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5899507
Readiness to Learn and Assessment of Learning Outcomes on Off-CampusAdult Learners
Sariwati Mohd Shariff¹, Fadzilah Azam Ahmad² and Shatina Saad³
¹Faculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, MALAYSIA²Faculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, MALAYSIA³Faculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, MALAYSIA sariwati@salam.uitm.edu.my 
ABSTRACT: This conceptual paper seeks to identify the factors that influence working adults to pursue continuing education and to ascertain their level of readiness to learn during discourse of their educational study. Assessments of learning outcomes are also being studied to determineeffectiveness with respect to adult learners’ needs and the off campus programs’ objectives.Based on literature review, intrinsic factors are cognitive, self development needs and personalaspirations, and extrinsic factors are career, economic needs, social needs, cognitive interest,family support and opportunity influence working adults to seek continuing education. Thelearning outcomes on adult learners are evaluated based on the cognitive development, skills and personal development, and affective development outcomes of the learners themselves.Henceforth, based on this conceptual paper, a proposed study is intended to carry out in 2009 onworking adults who are currently studying in Off–campus Business Management programs in alocal public institution of higher education to determine their readiness to learn and assessingtheir learning outcomes. Data collection will be done via quantitative survey which will becarried out on all academic staff engaged in conducting off-campus programs to assess teachingand learning of the adult students; as well as on the adult students’ perceptions towards their learning outcomes. A descriptive analysis will be done using SPSS, version 12.0. Results of thisstudy can be used for future continual improvement on adult teaching and learning techniques,and producing quality continuing educational programs towards achieving customer satisfactionfor the working adults to pursue lifelong learning and to be competitive in extension education programs.Keywords: Adult learning, learning outcomes, continuing education, lifelong learning
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Knowledge-driven economy, knowledgeable workers, transforming towards learning organizations,human capital development have been extensively discussed by many parties for the past several yearssince the year 2000; these are strategies to remain competitive in business, operations, market share for  business-organizational survival towards globalization. Nowadays, people are not only competingtowards competency and skilful on the jobs but also to equip oneself with new knowledge and newtechnology to keep abreast with the fast changing world and to meet higher expectations and workingstandards in a stiff world economy. The trends of working adults pursuing further education have beenincreasing; either pursuing master programs or first degree programs via full time or part time basis.Likewise, the numbers of institutions providing educational courses or academic programs have beengrowing due to the increasing demand on working adults pursuing further education. With workingadults as students in class, the importance of adult learning principles cannot be denied. Whatmotivates working adults to pursue continuing education, and how learning help to improve work  performances and develop the human capital? This conceptual paper provides an insight on factorsinfluencing adults in continuing education, adult learning principles and its learning outcomes.
 
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1.1 The need for continuing education
Education has become a condition of existence inseparable from the quality of life (Nowlen,1988).The demand for continuing education will intensify due to the fast changing information technology,the changing nature of knowledge, increasing organizational complexity, the drive to maintainexcellence, to remain competitive, the public demand for professional accountability, rapiddevelopment of new technologies and shifts in governmental regulations (Nowlen, 1988). As for thecontext within Malaysia, opportunities for continuing education are ample to attract workers towardsacquiring higher academic qualifications, via various educational incentive schemes such as provisionof educational funds and easy withdrawal from employees provident funds. There are many options for continuing education that vary from short courses, professional continuing educations, trainings,seminars, and formal education. The more formal education one had, the more he/she participates inlearning experiences of all kinds throughout his/her life (Nowlen, 1998). Continuing education has itsepisodic uses, involving continuing learning, self directed learning, informal learning experiencestowards development of higher performances, skills and proficiencies to meet the future challenges,new responsibilities and professionalism. With the current global economic recession in 2009 thatresulted in worldwide retrenchments and jobless workers are increasing, one appropriate move is toupgrade oneself by undertaking additional academic or professional qualifications so as to add personalworth and value.
