dc.contributor.author	Roberson, Alicia Richards
dc.coverage.spatial	United States	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2025-06-13T16:31:54Z
dc.date.available	2025-06-13T16:31:54Z
dc.date.issued	2025-06-05
dc.identifier.other	4ea09379-b995-467e-a277-a3b894a33441	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10428/7457
dc.description.abstract	The following study was conducted with five adult learners who returned tocomplete an undergraduate degree after stopping or dropping out of college as traditional students. Basic interpretive inquiry was used to find themes in their stories to understand their experiences as traditional students that led to their departure, their reasons for returning to finish their degrees and their experiences as a returning adult learner. Each participant shared his or her experiences during a 90-minute interview process. The interviews were transcribed and themes were developed from the participant’s responses. From the interviews, the researcher gained a better understanding of the adult learner experiences. These findings were connected the conceptual frameworks for Schlossberg’s transition theory and Knowles’ andragogy. While the responsibilities for most of the participants as adult learners differed little from when they were traditional students, their motivation for attending had shifted from extrinsic to intrinsic. Additionally, as adult learners, the participants focused on the age difference between them and their peers and how that would impact their experience and sense of belonging. While institutional challenges existed like policies around transfer credit, course offerings and a lack of clear support structures specific to adult learners, the voice of faculty speaking encouragement to the participants made a significant impact on their experiences as students. Based on these research findings, it is recommended that additional research be conducted on traditional age students with adult learner responsibilities, on the population of students who know they must take breaks in education and leave with a plan to return, and the experiences of faculty teaching adult learners. Keywords: Education, Higher; Adult education; Dissertations, Academic--United States; 4-year degree; Adult students; Degree Completion; Non-traditional student; Stop Out	en_US
dc.format.extent	1 electronic record. PDF/A document, 111 pages, 1216121 bytes.	en_US
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.rights	This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.	en_US
dc.subject	Education, Higher	en_US
dc.subject	Adult education	en_US
dc.subject	Dissertations, Academic--United States	en_US
dc.subject	Nontraditional college students	en_US
dc.subject	College dropouts	en_US
dc.subject	Motivation in adult education	en_US
dc.subject	College dropouts--Prevention	en_US
dc.subject	Academic achievement	en_US
dc.subject	Universities and colleges—Admission	en_US
dc.title	The Journey from Traditional Student to Adult Learner: Hurdles and Victories	en_US
dc.type	Dissertation	en_US
dc.contributor.department	Department of Curriculum, Leadership, and Technology of the Dewar College of Education and Human Services	en_US
dc.description.advisor	Workman, Jamie
dc.description.committee	Hull, Karla
dc.description.committee	Archibald, James
dc.description.degree	Ed.D.	en_US
dc.description.major	Curriculum, Leadership & Technology	en_US