Research
Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view PDF files. To download a free copy, please visit the Adobe web site. Adult Learner Retention Revisited
S. Kerka, ERIC Digest No. 166, ERIC Clearinghouse of Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, 1995
Looks at the reasons for high attrition rates in adult education and higher education programs and describes methods used to help adult learners persist in both settings.
http://www.ericdigests.org/1996-3/adult.htm California Adult Education Research Digest: Learner Persistence in Adult Basic Education
S. Kerka, California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project (CALPRO), Number 2, 2005
A brief review of the literature on adult learner persistence. Looks specifically at research on managing positive and negative forces, intake, social supports, goal setting, and follow-up and redirection.
Download/view: PDF (335KB) | HTML Focus on Basics: Learner Motivation
National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), Volume 2, Issue A, 1998
A series of articles on learner motivation in adult education programs. Articles include: Building Motivation by Building Learner Participation; Stopping Out, Not Dropping Out; and Where Attendance is not a Problem.
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=157 Helping Adults Persist: Four Supports
J. Comings and L. Soricone, in Focus on Basics, National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), Volume 4, Issue A, 2000
Defines persistence in adult education and based on a review of the literature and interviews with practitioners, identifies the following four supports to persistence: awareness and management of positive and negative forces, self-efficacy, goal setting, and measuring progress.
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=332 "I've Come A Long Way": Learner-Identified Outcomes of Participation in Adult Literacy Programs
B. Bingaman and O. Ebert, National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), 2000
Explores the lives of ten adults and the reasons they participated in adult education. Also describes the adult education experience, barriers to participation, and reasons for staying in or leaving a program.
Download/view: PDF (489KB) Improving Retention in Adult Basic Education and Recommended Strategies for Effective Instructional and Counseling Interventions.
B. Allan Quigley, Ohio Literacy Resource Center (OLRC)
Offers specific recommendations for effective counseling and teaching intervention strategies, based on new knowledge about motivational constructs among resistant Adult Basic Education (ABE) student dropouts. Assists ABE programs in dealing with student resistance.
http://literacy.kent.edu/Oasis/Pubs/0600-3.htm "One Day I Will Make It": A Study of Adult Student Persistence in Library Literacy Programs
K. Porter, S. Cuban, and J. Comings with V. Chase, Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC), 2005
Presents findings from a study of nine programs participating in the Literacy in Libraries Across America (LILAA) initiative, funded by the Wallace Foundation. Compares participation patterns with student demographics and achievement, identifies challenges to persistence, and describes approaches to improving persistence. Also offers recommendations for future program design and practice.
Download/view: PDF (1.2MB) | HTML Persistence Among Adult Basic Education Students in Pre-GED Classes
J. Comings, A. Parrella, and L. Soricone, National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), 1999
Part of the first phase of NCSALL's Persistence Study. Examines a wide range of reasons adults drop out of programs and identifies four key persistence supports: relationships, goals, teachers/students, and positive self-image.
Download/view: PDF (219KB) | HTML Program Participation and Self-Directed Learning to Improve Basic Skills
S. Reder and C. Strawn, Focus on the Basics, National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), Volume 4, Issue D, 2001
An analysis of baseline data collected by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy’s Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning (LSAL). Data show a relationship between program participation and self-directed learning that may affect how programs approach outreach and student retention.
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=287 Staying the Course: Factors Influencing Enrollment and Persistence in Adult Education
Michelle Tolbert, MPR Associates, Inc., 2005
This Adult Education Background Paper looks at who does — and does not — enroll in adult education programs, identifies specific subpopulations needing assistance with basic skills, and describes promising practices used by programs to target potential participants and to motivate and retain them in programs.
Download/view: PDF (109KB) | HTML |