1.2 Models for participation in continuing education
According to the update model (Nowlen,1988), one pursue continuing education through shortcourses, seminars, specific programs to update with new information, requirements, knowledge, practices to fulfil the needs to keep current or well-informed. Being up to date is only one aspect of therelationship of knowledge and skill to competence. Workers need to demonstrate the art, skills andwisdom that reflect competence at work. To be competent is to possess the generic knowledge, theability to demonstrate skills and behaviours related to processes or performances, traits and self schemaor image as a professional. The competency model encompasses four clusters of abilities, namelysocio-emotional maturity, entrepreneurial, intellectual and interpersonal abilities. Competence alsoinclude motivation
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the process of values and goals recurrently driving behaviour, attitudes, motives,traits and their interplay have relative impact on worker’s performance. A working adult normally andgradually moves through successive working cultures as one progress throughout his/her job careers;meaning a worker executes a variety and multiple cultural roles through the occupational, civic,interpersonal and familial environments. Each role experience can strengthen the individual’s drive for  better performance. Contrary to the update model and competency model, pursuing continual learningwould enhance one’s work performance as the performance model elicits that successful performancedirectly resulted when an individual achieves a level of competence; thus he is capable to move on tonew challenges. A good performance leads to sustain effectiveness and able to assimilate innovationstowards both personal and organizational development (Nowlen, 1988). Based on the performancemodel in continuing education, the performance of a worker is the result of interacting social and personal influences: the worker’s mastery on baseline knowledge and skills, the ability to challengenew roles, possess requisite human relations skills, critical skills of mind, proficiency in self managedlearning, individual development progress, organizational developmental balance, the skills in copingwith life surprises as well as its anticipative transitions; and understanding of the influences of environments and culture and skills to orchestrate them (Nowlen, 1988).Other models on adult learning participation such as Miller’s Force-Field analysis modelexemplifies that working adults from lower socio-economic group participate simply for job relatedand basic skills reasons; while adults from higher social groups would seek education to satisfyachievement and self-realization needs; the Rubenson’s Expectancy-Valence Model addressed thedecision to participate in later education is a combination of both socialization and structuraldimensions as well as the individual orientation; meaning the expectancy consist of the anticipation of  being successful in an educational situation, and valence relates to the value a person puts in theeducation (Merriam and Caffarella, 1999). However, the Cross’s Chain-of-Response Model illustratesadult participation learning is the result of a chain of responses to both psychological andenvironmental factors, staring with self evaluation as to whether achievement in an educationalsituation is possible; evaluation of attitudes about education; evaluation of the importance of goals and
 
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expectations; life events and transitions; opportunities and barriers towards learning; and if all theresponses along the chain are positive, then the result will be participation in education.
2.0 FACTORS INFLUENCING CONTINUAL LEARNING
Whenever we ask working adults why they pursue continuing education, they would most oftenmention that their education is sponsored by their organizations, secondly there are ample learningopportunities (Merriam and Caffarella, 1999). Within Malaysia, there are many learning opportunitiesand choices for working adults. There are independent organizations such as training and consultancyorganizations, business or residential associations and learning centres providing informal learning or educational programs; private and public educational institutions offering wide choices on formallearning through part time academic programs.Adults pursue learning where they perceived a performance gap; and that gap is perceived asopportunities for learning. Secondly, concern for measurement: the ability to meet defined, or specificquantifiable measures are seen as ne w learning activity in particular when venturing into new areas.The urge to learn arise when workers develop experimental mindset to adapt to changes in work  processes, policies and structures and are willing to try out to learn. Thirdly, the openness andaccessibility of information with the advancement in technology triggers that need to learn (Merriamand Caffarella, 1999).Based on studies in US and UNESCO, the most common cited reasons for engaging in continuallearning are firstly, job related motives; secondly personal development; thirdly personal interest andthen professional or career upgrading; these clearly show that there is a strong link between an adultwork’ life and participation in adult education (Merriam and Caffarella, 1999). Other studies alsoshown that working adults pursue education for future changes in the lives, due to life transitions, andlearning for its own sake. Houle (1961) described that adults have different sets of learningorientations: some adults are goal-oriented learners who use education as a means for achieving someother goals; activity oriented learners who participate for the sake of the activity itself; and thelearning oriented adults who seek knowledge for its own sake.Morstain and Smart (1974) research revealed the six-factors on why adults engage in continualeducation: 1) social relationship factor: this factor reflects participation in order to make new friends;2) external expectations factor: complying with the wishes or directives of an authority; 3) socialwelfare factor: this factor reflects an altruistic orientation; the learners are involved because they wantto serve others or their community; 4) professional advancement factor: this factor is stronglyassociated with job enhancement or professional advancement; 5) escape or stimulation factor: thisfactor is indicative of learners who are involved as a way of alleviating boredom or escaping home or routines; 6) cognitive interest factor: the adults are engaged for the sake of learning itself.In summary, adults are responsive to external motivational factors such as getting a better job,earning a higher income, to move on or to start a new career, to fulfill social needs and family support,and opportunities for continual learning; while the intrinsic motivators within the individuals are thedesire for knowledge, personal development and self aspiration.
2.1 Adult learning
An adult learner is just a person typically within the age of thirties to forties whom has completedhigh school education or more, works full time and most often in white collar occupations, earning anaverage income, married and has children and lives in an urbanized area whom decides to engage infurther education with the desire to acquire some knowledge and skills to satisfy personal aspirations(Merriam and Caffarella, 1999).Andragogy is the art of and science of helping adults to learn (Merriam and Caffarella, 1999).Andragogy or adult learning principles are based on five assumptions about the adult learner: 1) as a person matures, his/her concept moves from that of a dependent personality towards one of a self-directing human being; 2) an adult accumulates a growing reservoir of experience, which is a richresource for learning; 3) the readiness of an adult to learn is closely related to the developmental tasksof his/her social roles; 4) an adult is more problem-centred than subject-centred in learning; 5) adultsare motivated to learn by internal factors rather that external factors (Knowles, 1980). However, adultlearning principles may not be applicable across the board; it is dependable on situations. Henceforth,at times both pedagogy-andragogy principles are applicable within a continuum range from teacher-directed to student-directed learning, and that both approaches are appropriate with children and adults.
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