Adult Learner Retention Essay -- Education Learning Essays

expectant Learner Retention Adult bookman retention continues to hold the attention of adult educators in every cause of program. Although the reasons students leave and the strategies for keeping them may differ from adult basic facts of life (ABE) to higher education, the goal of retention is the same to keep learners in programs until they win their goals (Tracy-Mumford et al. 1994). In any program, adults are largely voluntary participants, merely the student role is just one of many roles and responsibilities competing for their time and attention. In fact, ain reasons such as family problems, lack of child care, and job demands are very much cited as the cause of withdrawal. At the same time, adults usually have pragmatic, cogitate reasons for participating and will leave whenever they get 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 i s something educators nooky improve. This Digest provides an updated look at research on retention in adult education and suggests effective practices for different settings.Adult Basic commandmentRepeatedly, attrition is described as the 1 problem in ABE. grinding 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 true of adults who must place the student role on the back burner temporarily. determine them as dr... ...cy. Kent Ohio Literacy option 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. edu catee Persistence in a Distance Education Program. Conference paper, 1993. (ED 360 931)Tracy-Mumford, F. et al. pupil Retention Creating Student Success. Washington, DC National Adult Education lord 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 companionable Networks and Their Relationship to Student Retention in On-Site GED Programs. Human Resource Development Quarterly 5, no. 2 (Summer 1994) 141-151.