Adult Learner Retention Essay -- Education Learning Essays

Adult Learner Retention Adult learner retention continues to hold the attention of adult educators in every type of program. Although the reasons students leave and the strategies for keeping them may differ from adult basic education (ABE) to higher education, the goal of retention is the same: to keep learners in programs until they achieve their goals (Tracy-Mumford et al. 1994). In any program, adults are largely voluntary participants, but the student role is just one of many roles and responsibilities competing for their time and attention. In fact, personal reasons such as family problems, lack of child care, and job demands are often cited as the cause of withdrawal. At the same time, adults usually have pragmatic, focused reasons for participating and will leave whenever they feel their goals have been met or if they feel the program will not satisfy their goals. Personal/job factors may seem to be beyond institutional control, whereas program satisfaction is something educators can improve. This D igest provides an updated look at research on retention in adult education and suggests effective practices for different settings. Adult Basic Education Repeatedly, attrition is described as the #1 problem in ABE. Attrition rates as high as 60-70% are reported in state and federal statistics (Quigley 1995). The raw numbers may be alarming, but they do not tell the whole story. Several studies show that noncompleters sometimes leave when they feel their goals were realized (Kambouri and Francis 1994; Perin and Greenberg 1994). The phenomenon of stopping out-one or more cycles of attending, withdrawing, and returning-is typical of adults who must place the student role on the back burner temporarily. Counting them as dr... ...cy. Kent: Ohio Literacy Resource Center, 1995. (ED 378 408) Smith, G., and Bailey, V. Staying the Course. London: Business and Technology Education Council, 1993. (ED 359 356) Towles, D. E.; Ellis, J. R.; and Spencer, J. "Student Persistence in a Distance Education Program." Conference paper, 1993. (ED 360 931) Tracy-Mumford, F. et al. Student Retention: Creating Student Success. Washington, DC: National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium, 1994. (ED 375 299) Vanderpool, N. M., and Brown, W. E. "Implications of a Peer Telephone Network on Adult Learner GPA and Retention." Journal of College Student Development 35, no.2 (March 1994): 125-128. Vann, B. A., and Hinton, B. E. "Workplace Social Networks and Their Relationship to Student Retention in On-Site GED Programs." Human Resource Development Quarterly 5, no. 2 (Summer 1994): 141-151.