Today, education is categorized among the most important indicators of life outcomes, including other factors such as job opportunities, high income, better health and wellbeing, and greater social status ( Edwards, Sieminski, & Zeldin, 2014). Education is usually used as a means for shaping one’s social identity and enhancing the comprehension of oneself the relationship with other people in society. Currently, the world is experiencing tremendous changes, ranging from technological changes to changing employment requirements and business needs. These changes require one to stay up to date with emerging issues in career fields to leverage new opportunities and achieve career goals. As such, adult education has become prevalent in the contemporary world ( Malone, 2014) . For instance, in the United States (U.S.), adult education framework is traced back to the mid-1960s, when the Adult Basic Education (ABE) program was initially initiated under the Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) of 1964 ( Milana & McBain, 2014) . This act encouraged all states to initiate adult education delivery system, paving way for the enactment of the Adult Education Act (AEA) in 1966, which legitimized provision of federal funds under the US Department of Education (Previously known as the US Office of Education) to offer educational aid for adults who had not attained secondary education. However, since then, AEA has undergone multiple amendments to incorporate other levels of education, including both undergraduate and postgraduate ( Milana & McBain, 2014) . These developments have greatly enhanced adult education and today the U.S. has a substantial population of adult learners. The current paper is a comprehensive analysis of adult learners in the U.S. and the impact of education in the diverse workplace.
Prevalence of Adult learners in the U.S.
According to Chen (2014), an adult learner is defined as an individual who has attained years and above and is engaged in any form of education. Adult learners’ category incorporates a broad range of students, including those possessing little education and seeking to enhance their literacy skills to transition them to tertiary education, students who dropped out of school and seeks to obtain secondary certificates, immigrants seeking to learn English, and adults seeking to enhance their employment expertise (Edwards et al., 2014). Adult learners in the U.S. falls in the category of nontraditional students and meets at least one or more of the following criteria: being a single parent, not having a high school diploma, delayed enrollment, works full time while studying, has other dependents apart from their spouses, and/or is considered financially independent.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The population of adult learners in the U.S., especially in colleges has been growing at a remarkable rate in the recent years and there are several indicators that these learners are currently constituting a substantial proportion of undergraduate student body ( Chen, 2014). Statistics have consistently indicated that the enrollment of adult learners in undergraduate-granting post-secondary institution has not only been escalating over the years, but has also been expanding at a rapid rate in juxtaposition to the 18-to-24-year-old traditional students in the U.S. Between 2000 and 2009, the population of enrolled traditional learners escalated by almost 30% while that of adult learners escalated by around 45% over the period ( Chen, 2014) . Besides, Chen (2014) further projected that between 2010 and 2019 that tertiary education admission for the students under the age of 25 would escalate by 10% compared to the 23% escalation for adult learners. According to the recent statistics published by the Education Association of Writers, it was revealed that adult learners in the U.S. constitute approximately 35% of all students currently enrolled in higher education or seven million (Gross & Clark, 2018). These statistics clearly indicate that the face of today’s college students is changing drastically. More than ever, people are today returning to school to pursue both secondary and higher education courses as adult learners. As a result, adult learners are today considered the fastest-expanding segment in American tertiary institutions.
Characteristics of Adult Learners
When it comes to learning, the Andragogy theory posits that most adult learners exhibit distinctive characteristics that not only impact how they are motivated to learn but also dictate how learning should be administered (Darden, 2014). First, most adult learners want to take charge of their learning. Many adults are normally self-directed in all aspects of their lives, although other roles such as family and job responsibilities can greatly diminish the level of their liberty to act (Malone, 2014). Adulthood is normally accompanied by a strong feeling of the need for individuals to take control of their lives, hence, adults usually tend to resent any move meant to curtail their right to choose. Besides, adults normally associated with a more secure self-concept than traditional learners and this enables them to take part in directing their own learning (Malone, 2014). Therefore, when not given some degree of control over their own learning, most adult learners are inclined to resist learning or even sabotage education efforts. As such, it is imperative for educators and lecturers teaching the adult learner to always seek to engage them in the planning of learning efforts.
Second, adult learners possess a broad range of experiences which they utilize as a point reference as they learn compared to traditional learners who are in the stage of obtaining new experiences (Malone, 2014). Therefore, either consciously or unconsciously, adult learner tends to link their new learning to the body of knowledge ingrained in the past occurrences. They assess the rationality of new concepts and ideas based on how they fit their past experience. Further, adult students are usually more motivated to learn than traditional learners (Malone, 2014). Ideally, the great motivation among adult students emanates from the fact that adult learning is discretionary. Adults make an individual choice to learn, even when such learning is tied to job skills or professional advancement (Malone, 2014). Consequently, teaching adults is much easier because instructors spend less time to motivate them and focus much of their efforts on teaching. Moreover, adult learners are commonly more resistant to changes than traditional students (Malone, 2014). Learning typically involves alterations in one's actions or attitude. Nonetheless, adults normally tend to resist such alterations because they have learned through experience that not all changes lead to positive outcomes. Therefore, most adult learners require more clarification of the “why” and not just the “how” concerning any change in learning.
