. His writings give insight into mentoring even as we practice it today. Although he lived in ancient Greece (c. 384 BCE to 322 BCE) and his audience was aristocratic males, the tenets of his philosophy for adult learning hold true in the present age for learners of any race, class, or gender because they are built on
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Adult Immigrant Journeys: Occupational Downgrading and Continuously Evolving Selves Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-02-15 Jan Adversario
This qualitative phenomenological study examined the occupational downgrading experiences of six adult immigrants. Occupational downgrading happens when an individual’s occupation post immigration does not match his or her education credentials and previous professional experiences. The goal is to make sense of the participants’ narratives through the lens of possible selves theory. Therefore, the
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Career Development of Young Adult North Korean Defectors in South Korea Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-02-15 Hyewon Park
Young adult North Korean defectors (hereafter, North Korean millennials [NKMs]) are a growing and distinctive group. Even though they constitute the majority of defectors and show different characteristics from previous generations, relatively little attention has been paid to NKMs in both academic and practical areas. Specifically, little is known about how NKMs develop their career paths in South
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Narrating the Immigrant Experience: Three Adult Educators’ Perspectives Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-02-15 Edith Gnanadass, Kayon Murray-Johnson, María Alicia Vetter
In this collaborative autoethnography, three immigrant adult education scholars examine diverse ways in which their experiences with racialization as immigrants in the United States have informed their scholarship and practice. The three authors originate from different parts of the world and use different theoretical frameworks—critical literary studies; critical theory; and postcolonial and Critical
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Migrants and the Labor Market: The Role and Tasks of Adult Education Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-02-15 Tetyana Kloubert, Chad Hoggan
The process of migration to a new country brings with it a host of challenges, and therefore also learning needs. Some countries have systems in place to facilitate the transition of migrants into society, often including adult education programs. Those programs, however, cannot be effective if blithely designed in ignorance of the interrelationship between established systems for facilitating integration
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The Challenges of Immigration and Implications for Adult Education Practice Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-02-15 Lilian H. Hill, Davin Carr-Chellman, Carol Rogers-Shaw
“Adult education assists immigrants in learning about and adjusting to a new culture, facing the difficulties of learning a new language, securing housing, and gaining employment.”
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Contributing Factors, Attribution, and Coping in Academic Boredom: An Exploratory Case Study of Graduate Students in Education Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-01-27 Jianling Xie, Jianzhong Xu, Tianlan Wei, Katarzyna Gallo, Mary Everett Giles, Yan Zhan, Yan Zeng, Xiang Huang, Xia Liu
This exploratory qualitative case study investigates how graduate students in education experience, attribute, and combat academic boredom. Three areas of concern are addressed: (a) the contributing factors to boredom, (b) how attributional style (internal vs. external) relates to coping with boredom, and (c) the differences between combating class-related boredom and learning-related boredom. Results
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Postsecondary Adult Learner Motivation: An Analysis of Credentialing Patterns and Decision Making Within Higher Education Programs Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-01-27 Alexander C. Gardner, Heather N. Maietta, Philip D. Gardner, Niki Perkins
This study sought to fill a gap in the literature by considering the role of motivation in post-secondary aspirations of adult learners, specifically full versus part-time status, previous level of educational attainment, years of work experience, and the selection of an academic program. The data from this study came from adult students ages 25 and older at 8 institutions in the Midwest. Statistical
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Using Mindfulness to Promote Transformative Learning in Implicit Racial Bias Training Adult Learning Pub Date : 2020-12-22 Renee Owen
Implicit bias classes have become a common practice with the aim of creating more inclusive work and learning environments. Such classes are aimed at helping individuals identify unconscious habits of mind and behaviors around race, which can be a disorienting experience. By seeing such classes through the lens of transformative learning theory, the instructor can help students through the disorienting
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COVID-19 and the Shift to Remote Education: Opportunity and Obligation for Adult Educators Adult Learning Pub Date : 2021-01-06 Leann M. R. Kaiser,Kelly McKenna
One of the most obvious and immediate impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on education was the rapid shift from in-person to remote instruction. This affected almost all K-12, higher education, and adult education settings in an incredibly short timeframe (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, n.d.) and often with minimal support to facilitate the transition. This rapid conversion
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Book Review: Assessment, Evaluation, and Accountability in Adult Education(2020) Adult Learning Pub Date : 2020-12-11 Will Carpenter
Assessment, Evaluation, and Accountability in Adult Education presents distinctive and profound resources for adult educators with contributors giving insight from different fields within adult education. The common thread through the text is how the contributors discuss the importance of accountability with assessment and evaluation to ensure program efficiency and student learning. The 14 chapters
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The Power of ePortfolio Development to Foster Reflective and Deeper Learning in an Online Graduate Adult Education Program Adult Learning Pub Date : 2020-12-08 Frank Di Silvestro, Hamid Nadir
The current study addressed two problems in adult education: the lack of published research on the use of ePortfolios in graduate adult education, and more specifically, how can graduate adult educ...
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Fostering a Sense of Community Among Black Faculty Through a Faculty Learning Community Adult Learning Pub Date : 2020-12-08 S. Renée Jones, Christina Cobb, Jeremiah O. Asaka, Chandra R. Story, Michelle C. Stevens, Michaele F. Chappell
The atmosphere at many colleges and universities in the United States presents unique challenges for Black faculty including racism. It is well established that Black faculty, especially those at p...