A Motivational Typology of Adult Learners

The new “new student”: The working adult

“…Motivational typologies, for example, have been put forth: Morstain and Smart (1977) delineate five categories of adult learnersnondirectional, social, stimulation-seeker, career oriented, and life change. Motivational typologies, for example, have been put forth: Morstain and Smart (1977) delineate five categories of adult learnersnondirectional, social, stimulation-seeker, career oriented, and life change.…”

Retaining adults: New educational designs for a new clientele

“…For some, the anticipated increases in salary will barely outweigh the total cost of the program. Often, however, the motivation for adult learners is not an increased earning capacity but a desire to learn for the sake of learning or to make new friends (Morstain and Smart, 1977). In these cases, education may be more a luxury than a necessity, and costs must be reasonable or many students will not indulge themselves.…”

Attribution Processes and Stages of Adult Life Development Among Adult University Students1

“…Clayton and Smith (1987), using the Continuing Education Women Motives Questionnaire, found that reentry women could be classified according to motive type: self-improvement; self-actualization; vocational; role; family; social; humanitarian; and knowledge. Morstain and Smart (1977) found that among 648 nontraditional students, several motivational dimensions could be identified. Students were classified as nondirected learners, social learners, stimulation-seeking learners, career-oriented learners, and life change learners.…”