Factors which Influence Adult Learning
For personal fulfillment and the employers need, people need to keep themselves informed about changes transpiring in the contemporary world (Brockett & Hiemstra, 2018). To start with, not everyone is fortunate enough to grow up with a vocation for a particular job such as law, teaching, or medicine. Many people wonder what will be fascinating and pay enough to live on, while others drift into jobs for the sake of economic wellbeing, rather than passion. Nonetheless, as people mature, they discover new interests and new ways of a living which they did not know about or from those emanating from the changes transpiring in the world today. Many people who are not qualified for these opportunities view education as a means for acquiring appropriate knowledge to take advantage by pursuing courses that enable them to keep abreast of the latest developments and changes happening in particular fields (Brockett & Hiemstra, 2018). In addition, many adults enroll in schools for stimulation and escape. Learning to provide a good to break from free from any rut one may have found themselves in. One may have become bored with their daily routines, either within their profession or personal life. As such, learning provides a kick-start to motivate themselves again while at the same time offering an escape from the regular humdrum they might be experiencing. This is particularly common among early retirees.
Equally important, many adults simply burn out after a prolonged period of working in a certain industry. Resultantly, they develop a desire to pursue something new or take a new career path. Others intend to establish their own business but do not possess the necessary knowledge to do so. Fundamentally, the adoption of a dramatic career change calls for sufficient training (Brockett & Hiemstra, 2018). It is difficult to switch to an entirely unrelated career path without some form of education, and thus, many adults usually resolve to go back to college later in life. Also, as the economies become increasingly globalized, many employees are finding their knowledge and skillset outdated. Hence, to maintain their positions or gain promotion, they are required to reinforce their already existing skills (Brockett & Hiemstra, 2018). This is especially common in drastically changing industries, such as technology, where workers could probably lose their jobs to younger and more skilled workers. Moreover, online education provides adults with new learning opportunities that did not exist previously when getting a degree required one to physically present in colleges. Today, one can obtain a degree from the comfort of their homes (Brockett & Hiemstra, 2018). If a person feels dissatisfied with their careers, they have a broad array of options at their disposal. This has greatly promoted adult learning, especially due to the flexibility that allows adults to find a balance between schooling and other responsibilities.
The Impact of Education in the Diverse Workplace
When organizations are hiring, they consider both the cultural fit, and whether an individual has the qualifications to fulfill the prevailing organization’s needs and the capacity to assume more responsibilities in the future ( Millan et al ., 2014). Educational background of employees in influences the long-term success of a business to a great extent. In particular, there is a positive correlation between educated employees and fewer cases of misconduct in organizations. Employees who are extensively educated tend to be more creative and innovative, and also good at forecasting trends. When an organization hires educated workers, it receives a person equipped with a pre-existing skill set. Primarily, in the process of learning, people enhance their capabilities to observe, scrutinize, and act on information. According to Millan et al (2014), educated workers display a greater aptitude for dealing with large and complex tasks in a more efficient and productive manner compared to the less-educated counterparts. Not to mention, educated workers demonstrate higher levels of motivation, which in turn results in higher quality output and lesser errors. As the contemporary global client markets continue to emerge, the need for a workforce that comprehends the language, values, and culture of these global markets has also become fundamental, especially for multinational corporations (Noe et al., 2017). Educated workers are more likely to understand foreign cultures and languages with ease. Furthermore, educated people are more lead to healthy and longer lives. This reduces healthcare costs for companies hiring educated employees.
Conclusion
Studies have indicated that adult learners are increasing drastically, and they currently constitute a substantial proportion of students in American learning institutions, especially in tertiary institutions. The increasing numbers of adult learners today are indicative of numerous shifts that have transpired recently, including the advent of online education, less societal pressure to join college immediately after completing 12th grade, globalization of economy, and economic conditions that engender early retirement. In addition to possessing distinctive characteristics that shape their learning as opposed to the traditional students, may adult learners go back to school to enhance their skills, professional or technical capabilities, and knowledge, or even to launch additional careers. Therefore, owing to the importance of adult learners in American learning institutions, it is important for policy to always consider the needs of adult learners when crafting new education policies. Also, all employers should endeavor to recruit educated employees because they play crucial roles in achieving organizational goals.
References
Brockett, R. G., & Hiemstra, R. (2018). Self-direction in adult learning: Perspectives on theory, research, and practice . Abingdon-on-Thames, UK: Routledge.
Chen, J. C. (2014). Teaching nontraditional adult students: Adult learning theories in practice. Teaching in Higher Education , 19 (4), 406-418.
Darden, D. C. (2014). Relevance of the Knowles theory in distance education. Creative Education , 5 (10), 809-812.
Edwards, R., Sieminski, S., & Zeldin, D. (2014). Adult learners, education and training . Abingdon-on-Thames, UK: Routledge.
Gross, N. & Clark, K. (2018). Adult college students: the under covered 6.6 Million. Education Association of Writers . Retrieved from www.ewa.org/blog-higher-ed-beat/adult-college-students-undercovered-66-million.
Malone, S. (2014). Characteristics of adult learners. Training & Development , 41 (6), 10-13.
Milana, M., & McBain, L. (2014). Adult education in the United States of America: A critical examination of national policy (1998-2014). Encyclopaideia , 18 (40), 34-52
Millan, J. M., Congregado, E., Roman, C., Van Praag, M., & van Stel, A. (2014). The value of an educated population for an individual's entrepreneurship success. Journal of Business Venturing , 29 (5), 612-632.
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2017). Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage . New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
