As the number of adult students on college campuses continues to grow, faculty members and administrators unfamiliar with the educational needs of such nontraditional students may well need an education of their own on the subject.
Mr. Bash, dean of lifelong learning at Baldwin-Wallace College, says his book is meant "to serve as a wake-up call for those members of the academy who may have a preference to work primarily with traditional students." Adult-learning programs have already had a substantial impact on higher education, he notes, especially in their use of technology and a pedagogical approach described as "learning centered."
The book begins with an overview of adult-learning programs, followed by an examination of significant differences between adult students and their younger classmates. Mr. Bash looks at why adults are choosing to continue their education, and he discusses the particular challenges that they have to contend with, not the least of which are "pursuing studies when their responsibilities are already likely to be overextended, and placing themselves into an environment they often perceive as hostile and frightening."
He also describes how the presence of adult students can enrich the classroom. And he brings up the mostly overlooked but potentially fastest-growing segment of the student population: senior citizens.
Another section examines how institutions have responded to their adult students. "Many colleges and universities make a number of fundamental mistakes" when it comes to addressing the needs of those students, Mr. Bash argues. Too many colleges still take "a cookie-cutter approach," failing to separate or even recognize their special needs. Those needs, he writes, "span all facets of the academy -- from curricular support to scheduling formats and registration options."
"Learning should be perceived as part of a continuum," says the author. "In a culture that expects the typical traditional student who graduates from college to experience six to seven career choices in his or her lifetime, no person can afford to think of his or her education as having been completed." (The Chronicle of Higher Education (Online), 2003)