Characteristics of adult learners

When we think of adult learners and how to best approach and engage with them, several aspects of their adult status usually come to mind. Among these are the fact that adults play multiple roles in their lives, that they often have anxiety about returning to education and that many times they are experiencing some sort of life transition at the time they decide to return to school^1,2,3.

Adults are often affected by factors beyond their control, such as job, health, financial, legal, personal or family problems¹. Likewise, personal factors such as expectations, self-esteem, level of family support and past educational experience^2,3, as well as "institutional" factors such as red tape or tuition fees⁴ can be barriers to participation. In addition, adult students expect that universities and colleges have all of the resources, staff and latest technology at their fingertips to provide instant answers and processing of requests and may get easily frustrated when that's not the case.

Adult learners have different psychological needs and perspectives than traditional-aged learners. They have a greater need for motivation, inspiration and guidance since they have more responsibilitiesthan younger students whose primary responsibility is school. Trust is very important in their relationship with advisory staff. They research their decisions more and often consider their time to be a more important investment than their money. The following list identifies what each institution should do to attract adult learners²:

           * Overcome barriers of time, place, and tradition to create lifelong access
           * Address the career and life goals of adult learners
           * Provide an array of payment options
           * Assess skills acquired through the curriculum and experience
           * Provide multiple methods of instruction
           * Enhance student capabilities to be self-directed learners
           * Provide information technology to enhance the learning experience
           * Engage in strategic relationships and collaborations with employers and other organisations

But, what exactly are universities and colleges "selling"? It's not a product, it's an opportunity. But how do you convince a person so reluctant to change that they really will enjoy the process, that they will experience a great deal of pride and accomplishment and that their view of the world will be enlarged and enriched? How do you explain that the benefits of a formal qualification go way beyond the tangible aspects of time and money? How do you engage with them, inspiring trust and motivation? For those people who do not enter your organisation believing these things, it can be a hard sell!

Recruiting the adult learner

How to attract and engage with adult learners is an enduring question for all providers of adult education. Recruitment should be viewed as a multistep process of drawing people into long-term programs rather than trying to motivate them just to signup for a single course. Providing adult learners with an overall goal for their education is viewed by many as the first step toward enrolment, and adult students with a specific purpose show increased motivation compared to those without one. Providing guidance and advice allows adult students to make informed decisions, establish realistic goals and assess their own circumstances^4,5,6.

Above all, potential learners need to understand the reason for acquiring knowledge and skills they may see as academic and possibly not relevant to their own lives. All this should become clear in their discussions with advisory staff. All in all, you must ensure you provide whatever information adult students need to form clear, realistic expectations, settargets and monitor their progress. Even before enrolment, the potential learner should be seen as an active partner in a learning process, and not as apassive "silent" partner.

Bibliography

1 Davies P, osborne M & William J (2002). For me or not for me? That is the question. A study of mature students' decision making and Higher Education. London, DfES.

2 Skorupa, K (2002). Adult learners as consumers. The Academic Advising News, 25 (3). NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources.   

3 Whittaker, S & Mayes JT (2001) Learner identity, motivation and relationships: A theoretical framework for the design of effective learning environments. Researching Widening Access, Proceedings of CRLL conference, Glasgow, pp. 422-427.

4 Wonacott, ME (2001) Adult students: recruitment and retention. Practice Application Brief no. 18.

5 Merrill B, Gallacher J & Crossan B (2001) Learning careers: developing a framework for understanding engagement with learning for adult student. Proceedings of the 31st Annual Conference of SCUTREA, University of East London, pp. 265-268.