Meeting the Needs of Older Students in Higher Education
Abstract
The
number of students 25 years of age and older enrolled in higher education has
been escalating over the past 50 years. What is higher education is doing to
prepare for this growth? With adults
constituting almost half of today’s student body, it is important to consider
whether the academy is prepared to serve this society of adult learners. The
purpose of this paper was to examine the literature on andragogy in higher
education to determine if higher education is serving this segment of
nontraditional students. Findings show
that there has been a substantial increase of adult students enrolled in
college and university classes, higher education is not doing the job needed to
teach adult learners effectively, adults should be taught andragogically, andragogy
is not being used in the higher education classrooms, and colleges and
universities need to prepare to teach adult students andragogically.
Insufficient empirical research has been conducted on andragogy despite its
40-year history of being considered the principal model of adult learning.
However, with validated and reliable instruments available to measure the
constructs of andragogy, clearer validation of andragogy in higher education is
promising. Predictive research can be completed to study the effect of
andragogical practices on learning and student satisfaction outcomes. There is
the need for further research on andragogy in an attitude of mutuality and
reciprocity to develop further the field of adult education. This attitude of
mutuality and reciprocity is innovative.
Keywords
Andragogy,adult learners,adult students,nontraditional students
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