Adult Growth in College: The Effects of Age and Educational Ethos

Journal of College Student Development, May/Jun 1998 by Graham, Steven W

I used a national sample of 27,811 undergraduate students who had completed the ACT College Outcomes Survey to evaluate the effects of the college environment on academic and intellectual development and to compare the outcomes for adult learners with those for younger students. Comparisons between traditional-aged students (i.e., 18 to 22 years old) and adult learners (i.e., 27 years or older) revealed that: (a) adults reported slightly higher levels of development than the younger students and (b) the greater the satisfaction with the educational climate, the greater the reported growth on outcomes for both adults and traditional-aged students. These findings suggest that regardless of age, students profit when they feel they are supported by the educational ethos (e.g., faculty availability, concern, and respect for students).

During the past decade or so, Astin (1984, 1993, 1996) and others (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Kuh, 1993a, 1995) have emphasized the effect meaningful involvement in the college environment has on student development as well as the role of out-of-class learning experiences (Kuh, Schuh, & Whitt,1991; Schroeder & Hurst, 1996; Terenzini, Pascarella, & Blimming,1996). Yet despite this focus on involvement, engaging all students in the broad campus environment may be more difficult lately due to the changing demographic characteristics of the students enrolled in higher education institutions. Aslanian and Brickell (1988) reported that approximately 40% of the students enrolled as undergraduates in higher education could be classified as adult learners. This may present a problem for colleges as they attempt to involve adult students in the campus environment when they will not be on campus as much as the traditional students.

To further complicate this issue, despite the larger numbers of adult learners in higher education, even prominent researchers in the field indicate that the research literature is dominated by studies of White, traditional-aged, full-time students, attending residential colleges (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Terenzini et al., 1996). Emphasizing this point in a recent address, Terenzini (1995) recommended that new research is needed to evaluate how college affects adult students and other new types of students so we understand how the college environment affects adult students. This study investigates the effects of college on the academic and intellectual development of adult students, compares their growth to younger students, and assesses the role of the college educational climate or ethos in this development.

Pascarella (1989) reported modest gains in critical thinking for college students, particularly in weighing evidence and evaluating strong and weak arguments, when comparing matched groups of high school seniors, some of whom later attended college and some who did not. In a comprehensive review of over 2,500 studies on the impact of college, Pascarella and Terenzini (1991) looked at a wide variety of issues related to college attendance. They found college attendance was associated with significant and net increases in several domains including verbal, quantitative, subject matter, cognitive growth, self-concept and self-esteem, moral development, attitude, and value areas. One consistent theme among the studies was that the students, experiences during college had more impact than the nature of the colleges or universities themselves (Pascarella,1991; Pascarella &Terenzini, 1991; Terenzini & Pascarella, 1991; Terenzini & Pascarella, 1994). Kuh (1995) reported college graduates exhibited a number of positive gains in content knowledge, autonomy, verbal and quantitative skills, and cognitive complexity. He found growth in five general areas including practical competence, cognitive complexity, knowledge, and academic skills.

Adult students enroll in college for different reasons than do traditional-aged students, often to address life events or transitions. Because of the variety of life roles and responsibilities they assume, adults have fewer opportunities to become fully involved in the college environment or interact with peers or faculty which could potentially affect the impact of their college experiences. Chartrand (1990, 1992), Cupp (1991), Kasworm (1990a), Shere (1988), and Valentine and Darkenwald (1990), noted the effects of low self-confidence and the fears of adult learners as they return to college. Despite these issues, after reviewing over 300 studies on adult undergraduate students in higher education, Kasworm (1990b) found adult students did as well or better than traditional-aged students based on grades and aptitude or content test performance measures. Kuh (1993a) found comparable outcomes among all ages of students discussing their college experiences both in and out of the classroom. In interviews with 150 seniors, the perceived benefits of attending college did not differ for those who were over the age of 23, attended college part-time, lived off campus, had families, or worked more than 20 hours a week. Examining the new majority students, Arnold, Kuh, Vesper, and Schuh (1993) found a complex relationship between age and part-time or full-time enrollment; sometimes the variables had a positive effect on gain scores and in other instances they had negative effects. They also reported that age and enrollment status interacted with each other and with involvement to affect personal growth and learning. For example, older students who interacted with peers outside of class showed benefits in general education as well as arts and the humanities.