Online coursework is dramatically changing the higher education landscape, particularly for adult learners. And while research notes the way these courses increase college opportunity for post-traditional students, they have poor learning and completion out-comes at many of the institutions to which older students frequently enroll. The author conducted a qualitative exploration involving 34 adult students at a large community college on the west coast to better understand the perceptions, experiences, opportunities, and challenges of online instructional delivery for adult students. Informed by semi-structured interviews with participants, findings from this study highlight: (1) the challenge of being a digital/online course novice, (2) online courses as better in theory than practice, and (3) problematic institutional assumptions that online pedagogy is better for adult learners. Results from this investigation provide new directions for implementation of online courses for adult learners students in higher education.
AlsaatyF. M.CarterE.AbrahamsD.AlshameriF. (2016).
Traditional versus online learning in institutions of higher education: Minority business students’ perceptions. Business and Management Research,
5(2), 31–41. doi:10.5430/bmr.v5n2p31
2.
AusburnL. J. (2004).
Course design elements most valued by adult learners in blended online education environments: An American perspective.Educational Media International,
41(4), 327–337.
3.
BaimeD.BaumS. (2016). Community colleges: Multiple missions, diverse student bodies, and a range of policy solutions (pp. 1–20, Rep.).
Washington, DC:
Urban Institute.
4.
BambaraC. S.HarbourC. P.DaviesT. G.AtheyS. (2009).
Delicate engagement: The lived experience of community college students enrolled in high-risk courses. Community College Review,
36(3), 219–238.
5.
BarbatisP. (2010).
Underprepared, ethnically diverse community college students: Factors contributing to persistence. Journal of Developmental Education,
33(3), 16–20.
6.
BennettC. F.MondsK. E. (2008).
Online Courses: The Real Challenge Is Motivation.College Teaching Methods & Styles Journal (CTMS),
4(6), 1. doi:10.19030/ctms.v4i6.5553
7.
BogdanR. C.BiklenS. K. (2003). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theories and methods (4th ed.).
Boston, MA:
Pearson Education Group, Inc.
8.
BoydR. D.AppsJ. W. (1980). Redefining the discipline of adult education.
San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
9.
BraggD. D. (2001).
Community college access, mission, and outcomes: Considering intriguing intersections and challenges.Peabody Journal of Education,
76(1), 93–116. doi:10.1207/s15327930pje7601_06
10.
BurgessJ. V. (2006). Transactional distance theory and student satisfaction with web-based distance learning courses (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). The University of West Florida, Florida, USA.
11.
CerconeK. (2008).
Characteristics of adult learners with implications for online learning design. AACE Journal,
16(2), 137–159.
12.
ChoitzV.PrinceH. (2008). Flexible learning options for adult students.
Boston, MA:
Future Works and Jobs for the Future.
13.
CohenA. M.BrawerF. B. (1996). The American community college (3rd ed.).
San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
14.
ComptonJ. I.CoxE.LaananF. S. (2006). Adult learners in transition. In LaananF. S. (Ed.), Understanding students in transition: Trends and issues. New directions for student services, No. 114 (pp. 73–80).
San Francisco, CA:
Jossey Bass.
15.
CoxR. D. (2005).
Online education as institutional myth: Rituals and realities at community colleges.Teachers College Record,
107(8), 1754–1787.
16.
CoxR. D. (2006). Virtual access. In BaileyT.MorestV. S. (Eds.), Defending the community college equity agenda (pp. 110–131).
Baltimore, MA:
Johns Hopkins.
17.
DeweyJ.BentleyA. F. (1949). Knowing and the known.
Boston, MA:
Beacon Press.
18.
FernandezW. D. (2004). The grounded theory method and case study data in is research: Issues and design. In HartD. N.GregorS. D. (Eds.), Information systems foundations: Constructing and criticizing.
Canberra, Australia:
ANU E-Press.
19.
GarrisonR. (2000).
Theoretical challenges for distance education in the 21st century: A shift from structural to transactional issues. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning,
1(1), 1–17.
20.
GiossosY.KoutsoubaM.LionarakisA.SkavantzosK. (2009).
Reconsidering Moore’s transactional distance theory. European Journal of Open Distance and ELearning,
2009(2), 1–6. Retrieved from http://www.eurodl.org/?article=374.
21.
GorskyP.CaspiA. (2005).
A critical analysis of transactional distance theory. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education,
6(1), 1–11.
22.
GrinagerH. (2006). How education technology leads to improved student achievement.
Washington, DC:
National Conference of State Legislatures.
23.
HajibayovaL. (2017).
Students' viewpoint: What constitutes presence in an online classroom?Cataloging & Classification Quarterly,
55(1), 12–25.
24.
HallJ. C. (2001). Retention and wastage in FE and HE.
Glasgow, Scotland:
The Scottish Council for Research in Education.
25.
HillmanD. C.WillisD. J.GunawardenaC. N. (1994).
Learner-interface interaction in distance education: An extension of contemporary models and strategies for practitioners.The American Journal of Distance Education,
8(2), 30–42.
26.
HowellS.LawsD.LindsayN. (2004).
Reevaluating course completion in distance education – Avoiding the comparison between apples and oranges. Quarterly Review of Distance Education,
5(4), 243–252.
27.
HuangX.ChandraA.DePaoloC. A.SimmonsL. L. (2016).
Understanding transactional distance in web-based learning environments: An empirical study.British Journal of Educational Technology,
47(4), 734–747.
28.
IlohC. (2014).
A critical comparison of website marketing at for-profit colleges & community colleges. National Association of Student Affairs Professionals Journal,
15(2), 91–106.
29.
IlohC. (2016).
