Examinations of Learning Needs and Learning Satisfactions among Non-traditional Students

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(1)Journal of Taiwan Normal University: Education 2003, 48(1), 113-126. Examinations of Learning Needs and Learning Satisfactions among Non-traditional Students – A Case of Extension Degree Programs in a Typical College in the Central Area in Taiwan *. Dr. Chi-Jung Fu. **. Dr. Hui-chin Chu. *Kai Nan University **Shu-Te Technical University. Abstract The purpose of this study is to investigate the learning needs of non-traditional adult students in college extension degree programs and the relationship between these needs, the ways of meeting them and the degree to which they have been met. To determine whether the traditional educational setting is suitable for non-traditional students, demographic variables, four learning need factors and four need satisfaction factors were examined. The test results showed that there was a relationship between demographics and learning needs. Gender, age, and position were all factors contributing to the different needs of adult students re-entering school. The test results also showed that there was a relationship between demographics and their satisfaction. Those who sought job advancement and career change were not satisfied with their curriculum and method of instruction. Furthermore, those who had a clearer goal of job advancement were more dissatisfied with the interpersonal-related factors. However, the results also indicated that the adult students who were interested in individual achievement were more satisfied with the instructional- and interpersonal-related factors. Overall, the participants were not satisfied with the services that the school provided. The financial barrier was one of the biggest issues for most of the adult learners. Keywords: Non-traditional adult students, College-level extension programs, Learning needs and their satisfactions. Introduction Under the pressures of the trends of globalization,. unemployment rate, and other political factors, many. higher demands for skills in advanced technology, business. Taiwanese working adults have to continue their education. relocation to other countries, the continuing rise of the. to upgrade their knowledge and skills, or to learn new.

(2) 114. Dr. Chi-Jung Fu. Dr. Hui-chin Chu. skills in order to remain competitive and increase their. conducted in evenings and weekends, and the students are. earning power. Taiwanese government has been making. mostly. their efforts to promote adult extension education,. responsibilities. The instructors involved in the programs. returning education, and continuing education in order to. have had their teaching experience primarily in traditional. prepare their workforce for today’s highly competitive. college environment. Their major duties are teaching. international environment. The Ministry of Education. traditional college students. Teaching one or two extension. passed the “College Extension Education Implementation. courses is to meet their teaching load requirement.. working. adults. with. multiple. roles. and. Statute” in 1998, which allows universities and colleges to. Non-traditional adult students can be defined as. offer degree programs. College Extension Education has. having multiple roles such as parents, employees, students. become one of the mainstreams of higher education in. and so on (Knowles, 1990). Non-traditional adult students. Taiwan (Ministry of Education, 2001a). According to the. are also defined as being over twenty-four years of age, or. statistics released from the Ministry of Education, there. returning to school after a break in their education. were 61 colleges and universities offering extension. (Hirschorn, 1988). They are often married, working, and. programs with 115,721 students in 2000 compared to 52. having children, so returning to school means making a. schools with 91,761 students in 1999 and 40 schools with. significant change in their life style (Harouff, 1996).. 91,048 students in 1998 (Ministry of Education, 2001b).. Lindeman (1961) stated that adult learning is. The increasing number of extension students is another. life-centered; adult learners have a need to be self-directed,. indicator that adult continuing education is drawing more. and their individual differences are increased by ages.. attentions in Taiwan.. They are different from traditional students regarding to. College C is considered one of the typical Taiwanese. the learning needs, learning styles, and so forth. It becomes. 2-year colleges located in the central area in Taiwan that. problematic trying to serve those adult learners with the. more than 3,000 students enrolled in the weekend. same programs and services to the traditional ones.. extension degree programs during the school year of 2000.. Therefore, the present study focused on the different. The programs offer degrees in the fields of business. learning needs of these non-traditional adult students and. administration, cosmetic applications and management,. the relationship between their learning needs and the. industrial engineering and management, information. satisfaction levels toward educational services.. system, and electrical engineering. The classes are. Statement of the Problem The growth of non-traditional adult student enrolled. needs are not taken into consideration accordingly. Thus, it. in higher education demands a different and more flexible. raises a question: Can this “one size fits all” curriculum. delivery system in order to meet the students' needs (Chu. really fit all?. & Hinton, 2000). However, most of the programs offered. Most of the research studies in Taiwan focused on. in college extension programs in Taiwan are still identical. adult students’ satisfaction to the programs without. with the programs designed for traditional college students.. addressing the relationship between students’ individual. The characteristics of adult students and their learning. learning needs and their learning satisfactions. In order to.

