"Using an Ecological Framework to Understand the College-Going Pathways of Adult Learners"

American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting
Theme: Leveraging Educational Research in a “Post-Truth” Era: Multimodal Narratives to Democratize Evidence
Toronto, Canada
April 5-9, 2019

​Title: Using an Ecological Framework to Understand the College-Going Pathways of Adult Learners (Paper)
Roundtable Session: Adults in Higher Education
Author: Constance Iloh

Abstract: Adult learners are one of the fastest growing student populations, yet they are one of the most underserved and poorly understood as it relates to their college access and decisions. In this paper, the author argues dominant college choice frameworks do not account for the important contextual factors germane to the college decisions and pathways of adult learners. In illustrating the limitations of prevailing models, the author puts forth ecology as a useful lens for examining college-going and introduces a new ecological model of college-going decisions and trajectories that will help researchers and practitioners better understand and serve adult learners.