Exploring the for-profit experience: An ethnography of a for-profit college. American Educational Research Journal,
53(3), 427–455.
30.
IlohC. (2018).
Toward a new model of college “choice” for a twenty-first-century context.Harvard Educational Review,
88(2), 227–244.
31.
IlohC.TierneyW. G. (2014).
Using ethnography to understand twenty-first century college life. Human Affairs,
24(1), 20–39.
32.
IvesK. S. (2006).
Community colleges and distance learning. Journal of Asynchronous Learning,
10(3), 85–94.
33.
JaggarsS.BaileyT. (2010). Effectiveness of fully online courses for college students: Response to a department of education meta-analysis.
New York, NY:
Community College Research Center.
JohnsonH.Cuellar MejiaM. (2014). Online Learning and Student Outcomes in California’s Community Colleges.
San Francisco, CA:
Public Policy Institute of California.
36.
JohnsonH. P.MejiaM. C.CookK. (2015). Successful online courses in California’s community colleges.
San Francisco, CA:
Public Policy Institute of California.
37.
JonesK. R. (2013).
Developing and implementing a mandatory online student orientation. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks,
77(1), 43–45.
38.
KaswormC. (1990).
Adult undergraduates in higher education: A review of past research perspectives.Review of Educational Research,
60(3), 345–372.
39.
KaswormC. (2003).
Setting the stage: Adults in higher education.New Directions for Student Services, 102, 3–10.
40.
KawachiP. (2003a).
Vicarious interaction and the achieved quality of learning. International Journal on E-Learning,
2(4), 39–45.
41.
KeF. (2010).
Examining online teaching, cognitive, and social presence for adult students.Computers & Education,
55(2), 808–820. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2010.03.013
42.
KeF.ChavezA. F. (2013). Web-based teaching and learning across culture and age.
New York, NY:
Springer.
43.
LevinT.WadmanyR. (2006).
Listening to students’ voices on learning with information technologies in a rich technology-based classroom.Journal of Educational Computing Research,
34(3), 281–317.
MbwesaJ. K. (2014).
Transactional distance as a predictor of perceived learner satisfaction in distance learning courses: A case study of bachelor of education arts program. Journal of Education and Training Studies,
2(2), 176–188.
46.
MooreK.BartkovichJ.FetznerM.IsonS. (2003).
Success in cyberspace: Student retention in online courses. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College,
10(2), 107–118.
47.
MooreM. G. (1993). Theory of transactional distance. In KeeganD. (Ed.), Theoretical principles of distance education (
Vol.1, pp. 22–38).
New York, NY:
Routledge.
48.
MooreM. G.KearsleyG. (1996). Distance education: A systems view.
Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth.
49.
MooreM. G.KearsleyI. G. (2012). Distance education: A systems view of online learning (3rd ed.).
New York:
Wadsworth Publishing.
50.
MoustakasC. (1994). Phenomenological research methods.
Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
51.
MupingaD.NoraR.YawD. (2006).
The learning styles, expectations, and needs of online students.College Teaching,
54(1), 185–189.
52.
NiA. Y. (2013).
Comparing the effectiveness of classroom and online learning: Teaching research methods.Journal of Public Affairs Education,
19(2), 199–215.
53.
PanacciA. G. (2015).
Adult students in higher education: Classroom experiences and needs. College Quarterly,
18(3).
54.
ParsadB.LewisL. (2008). Distance education at degree-granting postsecondary institutions: 2006–07 (NCES 2009-044).
Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.
55.
PascarellaE. T.TerenziniP. T. (1998).
Studying college students in the 21st century: Meeting new challenges. The Review of Higher Education,
21, 151–165.
56.
PascarellaE. T.TerenziniP. T. (2005). How college affects students. Vol. 2: A third decade of research.
San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
PusserB.LevinJ. (2009). Re-imagining community colleges in the 21st century: A student-centered approach to higher education.
Washington, DC:
Center for American Progress.
59.
Ross-GordonJ. (2011).
Research on adult learners: Supporting the needs of a student population that is no longer nontraditional. Association of American Colleges and Universities,
13(1), 26–29.
60.
RumbleG. (1986). The planning and management of distance education.
London, UK:
Croom Helm.
61.
SabaF. (2000).
Research in distance education: A status report. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Education,
1(1), 1–9.
SeamanJ. E.AllenI. E.SeamanJ. (2018). Grade increase: Tracking distance education in the United States.
Babson Survey Research Group:
Babson Park, MA.
65.
ShannonD. M. (2002).
Effective teacher behaviors and Michael Moore’s theory of transactional distance.Journal of Education for Library and Information Science,
43(1), 43–46.
66.
SitzmannT.KraigerK.StewartD.WisherR. (2006).
The comparative effectiveness of web-based and classroom instruction: A meta-analysis.Personnel Psychology,
59(3), 623–644.
67.
SoaresL. (2013). Post-traditional learners and the transformation of postsecondary education: A manifesto for college leaders.
Washington, DC:
American Council on Education.
68.
SuB.BonkC. J.MagjukaR. J.LiuX.LeeS.-h. (2005).
The importance of interaction in web-based education: A program-level case study of online MBA courses. Journal of Interactive Learning Research,
4(1), 1–19
69.
Van NoyM.HeidkampM.KaltzC. (2013). How are community colleges serving the needs of older students with disabilities.
New Brunswick, NJ:
John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers University.
70.
WhiteC. (2005).
Contributions of distance education to the development of individual learners.Distance Education,
26(2), 165–181.
71.
ZeidenbergM.BaileyT. (2010). Human resource development and career and technical education in American community colleges.
New York, NY:
Columbia University, Community College Research Center.
