Adult Education In Transition: New Directions And Concepts
The current world that we live in has a constant development of new technology that is integrated into one's daily livelihood. The new technology could be a new program that is introduced at one's current place of employment or even a new program that is currently being implemented at a child's school. With new technology, there is a learning curve that an individual must be willing and or motivated to learn to operate that new technology. Therefore, post-secondary institutions and society should place an emphasis on lifelong learning especially when it comes to adult learners in transition. In this research essay about “Adult Learners in transitions. New Directions for Student Services”, 2006, written by Compton, J. I., Cox, E & Laana, F.S, I will discuss the following; why I chose this article to analyze, summarize and critique the writers recommendations, evaluate how this article contributes to my understanding of adult education, training or lifelong learning, provide examples of new ideas that I have earned and how I would instruct a class on the new concepts, analyze three strengths and three weaknesses and lastly reflect on how the content of the article can be applied to my career
In the first paragraph, I will discuss why I chose the article Adult Learners in Transition, 2006 written by Compton, J. I., Cox, E & Laana, F.S. I chose to discuss this article because I have personally experienced the many challenges mentioned in this article as an adult learner in transition. According to Compton, J.I., Cox, E., & Laanan, F.S., they define the nontraditional students by having the following characteristics such as the student delay post-secondary education enrollment one year or more after high school graduation, enroll part-time, are employed full time, are financially independent of their parents, have dependents other than a spouse, are single parents, or do not have a high school diploma (2006). With this information, I can say that I was a non-traditional at a certain phase of my life. I was a single mom due to divorce, working full time, providing for my family, and living paycheck to paycheck; therefore, I did not have the financial means and or time commitment to pursue higher education. However, institutions are now identifying the importance of addressing challenges that the nontraditional students are facing by establishing programs as well services to eliminate the barriers so that these students and can continue to be successful when obtaining their post-secondary education. If I had known that these programs existed, I would have probably finished my post-secondary education earlier in my life.
In the second paragraph, I will summarize “Adult Learners in transition. New Directions for Student Services”. In this article it discusses the following concept; challenges, characteristics and transitional roles of adult's learners' implications for student services professionals and how the student services professional can use the Eight Principles of Effectiveness to not only change their perspectives about adult learners in transition but to better serve adult learners. According to Compton, J. I., Cox, E & Laana, F.S, institutions tend to focus on the obstacles adult students face when returning to school (such as finances, family obligations, and time constraints), as they have a direct impact on the one role the institution recognized for the adult learner, that of the student. However, the writers of this article recommend that to change this philosophy with student services professionals and institutions they need to implement the Eight Principles of Effectiveness when working with adult learners in transition. The Eight Principles of Effectiveness are Outreach, Life and career planning, Financing, Assessment of learning outcomes, Teaching learner progress, Student support systems, Technology, and Strategic partnerships.
In the third paragraph, I will evaluate how the article contributes to my understanding of adult education, training or lifelong learning. After reading 'Adult Learners in Transition 2006,' I have gained a better understanding of how adult learners in transition best learn based on the Eight Principles of Effectiveness identified in the article. The Eight Principles of Effectiveness are Outreach, Life and career planning, Financing, Assessment of learning outcomes, Teacher learner process, Student support systems, Technology, and Strategic planning. The first principle of effectiveness while working with adult learners is outreach. This element is important because an institution and or company are not only reaching out to prospective students but are also getting their information out about their educational programs. A great example of how outreach would work in the best scenario is to have the institution or company attend job fairs, high schools, and other community events. The second principle of effectiveness is life and career planning. I think that this principle of life and career planning is the most important because it's going to allow the individual and or student to develop an action plan on what needs to be accomplished to achieve one's life goals. The third principle of effectiveness is financing. By having multiple financing options and or financial flexibility more adults can afford post-secondary education. The fourth principle of effectiveness is an assessment of learning outcomes. With this principle, it is very important to develop a plan of action so that the student can accomplish their goals. The fifth principle of effectiveness is the teacher-learning process. This is important because it allows both the teacher and the student the opportunity to learn together when establishing a plan for the student to be successful in their post-secondary career. The sixth principle of effectiveness is student support services. With strong comprehensive academic and student support, the individual is more likely to enhance the student's capacities and experience. The seventh principle of effectiveness is technology. By allowing technology it allows the student to be more flexible when completing their higher education as well as chose their method of educational instruction. The last principle of effectiveness is strategic partnerships, and this allows the institution and or agencies to collaborate with organizations to help adult learners gain employment.
In the fourth paragraph, I will explore a new concept that I have learned after reading Adult Learners in transitions. New Directions for Student Services, 2006 as well as explain how I would instruct a class on the new concept identified previously. The new concept that I have learned is that 182 million individuals age twenty-five and older and 126 million individuals have not completed an educational degree beyond a high school diploma in many regions United States. With this shocking information, I will instruct a class on the following; reasons behind why adult learners have not completed their education behind high school and suggestions on how to increase adult education after high school. In my opinion, I believe that adults do not pursue high education because they cannot afford higher education, work full time to provide for their dependents and lastly do not have extra time to commit to completing their higher education. However, in my opinion, I believe these barriers such as financial affordability and time commitment can be eliminated so that an adult learner can pursue their higher education. To eliminate these barriers, institutions and partnering agencies should provide community outreach within their communities possibly at high schools, adult learning centers as well as job fairs.
In the fifth paragraph, I will analyze three strengths and three weaknesses of Adult Learners in Transition. New Directions for Student Services, 2006 written by Compton, J. I., Cox, E & Laana, F.S. The first strength identified in this article is that it does a great job explaining how certain institutions place an emphasis on adult learners. The first institution listed in this article is the School for New Learning at DePaul University in Chicago where they validate experimental learning such as the concept that adults bring a wealth of life and work experience when they enter higher education so that institution can offer credit for their experience either through testing or through a portfolio system. The second strength identified is that the same school New Learning at DePaul University in Chicago also understands the value of recognizing experimental learning and with this philosophy, it validates what students already know and helps the adult learner to quickly complete their higher education. The third strength discussed is that Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio has a program called Without Walls where each student works with one faculty member as an advisor to create a learning contract for the adult learner. By developing a learning contract with an advisor, the student has a detailed guide for helping them to be successful when completing course responsibilities. However, the article has weaknesses identified as well. The first weakness identified in this article is that certain institutions tend to believe that nontraditional students and adult student do not differentiate between the group of students as well as current literature regarding nontraditional students focuses on how best to address the needs of the so-called underserved. Therefore, this theory is not in the best interest of adult learners because each adult learner has their own individual set of circumstances as well as their own experiences that they can contribute when pursuing their higher education.
In the six paragraph, I will reflect on how the contents and or findings of the article can be applied to my future career. After reading Adult Learners in Transition, I believe that I have developed a better understanding of different types of adult learners and how the Eight characteristics of effectiveness can be applied to better serve adult learners in transition. As a future educator, I plan on implementing the eight characteristics of effectiveness into my philosophy of teaching especially when working on 1:1 with adult learners as well as my colleges.
In conclusion, I have summarized the content of the article as well as the writers recommendations, evaluated how the article contributes to my understanding of adult education, training and or lifelong learning, provided examples of the new ideas that I learned and how I would instruct a class on the new concepts, discussed three strengths and weaknesses and lastly reflected on how the content of the article can be applied to my future career.
