Question

Develop outlines showing how trends like workforce diversity, technological innovation, globalization, and changes in the nature of work have affected the college or university you are attending now.

Answer 1

This argument / research explores this invisible aspect of undergraduate diversity, and addresses how competence-based education, which focuses on demonstrating the actual ability to do, is an innovative approach that caters to adult learners’ life phase and learning needs. College arguably is a youth-centric phase of life generally designed for the younger student. However, the stereotypical full-time student who lives on campus is actually a small percentage of the entire postsecondary population. Due to the demands of an increasingly competitive world of work, nontraditional adult learners will continue to seek out postsecondary education. Unfortunately, the credit hour system is a significant barrier for both entry and success of adult learners. Merits of competence-based education are discussed, and implications are provided to best meet this significant component of student diversity.In the broader discussion of diversity in colleges and universities, NALs should not be neglected. For too long, this significant section of the undergraduate student population has been ignored. While they are motivated students, they have less opportunity to successfully engage in postsecondary education due to the youth-centric collegiate culture serving as a barrier to both entry and success for NALs. The demands of a dynamic world of work requires an increasingly educated workplace and employees. NALs are looking to better their own situations and part of their strategy is to engage in postsecondary education. Because their presence on campuses is projected to continue to grow and at a faster rate compared to the traditional, late adolescent student, they can no longer be ignored. The totality of the undergraduate student population is outgrowing the traditional educational mold. Ignoring this section of diversity in the undergraduate population will ultimately have economic, political, and social ramifications.

An important population of student diversity that is often neglected in postsecondary education, however, is nontraditional adult learners (NALs) even though they represent approximately 38.2% of the postsecondary population in the United States (National Center for Education Statistics, 2009). NALs, usually defined as aged 25 and over, also include those under 25 but who have characteristics indicative of adult responsibilities, such as working full-time, being financially dependent, has nonspousal dependents, is a single parent, as well as having a nontraditional educational trajectory, such as delayed enrollment into higher education or did not complete high school (Horn, 1996). Given these characteristics, the majority of students in undergraduate programs can be classified as nontraditional, suggesting that the traditional student, who enrolls full-time and lives on campus, is now actually the exception rather than the norm (Choy, 2002), even though they, the traditional student, arguably receive the vast majority of attention and resources from colleges and universities.

