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Adult education literature suggests that a teacher's actions affect student achievement. To test the appropriateness of the adult education theory base, this study examined the relationship between the teacher's practice of the principles in the literature as measured by the Principles of Adult Learning Scale and student academic achievement based on teacher assessment. It involved 29 teachers and 837 students in an adult basic education program. A significant relationship between teaching style and academic achievement was found. The findings were congruent with the literature base in the basic level and English as a second language classrooms but incongruent with the literature in the GED setting. This contrast was attributed to the differing cognitive and affective focus and the nature of the goals in each type of course. These findings suggest that other situationally specific studies are needed to further clarify the general adult education literature base.

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The problem and the solution.The fields of continuing professional education and human resource development each provide instruction that enables individuals to improve their work performance. However, the fields have different definitions, stakeholder outcomes, and measures of quality, so selecting one type of program rather than the other can greatly influence the instructional experience. This article focuses on how professionals in both fields can improve their practice by better understanding the fields’ definitions, theoretical foundations, outcomes, and measures of quality.