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 continuous rebirth in the competitive higher education market and academic stratification. Throughout its 55 years of existence, faculty have risen from…

Workforce development education programs in community colleges impact the economy of a region, surpassing other public or private educational institutions (Bradley, 2013; Drury, 2003). Workforce development education programs provide short-term programs with the aim of training individuals in specific skills, promoting individuals' upward…

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to learn about, describe, and understand the experiences and perceptions of adult students who attend a community college that has ongoing student success initiatives. The research question addresses how adult learners uniquely perceive their student experiences at a community college immersed in a…

The problem in this study is lack of research regarding perceptions of first-year nontraditional students (FYNTSs) who are enrolled in a face-to-face community college course regarding how mobile learning in the classroom affects their emotional engagement. Understanding this provides critical insights as well as enhanced and more accessible…

Little research has been conducted to examine the participation and persistence of adult basic education students in northern and rural Canada. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was conducted with adult learners to address this research deficit. The study consisted of questionnaire and interview phases. Using thematic analysis, five…

Indigenous educational models in higher education that incorporate Elder wisdom, knowledge, and experience are supported by educators but often not well understood or implemented. This study provides an in-depth exploration of six Elders' experiences serving as members of university instructor teams in a Rural Human Services university program.…

Challenges in the educational arena are not new phenomena. However, with the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers and educators have been made even more aware of the need for a paradigm shift in education. Blended learning, as opposed to fully online learning or traditional face-to-face teaching, has been well-researched and has…

Community colleges and non-traditional student populations, such as adult learners, often experience a unique set of academic and non-academic challenges. This is particularly true for those in rural America, where resources and community supports are less abundant. This report describes how rural community colleges are overcoming these barriers…

The greater demand for administrators and teachers to stay current in the ever-changing world of technology and education (Cho, 2016; Merriam & Bierema, 2014), justifies the need for more effective, personalized approaches to professional development (Dill, 2015). The data analysis procedure in this study was multi-step and addressed the five…

In the turbulent "dog eat dog" environment of the learning and skills sector in England the provision and expansion of higher education taught in further education colleges (HE in FE) offers potential opportunities for greater diversification of higher education. However, it also presents significant challenges, which include developing…

This qualitative case study examined the cultural learning insights of four educators during and after an immersion experience in Kenya. During this experience the participants delivered professional development sessions to teachers in two rural Kenyan schools, and stayed with Kenyan families. Mezirow's transformational learning theory,…

Access has been an ongoing issue for rural students. In this study, I examined factors that have been proven barriers and supports for rural students. Rural college students who were part of the TRiO program at a flagship university shared barriers and supports to access higher education. Students talked about their college journeys by telling…

This article explores how the Department of Graduate Nursing and a writing specialist at a small regional college have worked together to address the challenges of providing graduate-level education in a blended, professional program to a diverse adult population. This cross-disciplinary effort adapted the Writing-Enriched Curriculum (WEC) model…

Many adults are obstructed from specialized professions based on their anxiety of math. Math anxiety has been extensively researched for over 3 decades. Scholars have attempted to define its origins as well as the means to eliminate its often-debilitating effect on learners. Research indicates that learners with math anxiety often give up career…

This article paints a comprehensive portrait of the demographic, financial, and educational characteristics of Pennsylvania postsecondary students who are adult learners, and identifies rural-urban differences within this group. The study analyzed data from the 2010-11 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (n = 610,925), supplemented by…