What I’m Reading: ‘Post-Traditional Learners and the Transformation of Postsecondary Education’

Charles Key

In preparation for my new administrative role, which involves adult education, I scrambled to find as much information as I could about current practices in that area. Up until then, my knowledge consisted mainly of what I had learned from watching both of my parents attend school in the evenings (after working all day) and on the weekends as nontraditional, postsecondary students.

I was introduced to Louis Soares’s paper, “Post-Traditional Learners and the Transformation of Postsecondary Education: A Manifesto for College Leaders.” In this publication, by the American Council on Education, Mr. Soares identifies the rise of the post-traditional learner. Why the new moniker? The term “nontraditional,” used for data collection and statistical analysis, makes that group of learners seem like an aberration, yet data seem to show that the categorical distinctions between traditional and nontraditional are increasingly irrelevant. The need for customizable educational experiences seems equally applicable to members of the millennial generation who now attend our universities.

The paper offers great insight into the changing landscape of postsecondary students. Rethinking the nature of our students may very well offer us insight into new strategies and innovations we can use in higher education, and give us more opportunities to influence society for the better.