Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW 1

Literature Review

Corrie S. Hawes

CCSD 562: Qualitative Research with Today’s Diverse College Students

Professor Edwin Romero, Ph.D.

September 19, 2018

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Introduction

It can be simple to envision a traditional college student or university campus. However,

the realm of possibilities related to higher education has shifted and expanded to include new

types of programs, along with many new types of non-traditional students (Deggs, 2011).

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, enrollments in adult learners increased

by 35% between 2000 and 2012 (Karmelita, 2017). With this increase, many institutions are

creating attractive evening classes and accelerated options that help non-traditional students

continue to hold down full-time employment while furthering their education (Miller, 2017).

As student affairs professionals, it is imperative to not only acknowledge this new type of

student, but to learn about their specific needs, obstacles and experiences in order to serve them

effectively. Through reviewing literature related to non-traditional students, specifically adult

learners, we can begin to gain new insights into this population’s attributes of persistence,

overcoming and resilience in the midst of low retention rates, challenges with interrole conflict

and the importance of creating a sense of connection for adult learners.

Persistence, Overcoming and Resilience

Across the literature, a concern for low retention rates among non-traditional adult

learners is evident (Cotton, Nash & Kneale, 2017; Deggs, 2011; Markle, 2015; Merrill, 2015;

Miller, 2017). According to Deggs (2011), institutions cannot successfully meet the needs of

adult learners until they can begin to grasp the various barriers that they regularly experience.

The particular retention risks that non-traditional students present warrant an expanded

consideration of how students push through barriers, according to Cotton, Nash and Kneale

(2017). Deggs (2011) further states that “...barriers are never extinct for adult learners and they
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must work to overcome or manage barriers which emerge” (p. 1540). Within the literature, three

strategies emerged as adult learners manage the neverending emergence of barriers: persistence,

overcoming and resilience (Cotton, Nash & Kneale, 2017; Deggs, 2011; Markle, 2015).

In Deggs’ (2011) study of 21 adult learners, the most common strategy to overcome

hardship was identified as managing time and utilizing organization. In addition, students shared

that ​being persistent ​helped them push through student challenges (Deggs, 2011). In ​Factors

Influencing Persistence Among Nontraditional University Students,​ author Gail Markle (2015)

uses role theory to examine various factors that influence students’ persistence rates. Although

one third of participants considered academic withdrawing, they went on to describe how they

overcoming barriers to persist until graduation (Markle, 2015). The primary factor that aided in

persistence and overcoming was the meaning that completing the degree carried (Markle, 2015).

Attributes of persistence and overcoming among adult learners could clearly be identified

in Cotton, Nash and Kneale’s (2017) study through using a resilience framework, which assists

practitioners in identifying which students are at risk of academically withdrawing. Using a

resilience framework aids practitioners in expanding the ​how​ and ​why​ of students overcoming

particular boundaries (Cotton, Nash & Kneale, 2017). Through the framework lens, staff, faculty

and administrators can identify ​flags​ or ​risk factors ​early on that indicate persistence or retention

concerns, enforcing a prompt support system for students (Cotton, Nash & Kneale, 2017).

Interrole Conflict

The adult learner of today is identified as constantly holding various roles and

responsibilities in addition to their position as student (Deggs, 2011; Markle, 2015). Some of the

responsibilities that they hold may include financial independence, full-time employment, having
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dependents and being a single parent (Deggs, 2011). In addition, adult learners vary greatly in

regards to family life, vocational experiences and academic backgrounds (Deggs, 2011). With so

many individualized experiences, conflicts among role priorities are likely to arise and create

even more barriers for adult students (Deggs, 2011; Markle, 2015). Examples of adult student

barriers include demands for energy and time, establishing financial security, community and job

demands, caring for family relationships and questioning vocational choices (Deggs, 2011).

Gail Markle’s (2015) research concerning non-traditional college students further

expands to examine the concept of interrole conflict, which views the various demands presented

to students in the domains of family, work and school. Although the literature identifies how all

adult learners experience interrole conflict, women experience higher levels of conflict “...due to

their internalization of the intensive mothering and ideal student roles” (Markle, 2015, p. 270).

According to Markle’s (2015) results, women’s higher levels of interrole conflict, attributed to

high performance expectations for work, family and school, put them at especially higher risk

than men to academically withdrawal. This gender differentiation regarding interrole conflict is

extremely important to acknowledge as student affairs professionals work with adult students.

Interestingly, research by Barbara Merrill (2015) challenges traditional views of adult

learners who decide not to complete an academic program. Students who withdraw from their

program early identified as being prepared to develop their roles within work and family contexts

because​ of the learning and benefits gained academically, despite early withdrawal (Merrill,

2015). Both students who completed the program and withdrew felt that they experienced

positive effects in both agency and determination academically, as well as in roles outside of

higher education (Merrill, 2015). Since Merrill’s research only focused on a small sample size of
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adult learning students, this may be a gap in the literature that requires further study.

