In 2000, federally funded public adult education programs provided basic skills training and English language instruction to over 2.6 million students, or about 1.5% of the U.S. adult population. By 2021, enrollment had plummeted to under 900,000, or less than 0.4% of adults. What explains these declines? This policy brief describes the evolution…

Two core adult education outcomes for advanced adult learners in U.S. states under the National Reporting System are learning gains in adult secondary education and entry into postsecondary education (PSE). Advanced learner outcomes are associated with key functions in an adult education programming framework, as well as with adequate…

Adult education is often defined to emphasise cultural and societal development. This paper proposes that the concept should be more inclusive and that vocational education and training for adults has played a bigger role than is usually recognised. This has not been subject to much research and basic facts are often virtually unknown. In this…

"Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators" is the authoritative source for information on the state of education around the world. With more than 125 charts and 145 tables included in the publication and much more data available on the educational database, "Education at a Glance 2017" provides key information on the output of…

A number of recent policy reports have suggested that Canadian universities and community colleges should play a more significant role in response to the adult education and training needs of Canada's workforce. This article discusses the results of a study that examined investment trends and the characteristics of non-formal adult learner…

"Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators" is the authoritative source for accurate information on the state of education around the world. It provides data on the output of educational institutions; the impact of learning across countries; the financial and human resources invested in education; access, participation and progression in…

Older students (those beyond the age of 24) represented nearly 40 percent of all college and university enrollment in 1988, compared with 33 percent in 1974. Two sets of projections are suggested to show that, by 1995, the share of older students may increase somewhat, but students in the "traditional" age range (less than 25 years old) will still…

The 1999 National Household Education Survey (NHES) was a random-digit-dialed telephone survey of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the 50 states and District of Columbia. Respondents were asked about their participation in the following six types of adult education (AE): (1) English as a second language; (2) adult basic education,…

The outcomes of enabling courses offered in Australia's vocational education and training (VET) sector were examined. "Enabling course" was defined as lower-level preparatory and prevocational courses covering a wide range of areas, including remedial education, bridging courses, precertificate courses, and general employment preparation…