Adult Students’ Problems in the Distance Learning

Abstract

A visible intention to encourage high-quality training of the adult population is evident in many EU countries. The Education Development Strategy of Latvia also anticipates an increase in the proportion of adult students. Distance learning is one of the most convenient forms of education for adult students who have priorities different from learning, such as work and family. However, this form of education has its own problems connected with the peculiarities of distance education as well as with the peculiarities of adult audience. The article is devoted to the research, which purpose is to identify and explore the range of problems commonly encountered by mature students studying remotely, using the experience of Transport and Telecommunication Institute. This article emphasizes the factors causing the feeling of anxiety, concerns regarding the education process and learning results in adult learners, and can deter adults from participation in distance education such as: loss of learning skills, lack of experience in distance education, financial costs of education, lack of support by the family or by the employer, sense of hopelessness and irrelevance of their education, etc. The authors suggest some methods to cope with this anxiety and to optimize the learning process. The findings of this article should be useful for academic and administrative staff of the university providing distance education for adult students.

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