Sense of Connection

Many adult learners have been away from college for an extended period of time and

require support services from the university in which they are enrolled to help them be

academically successful and feel connected (Gallagher & Mishra, 2013; Karmelita, 2017;

Markle, 2015). In ​Fundamental Elements of Transition Program Design​, author Courtney

Karmelita (2017) discusses how the adult learner’s transition back into academics can be

supported by the institution, providing a sense of mattering and connection for each student.

Through utilizing both Schlossberg’s Transition Theory and Cross’s description of adult learner

barriers, Karmelita (2017) identifies how relating curriculum to real-life experiences, fostering

effective relationships and connecting students relationally can help adult learners transition into

academics, while decreasing barriers. Through an adult learner’s transition into school, peer

support and reflections on life histories continually connect students with a sense of purpose,

despite that transition being identified as non-linear or punctual (Fragoso, 2013).

The theme of connection for adult learners echoed in many ways throughout the

literature. Miller (2017) discussed how non-traditional adult learners want to connect their

educational experiences to their real-world experiences. “Adult students want to be treated with

respect and dignity and want to contribute to their classroom experience,” stated Miller (2017, p.

106). When adult students feel respected in the classroom, it can build a foundation for ongoing

connection between faculty and students, suggests Miller (2017). Furthermore, in order for adult

learners to maintain a sense of connection, university faculty and staff must develop their skills

to provide better support services and ongoing orientation to adult learners (Miller, 2017).
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As suggested by both Karmelita (2017), Gallagher and Mishra (2013), university

professionals can gain a sense of adult learners’ success by simply assessing the level at which

they feel connected. By listening to the voices of the students (Gallagher and Mishra, 2013) and

focusing on the needs of the adult learners themselves (Karmelita, 2017), institutions can begin

to grasp how to innovate their academic programs, while maintaining a sense of connection.

Truly listening to the voice of the students is clearly identified as a priority within the theme of

connection across the literature: “These new adult learners bring learning styles and life

experiences that may either be critical foundations for future success or deeply entrenched

beliefs that hinder learning in the academic environment” (Kenner & Weinerman, 2011, p. 87).

A sense of connection is also identified within the literature as an entity that expands

beyond the academic program (Most, Kazmer & Marty, 2013). As students create social bonds

and find emotional support primarily among peers—as well as with faculty and staff—they are

able to maintain the bonds that they established during studies to create academic networks

within their professional and vocational lives (Most, Kazmer & Marty, 2013). Supporting a sense

of connection among students does not only help to facilitate academic success, but may also

attribute to success beyond the classroom, according to Most, Kazmer and Marty (2013).

Conclusion

It is evident through a review of the literature that non-traditional adult learners are

students who have individualized challenges and experiences that vary greatly from traditional

undergraduate students. Through reviewing the literature, we have learned about adult students’

characteristics of persistence, overcoming and resilience through low retention rates, hardships

with interrole conflict and the importance of facilitating a sense of connection for adult learners.
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Resources

Cotton, D. E., Nash, T., & Kneale, P. (2017). Supporting the Retention of Non-Traditional

Students in Higher Education Using a Resilience Framework. ​European Educational

Research Journal,​ ​16(​ 1), 62-79.

Deggs, D. (2011). Contextualizing the perceived barriers of adult learners in an accelerated

undergraduate degree program. ​Qualitative Report, 16​(6), 1540-1553.

Fragoso, A. (2013). The Transition of Mature Students to Higher Education: Challenging

Traditional Concepts?. ​Studies In The Education Of Adults,​ ​45(​ 1), 67-81.

Gallagher, S., & Mishra, S. (2013). Your customer’s voice: An innovation roadmap for

professional education. ​Continuing Higher Education Review​, 77-85.

Karmelita, C. (2017). Fundamental elements of transition program design. ​Adult Learning, 28(​ 4),

157-166.

Kenner, C., & Weinerman, J. (2011). Adult Learning Theory: Applications to Non-Traditional

College Students. ​Journal Of College Reading And Learning,​ ​41(​ 2), 87-96.

Markle, G. (2015). Factors influencing persistence among nontraditional university students.

Adult Education Quarterly: A Journal of Research and Theory, 65​(3), 267-285.

Merrill, B. (2015). Determined to Stay or Determined to Leave? A Tale of Learner Identities,

Biographies and Adult Students in Higher Education. ​Studies In Higher Education,​

40​(10), 1859-1871.

Miller, N. (2017). A model for improving student retention in adult accelerated education

programs. ​Education, 138​(1), 104-114.

Most, L. R., Kazmer, M. M., & Marty, P. F. (2013). Intangible factors influencing the successful
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completion of graduate LIS coursework by non-traditional students: A case of two

IMLS-funded scholarship projects. ​Journal of Education for Library and Information

Science,​ ​54(​ 3), 205-219.