The NAL To meet the learning needs of NALs, it is necessary to understand the nature of their diversity, who they are, and why they decide to enroll. Compared to traditional students, who primarily perceive their identity as students, NALs primarily perceive their identities as employees (Wirt et al., 2002), and it is through this identity in which they evaluate and prioritize higher learning. For the traditional-age student who enters college shortly after high school graduation, their identities have revolved around being a student. While many may have held part-time jobs and may have been involved with organizations that were not befitting of a student role, most of their time was spent as a student, and this primary identity moves with them to college. NALs, however, spend the majority if not all of their current time out of the educational setting, and mostly in employment settings. It is through this employment-based identity rooted in adult life responsibility in which they seek postsecondary education. Their unique diversity revolves around three general characteristics: the role of adult identity, the role of self-direction, and the role of life experience. The Role of Adult Identity One of the primary reasons that NALs struggle with postsecondary education is the competing nature of their life roles that accompany adulthood. While they may seek educational opportunities to advance their career identities, which may ultimately have a positive impact on their role as a caregiver in the long-term, the commitment and effort needed in the short-term in adopting a student role often comes in conflict with familial roles and work roles. NALs typically experience what is known as role strain (Goode, 1960), which is experiencing difficulty in meeting the demands of separate life roles. Roles strain is further subdivided into role conflict, role overload, and role contagion. Role conflict occurs when meeting the demands of multiple roles interfere with each other. Role overload occurs when there is a lack of resources to the demands of a role. Role contagion occurs when preoccupation with one role while being engaged in another. When NALs decide to add on a student role, this is another variable that adds to their experience of role strain. NALs’ engagement with higher education is impacted by the intersection of role strain and life stressors. Commitment to the student role, which conflicts with other roles (Padulla, 1994), has been found to be a significant predictor of psychological distress (Chartrand, 1990), and especially detrimental is that stress impacting work identity is the strongest predictor of well-being (Giancola, Grawitch, & Borchert, 2009). Simply put, the greater level of distress that interferes with the student role, the greater likelihood of disengagement with postsecondary education. Indeed, NALs’ work-based identity is one that is most likely to be non-negotiable, and they have very little control over it. The demands of a job or a manager tend to push other identities aside. When NALs compare their struggles to the traditional-age student, the perception of difference was related to thoughts of withdrawing (Markle, 2015). When stress related to adult role conflict arises, NALs feel isolated from what they feel is a youth-centric environment that does not understand them or attempt to accommodate them. The Role of Self-Direction To cater to NALs’ diversity, educators and practitioners must understand the difference between pedagogy, “the science and art of teaching children” (Knowles, 1980, p. 43), from andragogy, or “the science and art of teaching adults” (p. 43). Catering to adult learning needs requires understanding some basic assumptions about adult learners that are distinct from the late adolescent student. Whereas pedagogy is educatordependent (i.e., the educator is central to the learning process and students are dependent upon the expertise of the educator), andragogy is learner-dependent (i.e., the learner is central to the learning process and the educator is a partner). There are six key assumptions about adult learners (Knowles, 1980): 1. Self-concept: Adults desire becoming more selfdirected and independent 2. Experience: Adult brings life experiences into learning situations, which can enhance or prevent learning 3. Readiness to learn depends on need: Life situations determine the need and readiness to learn 4. Problem-centered focus: Immediate application of learning is essential, especially to solve a relevant problem Chen 5 5. Internal motivation: These are motivations that are personally meaningful and more influential 6. The need to know why they are learning something: Adults need to see the relevance of the learning Inherent in these assumptions about adult learners is the personalization of learning, and the importance of learning both in terms of practical utility and personal meaning. These assumptions fit with their developmental life phase and their work-based identity, which demands that NALs take initiative and hold responsibility for their life outcomes. At the root of the concept of andragogy is self-directed learning, which is a foundational tenet of adult learning theories (Merriam, 2001). Self-directed learning is a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes. (Knowles, 1975, p. 18) Self-directed learning and andragogy are important perspectives in understanding adult learning because it follows a long tradition of defining the purpose of learning for adults: that education is necessary for a changing world and a fundamental skill crucial to the life of every adult citizen (Knowles, 1975). Adult learning was founded partially upon the view that education is a medium for citizenry and a vital component of both self-betterment and societal progress (Dewey, 1916, 1938). Education is vital for becoming a competent and active adult and citizen, and a significant portion of the ability to do so is to improve one’s economic stability. NALs are unlikely to stay committed to their schooling if they cannot justify it with outcomes that will improve or better their life situation, which ultimately becomes an issue of economics (Cruce & Hillman, 2011). The Role of Experience and Social Context Whereas the traditional student is more impressionable and has limited life experiences, NALs are not “blank slates” (Nelken, 2009, p. 183) and they enter learning situations with significant life experiences, often accompanied with strong opinions and perspectives. This implies that adult learners do not fit the student-as-vessel learning model typically ascribed to postsecondary education where knowledge is poured into them as receptive and empty vessels (Freire, 1970). While such top-down, educator-as-expert approaches may developmentally fit with the younger learner, NALs are more engaged with learning when their experiences are included and used as a major media for learning (Chen, 2014). Importantly, NALs seek to derive meaning from their educational experiences especially as they relate to their life histories (Nelken, 2009).In using life experiences as a major medium for learning, academic knowledge moves quickly from something theoretical to something that is tangible and relevant. Understanding and perceptions of experiences are often deep-set, yet untested or evaluated. Within an academic learning environment, these perspectives are challenged when NALs interact with other students, many of whom may share different experiences and interpretations of experiences. Known as perspective transformation (Mezirow, 2009), NALs often engage in a process of learning that includes both cognitive as well as emotional change due to disorienting events that highlights the subjectivity of their perspectives. This type of learning can be highly uncomfortable yet extremely powerful because students begin to understand that their perceptions are shaped by sociocultural forces. Perspective transformation occurs when NALs engage in critical reflection, which aims to uncover biases in worldview. This type of learning is accelerated within a social context as issues related to race, class, and gender enter the learning process and understanding of experience (Cranton & Taylor, 2012). Importantly, this type of learning develops consciousness related to hegemonic worldviews (Brookfield, 2000; Freire, 1970). NALs realize that their perception and understanding of their experiences is situated within their personal social context. Therefore, they come to understand that others have different yet equally valid perceptions. NALs then experience less rigidity and more flexibility in their thinking. Competence-Based Education (CBE): A DiversityAffirming Approach to Adult Learning Given the unique diversity that NALs bring to postsecondary education, CBE is a model of learning that is particularly well-suited for them. It is defined as a learning structure that is flexible and focused on mastery of academic content regardless of time, place, or pace of learning (Porter & Reilly, 2014). This type of education is distinct from traditional approaches that dominate the postsecondary education landscape because it is not tied to assigning college credit by seat time (i.e., actual time spent in a classroom), and, instead, provides students with personalized learning opportunities with various ways to earn college credit, including blended learning, project- and community-based learning, prior learning assessments, and independent learning. It focuses on the actual demonstration of skills learned. Learning within a competence-based framework entails both the development and demonstration of new, improved learning, or the expanded ability to do (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). Especially important in competence-based frameworks is the ability to adapt learning to a variety of situations and challenges (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005), which happens to be a necessary and vital attribute for employment success (Eichinger & Lombardo, 2004). CBE approaches fits well with NALs’ learning needs due to its academic flexibility as well as its conceptual alignment with the demands and processes within the world of work. CBE approaches have been in existence since the 1970s but have exploded in popularity over the past few years with more than 600 postsecondary institutes offering CBE or planning to do so (Tate & KleinCollins, 2015).