The study examined the congruence of educational programmer expectations and motivations of older adults, over the age of 60 years, for this group to pursue educational (non-credit) experiences in later life. The major purpose of the study was to determine if a relationship existed between what the educational programmers perceived of as the motivations of the older adults and the self-reported choices of this same group. The two survey samples for the study consisted of 249 institutions of higher education in the United States and an equal number of former ELDERHOSTEL participants. Each of the fifty states was represented by a minimum of four institutions and four older adults. In states with large numbers of institutions or a large senior population, a 5% sample was drawn. The educational institutions were selected on the basis of a replication of a 1982 survey in which the author participated. Data was collected by first class mail survey. The sample consisted of 193 usable responses from institutions of higher education and 208 former ELDERHOSTEL participant surveys that were usable for 78% and 84% response rates, respectively. The instrument used in the survey was developed from a combination of Bova's and Covey's studies on older adults' participation in higher education. It consisted of 20 randomly arranged course offerings from the ELDERHOSTEL catalogs. Educational programmers and former participants in the ELDERHOSTEL program were requested to rank order the courses in order of preference of student or personal choices. Selections were assigned a weighted average value based upon Harris and Associates "Concerns of Senior Adults" poll and a composite developed by the author of Stated Motivations and Subject Matter desired by Older Adults participating in Education over the past 18 years. Findings revealed low congruence between programmer expectations and participant motivations when the data were compared as an aggregate. The study concluded that generally there is a lack of congruence between educational programmer expectations and senior adult motivations concerning the pursuit of educational experiences in later life.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/186404 |
| Date | January 1983 |
| Creators | CONTER, ROBERT VICTOR. |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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