Marcin Legeżyński Are You Mature Enough for Adult Learning?

As the saying goes, we learn all our lives, meaning that we always get new experiences that teach us new things and provide inspiration. But some college or university students take this slogan literally and enrol in new academic coursesenrol in new academic courses [enrol in a new academic course]enrol in new academic courses when they are over 40 or even 50 years old. Why do they take this challenging step long after reaching, what we could call, a mature age?

Why Become an Adult Learner?

Reasons for older adults to join the education system 20 or 30 years after their last formal schooling episodeformal schooling episodeformal schooling episode usually come from their changing professional or private circumstances. Firstly, adult learners sometimes make such a decision when they find themselves at the career crossroadsat the career crossroadsat the career crossroads. For example, they may face the threat of job redundancyface the threat of job redundancyface the threat of job redundancy or reductions of working hoursreductions of working hours [reduction of working hours]reductions of working hours as a result of the changing professional reality. Also, they may have got into one field, but always had a passion for a different kind of work and now decided to follow their preferences. On the other hand, some adult learners may want to stay in the same professional area until they retire but, seeing colleagues with degrees or professional certificationsdegrees or professional certifications [degree or professional certification]degrees or professional certifications move up the earnings ladder, they decide to follow. Or they might have started school years ago, but their lives took a different pathtook a different path [take a different path]took a different path than college graduationcollege graduationcollege graduation and they are now in a better position to complete the degreecomplete the degreecomplete the degree they once started.

Benefits of Studying Late

Whatever their reasons for coming back to school may be, there are numerous benefits of late participation in academic courses that mature students enjoy. Firstly, they usually surpass younger students in general life wisdomgeneral life wisdomgeneral life wisdom and self‑confidenceself‑confidenceself‑confidence. Having lived through many professional turmoils and challenges, adult learners can apply this experience in their studies which makes the process of gaining new knowledge and skillsgaining new knowledge and skills [gain knowledge, gain a skill]gaining new knowledge and skills much easier. Also, most mature students have worked for many years in a multi‑generational environment, so they already know how to relate to different age groups. That’s why despite being above the average age of other students, they cooperate with them with ease. In addition, mature students generally have stronger motivation to learn as they know exactly what they want to achieve through their studies and usually choose study topics they find to be of personal interest. This means that burying themselves in booksburying themselves in books [bury oneself in books]burying themselves in books and cramming before examscramming before exams [cramming before an exam]cramming before exams or writing long assignmentswriting long assignments [writing a long assignment]writing long assignments could be a lot easier for them than for their younger peers, who are therefore more likely to drop out before graduationdrop out before graduationdrop out before graduation. Although not every adult learner is able to personally take part in classes, the development of modern technology, such as means of distance learningmeans of distance learningmeans of distance learning, enables mature students to learn from home if necessary. They can access a library, review past exam papersreview past exam papers [review past exam paper]review past exam papers or carry out researchcarry out researches [carry out research]carry out research using the internet. Participation in professional or academic courses proves very beneficial to older students, too. In addition to gaining new skills and knowledge, it brings serious advantages to both their social and cognitive healthsocial and cognitive healthsocial and cognitive health. Being in school can simply help them stay younger! Learning new things strengthens their memoriesstrengthens their memories [strengthen memory]strengthens their memories and keeps them sharpkeeps them sharp [keep sharp]keeps them sharp for longer by exercising their brains.

Challenges Faced by Adult Students

Of course, mature students re‑entering a college or a university will encounter certain problems, too. One of them can be the need to handle a heavy load of schoolworkheavy load of schoolworkheavy load of schoolwork along with full‑time employment. Too much stress or an intense scheduleintense scheduleintense schedule may lead to frustration and fatigue. However, these risks can be usually overcome by good time management skillsgood time management skillsgood time management skills which adult learners usually have sufficiently developed. Therefore, most mature students are very successful in their studies and do really well at their finalsdo really well at their finals [do really well at their final]do really well at their finals.

1 Źródło: Marcin Legeżyński, licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.