Adult Learners

2019 ◽  
pp. 114-132
Author(s):  
David Deggs
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Real World ◽  
Adult Learner ◽  
Student Activism ◽  
Upper Class ◽  
Traditional Student ◽  
Societal Issues ◽  
American Higher Education ◽  
The 1960S

Student activism is mostly thought of as an activity that engages and motivates the traditional-aged students in American higher education to action. The emergence of student activism in the 1960s occurred when enrollment in American higher education was still primarily limited to youth from middle- and upper-class families. The demographics of American higher education have shifted, and the adult learner or non-traditional student now represents a significant amount, if not the majority, of most campus populations. The adult learner brings unique perspective to the higher education classroom based upon their real-world experiences that directly impacts their values, beliefs, and ideas about societal issues. Adult learners in American higher education have the potential to change the ways, means, and longstanding outcomes related to activism in American higher education.

Service Learning: The Peace Corps, American Higher Education, and the Limits of Modernist Ideas of Development and Citizenship

2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-505
Author(s):  
David S. Busch
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Citizenship Education ◽  
Peace Corps ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
American Higher Education ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Work Abroad ◽  
The University

In the early 1960s, Peace Corps staff turned to American colleges and universities to prepare young Americans for volunteer service abroad. In doing so, the agency applied the university's modernist conceptions of citizenship education to volunteer training. The training staff and volunteers quickly discovered, however, that prevailing methods of education in the university were ineffective for community-development work abroad. As a result, the agency evolved its own pedagogical practices and helped shape early ideas of service learning in American higher education. The Peace Corps staff and supporters nonetheless maintained the assumptions of development and modernist citizenship, setting limits on the broader visions of education emerging out of international volunteerism in the 1960s. The history of the Peace Corps training in the 1960s and the agency's efforts to rethink training approaches offer a window onto the underlying tensions of citizenship education in the modern university.

Expulsion Litigation and the Limits of in Loco Parentis, 1860-1960

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (12) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Scott Gelber
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Student Rights ◽  
Underlying Assumption ◽  
American Higher Education ◽  
Legal Traditions ◽  
In Loco Parentis ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Faculty And Administrators

Background/Context Legal scholars often contrast the litigiousness of contemporary American higher education with a bygone era characterized by near-absolute respect for academic authority. According to this account, a doctrine of “academic deference” insulated colleges until the 1960s, when campus protests and new federal regulations dramatically heightened the intensity of legal oversight. This study tests that conventional wisdom, and its underlying assumption about the origins of student rights, by analyzing expulsion suits during the 100 years before 1960. Purpose Faculty and administrators tend to question if external legal pressure can play a constructive role in debates about higher education. This predisposition tempts us to invoke an earlier era of in loco parentis in order to portray institutional autonomy as a time-honored source of academic achievement. By highlighting overlooked state statutes (especially regarding public institutions) and contractual obligations (especially regarding private institutions), this study examines whether the power to discipline students in loco parentis actually triumphed prior to the 1960s. Research Design The study presents a historical analysis of the 44 college expulsion cases that were reported between 1860 and 1960. Examination of reported decisions was supplemented by archival research regarding landmark cases. Conclusions/Recommendations This study concludes that courts regularly reinstated expelled students during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These cases indicate that the power to act in loco parentis was limited by a countervailing tradition that emphasized college access and compelled institutions to provide due process prior to dismissal. This early strain of decisions laid the groundwork for the more expansive view of student rights that emerged during the 20th century. This finding encourages faculty and administrators to recognize the legal traditions and student dissenters that helped to enshrine accessibility as a defining feature of American higher education.

Convergence of Adult Learners, STEM Programs, and Promise Programs in Community Colleges

2021 ◽  
pp. 59-73
Author(s):  
Deirdre Conway ◽  
David Deggs ◽  
Kelyn Rola
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
American Higher Education ◽  
Stem Programs ◽  
College Leaders ◽  
Recommendations For Practice

American higher education is currently experiencing a convergence of three trends: a rise in adult learners as the largest population of students on college campuses, an increased focus on academic STEM degree programs and credentials, and the proliferation of promise programs that provide financial assistance to students. Community colleges as open access institutions are at the nexus of where these three trends converge and thrive. This chapter provides an overview of these three trends with recommendations for practice to guide community college leaders and faculty who are charged with management of these three trends during this unique time in higher education.

