Learning and Teaching in Universities: Perspectives from adult learners and lecturers

This paper focuses on one aspect of a UK/Belgian research study on the access of adults to university. As a full time adult student, lectures and seminars form a central part of being a student yet adults' experiences of learning at university is a relatively under-researched area. For part-time students the experiences are different. Many in this study had been out of formal education for a long time. How do they adjust to an academic culture? What are their attitudes towards different forms of assessment and teaching styles. The attitudes of lecturers towards teaching adult students are also explored. How do different academic cultures impact upon their attitudes as teachers of adult learners? Has the presence of adults changed their teaching style? For adult learners external factors, such as class, gender, ethnicity and private lives, also shape their experiences of learning at university in a complex interaction between structure and agency.