“Educating older adults has been important to adult and continuing education for years, but the reality of a skyrocketing aging population is now upon us. This reality evokes a sense of urgency for adult and continuing educators in higher education to respond.”
There is a body of research that shows that higher education has a great opportunity to take advantage of adult learners who want to return to school for a wide range of reasons. Some of which include; 1) Learning to learn, or the joy of learning 2) Learning to connect and 3) Learning to work. Many adults are not planning to retire at 65 and are looking to find programs that will train them for new or better jobs in the workforce.
DiSilvestro, Frank R. “Continuing Higher Education and Older Adults: A Growing Challenge and Golden Opportunity.” New Directions For Adult & Continuing Education 2013, no. 140 (Winter2013 2013): 79-87. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 3, 2017).