Activism and College Student Mental Health

2021 ◽  
pp. 628-643
Author(s):  
Abby L. Bjornsen-Ramig ◽  
Daniel B. Kissinger
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
College Student ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Student Activism ◽  
Media Campaigns ◽  
Student Activists ◽  
College Student Activism ◽  
The 1960S

Activism on college campuses in the United States is a long-standing phenomenon rooted in the counterculture movements of the 1960s. Today, local, regional, and national issues and sociopolitical influences remain closely aligned with activism in higher education, with contemporary issues shaping student activism efforts on campus. College student activism ranges from organized marches and protests to more widespread social media campaigns, targeting issues ranging from inclusion and diversity to sexual assault and intimate partner violence. Involvement in activism can influence the mental health and overall wellness of college students who engage in these activities. This chapter focuses on contemporary activism in higher education, specifically as related to the potential impact of activism on the mental health and wellness of college student activists. Also discussed are implications for student affairs professionals, university-based mental health professionals, and higher education administrators.

Introducing the Black Male Adult Learner Success Theory

2020 ◽  
pp. 074171362095960
Author(s):  
Ramon B. Goings
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Black Male ◽  
Adult Learner ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Male Adult ◽  
Scholar Identity ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Learner Success

Given the preponderance of deficit-oriented discourse about Black men and adult learners in higher education, there have not been theoretical frameworks put forth to explain the success of Black male adult learners in higher education. Thus, this article describes the Black male adult learner success theory, which builds on Gilman Whiting’s scholar identity model and Urie Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological system theory and was developed as a lens to examine the unique experiences of Black male adult learners in higher education and the impact of their various environments on their academic success. In response to the call for action from adult education scholars, this article introduces an asset-based theoretical approach for researchers to use when studying Black male adult learners. The article provides implications for using the Black male adult learner success theory for policy and practitioners. The article ends with providing future recommendations for research based on the theory.

THE IMPACT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT AND INSTITUTIONAL TYPE ON ADULT LEARNER SERVICES

1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl J. Polson ◽  
Jan P. Eriksen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Administrative Support ◽  
Adult Learner ◽  
Student Population ◽  
Academic Advisors ◽  
Institutional Type ◽  
Education Today ◽  
The Impact

The study described examined the scope of existing services for adult learners enrolled in higher education today. Two analyses were performed, one to review the effect of institutional type on services provided and the second to understand the impact of perceived administrative support on efforts to serve this student population. The implications of the findings for academic advisors are addressed.

The Adult Learner in Higher Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 34-47
Author(s):  
Sumitra Balakrishnan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Adult Education ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Adult Learner ◽  
Classroom Environments ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Behavioral Features ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
Life Circumstances

Researchers and practitioners have come to understand adult learners as unique and different from child learners, and have developed different theoretical approaches, methodologies, and strategies attuned to their educational needs and life circumstances. This chapter examines the factors that impact the effectiveness of adult learning programs and classroom environments by using perspectives of education theorists. The needs of the adult learner, advantages of teaching adults, and principles that can be followed are explored with the help of Knowles' andragogy model. The importance of the classroom's eco-behavioral features—their physical and emotional environments—along with other factors that effectively facilitate the process of adult education are discussed. In this context, an adaptation of Astin's I-E-O's model is proposed to deepen the understanding of adult learning programs.

The College Presidency

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Recent Trend ◽  
College Presidency ◽  
Critical Questions ◽  
Significant Time ◽  
American Higher Education ◽  
The Past ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S

This chapter explores the defining events and leaders in American higher education during the past 75 years. Special attention is directed at the defining events and leaders of the 1960s and 1970s that have shaped so much of the current landscape of higher education. The chapter begins by exploring the idea of a 'career president', a recent trend during the past four or five decades, and includes both influential leaders who have spent significant time at one institution, to those who move to different institutions throughout their career entirely in the role of president. The chapter concludes by offering critical questions about the future of the academy.

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