The problem that was addressed through this study is that online undergraduate adult students, 25 years of age or older, do not persist to graduation at Caring University, a pseudonym for an online university. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the perceptions of online adult undergraduate alumni about what motivated them to…

Many adult English learners enroll in U.S. Adult Basic Education programs every year. The federally defined goal of these programs is to increase adult learners' skills to enable them to enter the workforce, but it is not clear whether this purpose matches learners' own motivations for entering these programs. Using the lens of self-authorship…

This phenomenological study explored the success of women undergraduate adult learners at a predominantly traditional-aged, mid-size, public master's comprehensive institution in the Midwest. Five women undergraduate adult learners participated in two intensive individual interviews, focusing on how their experiences have facilitated or hindered…

The Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) engaged with BERK Consulting to conduct twelve focus groups with adult learners across the state in 2022. Funded by the Lumina Foundation, the study focuses on populations furthest from educational opportunities, including those from racial and ethnic groups with the lowest attainment levels;…

This is an action research study investigating how one can work systematically in adult learning centres to support adult immigrant learners to increase their intrinsic motivation and develop strategies to take responsibility for their own development and learning. We have applied what we call a five-step motivation method, where the adult…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of motivation in the persistence of adults enrolled in online higher education. Since the 1990s, online courses and programs have proliferated across higher education, with adults (ages 25 and over) currently making up the largest portion of online enrollments. Online courses, however, suffer…

As students' achievement is correlated with self-regulation, finding interventions promoting self-regulated learning (SRL) in online courses is a current focus of research. However, few studies have explored the potential of contract learning in scaffolding and developing SRL in non-traditional learners who have work and family and are at risk of…

Trends in higher education include accelerated online learning and an increase in adult learners. The retention of these learners is essential for universities. This study used an exploratory case study methodology to examine factors facilitating the retention of women in an accelerated, online teacher education program. Using the Priorities…

As the economy in the United States continues to emerge from a recession and as jobs become more technologically advanced rendering other jobs obsolete, more and more Americans over the age of 50 are now attending college for a variety of reasons. Around 77% of the so-called Plus 50 students were enrolled in two-year public institutions. Other…

This review builds on self-control theory (Carver & Scheier, 1998) to develop a theoretical framework for investigating associations of implicit theories with self-regulation. This framework conceptualizes self-regulation in terms of 3 crucial processes: goal setting, goal operating, and goal monitoring. In this meta-analysis, we included…

The present study aimed to examine distance learners' goal profiles and their contrasting patterns of learning and achievements at three different points during an academic year, i.e. in the beginning of the course in relation to learners' general orientations to learning, at the middle of the course in relation to learners' completion of an…

The authors tested a self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) process model of subjective wellbeing among students at Norwegian Folk High Schools. In this model the authors hypothesized that students' intrinsic goal progress expectancy in the chosen study activity and perceived autonomy support from teachers would be positively associated…

This study examines the perceptions of identity of a category of students that has rarely been studied in the context of higher education. These are adults who have participated in GED preparation or English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses in Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs. A college education is increasingly necessary for…

Master Gardeners are very important in helping Extension deliver horticultural information to local citizens. The theoretical framework of the study reported here was based on Houle's Typology. The purpose was to develop an understanding of adult motivations to participate in the Florida Master Gardener program. The sampled population was 613…

Since its origin in the late 1970s and early 1980s, achievement goal theory has provided significant contributions to the research and practice in education and psychology. The theory has been considered to be an influential framework for conceptualizing student motivation. The term motivation refers to the interaction dynamics of many factors in…