Attitudes towards Academic Learning and Learning Satisfaction in Adult Students

The current paper presents a study regarding adult students' attitudes towards academic learning, seen as an ongoing socially-integrated and personally-consistent process, in linkage to learning satisfaction, in its multifaceted structure and complex understanding. The study aims to investigate how do students, who are above the average age of most of their faculty colleagues, relate to the academic endeavor and also their preferences and perceived abilities when it comes to learning and the consequent challenges. For this reason, a convenience sample of 80 adult students, ages 25 to 57, was involved and asked to give an input regarding different learning-related aspects. From a methodological point of view, a questionnaire consisting of 19 closed-ended items was used, measuring, on one hand, one's perception regarding learning contexts and outcomes, and on the other hand, the self-perceived efficiency of one's learning efforts, on a five-point Likert scale. The findings were put in a relationship with the learning satisfaction measured for the whole academic experience, for each individual. Learning satisfaction was measured through a 26 items inventory referring to the concept from a factorial perspective (six identified factors pertaining to learning satisfaction), on a six-point intensity scale. Results converge into a perspective where age is an intriguing factor in possibly differentiating between attitudinal patterns concerning learning and satisfaction that pertain to the academic experience. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.