(3) Examinations of Learning Needs and Learning Satisfactions among Non-traditional Students – A Case of Extension Degree Programs in a Typical College in the Central Area in Taiwan. serve these students effectively and to actualize the goals. 115. of adult education, a research study in this field is needed.. Literature Review students,. (Tzai, 1997). According to Houle (1961), learning. non-traditional adult learners, as defined previously, are. satisfaction occurs when learning activities meet students’. motivated to learn by the realization of the benefits of. goals and needs. Knowles (1970) and Tough (1982) both. learning. This realization motivates adult learners to learn. stated learning satisfaction occurs when the students are. at the beginning; and the learning outcomes generate more. fulfilled and motivated when they are engaged in learning. learning behaviors in the future (Young, 1991). Adults. activities.. Different. from. the. traditional. have a deep psychological need to be self-directed. They. There are many factors that influence learning. have accumulated experience that serves as a resource for. satisfaction such as: the instructor, the contents, learning. learning as well as a broad base from which to relate new. materials, teaching styles, learning climate, and curriculum. learning. They are ready to learn things that they need to. (Urdan, 1979). Cheng (1983) proposed that teacher’s. know or to be able to do in order to fulfill their role in. characteristics and teaching styles, social interaction,. society. In addition, they tend to have a problem-centered. work-related skills learning, and personal development are. orientation, which drives them to seek skills or knowledge. the factors that influence learning satisfaction. Ma (1989). that they need to apply in real-life situations (Knowles,. believed that learner’s personal factors such as: social. 1973).. background,. psychological. characteristics,. learning. According to a survey to 18 years old and older. motives; teacher’s factor such as: personality, teaching. Taiwanese people done by Lee and Luo (1992), adult. styles, teaching methods, learning contents, and attitudes. students’ learning needs include improving professional. toward students; and school factors such as: school. skills, increasing income, pursuing personal fulfillment,. environment, administrative services, and policies are. and changing career and so forth. Dr. Carole Fungaroli. factors influencing students’ learning satisfaction.. (2000) suggested in her book Traditional Degrees for. Research has identified adult learning barriers that. Non-traditional Students that adult students return to. cause adult students dissatisfaction to learning. Those. school for reasons of career change, social needs, personal. barriers. improvement, and learning itself. Some adult students are. procedural/institutional barriers, situational barriers and. seeking the opportunities of better jobs, promotions, and. psychological barriers (Tzai, 1997). Financial barrier,. better income. Some are seeking friendship, to be accepted. which is classified as one of the institutional barriers, is. by others, and network building. For the need of personal. one of the Major contributors for adult students’. improvement, their focus is to increase self-esteem,. dissatisfaction (Pinkston, 1987).. self-assurance, and to be self-fulfillment. Some are just for enjoying the learning itself.. included. informational. barriers,. Dewey, and subsequently, Knowles proposed that the adult teacher should provide physical conditions that are. Different from traditional students, adult students. comfortable and conducive to interaction; to accept each. return to school by their own choice with purposes.. student as a person of worth and to respect his feelings and. Therefore, learning satisfaction is extremely important. ideas; to seek to build relationships of mutual trust and.

(4) 116. Dr. Chi-Jung Fu. helpfulness. among. the. students. by. encouraging. cooperative activities and refraining from inducing. Dr. Hui-chin Chu. students in a mutual process of formulating learning objectives (Dewey, 1933; Knowles, 1990).. competitiveness and judgmentalness; and to involve the. Research Hypotheses The key question in this study was the following:. non-traditional students in college extension programs.. What are the learning needs of non-traditional students in a. Hypothesis 2: There is no relationship between. college extension degree programs and the satisfaction. demographic factors and the learning satisfactions of the. levels of those students with different needs toward. non-traditional students in college extension programs.. educational services provided by the school? This study was guided by the following research hypotheses:. Hypothesis 3: There is no relationship between learning. Hypothesis 1: There is no relationship between. needs. and. the. learning. satisfactions. of. non-traditional students in college extension programs.. demographic factors and the learning needs of the. Methodology The Population and The Sampling. the learning satisfactions toward educational services. According to the information provided by College C,. provided by the school. A five-point Likert-type scale. there were more than 3,000 students enrolled in the. ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) was. extension education programs during the school year of. adopted in both learning needs and learning satisfaction. 2000. Based on the suggestion of Creative Research. sections (Wiersma, 1991). There were 15 scaled-item. System (2001), the sample size of 350 students was. questions in learning needs and 22 scaled-item questions in. determined. “Cluster sampling” was selected as the. learning satisfactions.. sampling technique to ensure that the samples were. In. the. demographic. section,. there. were. 8. equally selected based on two characteristics: “majors”. multiple-choice questions which included: (a) Gender; (b). and “years in school.” There were 59 classes in the. Age; (c) Marital status; (d) Occupation; (e) Position level;. programs. Six students were randomly selected from each. (f) Personal income; (g) Major; and (h) Years in school.. class. Therefore, the sample size in the present study was. The learning needs section included four factors, which. 354 students. 294 students responded to the survey, which. were: Job Advancement (included promotion and better. led to a response rate of 83.. pay), Competency Enhancement, Career Change, and. The Survey Instrument The survey questionnaire was used to collect data in the present study contained 3 sections and 45 corresponding questions. These. Self-Accomplishment. The learning satisfactions section. sections are demographic data, learning needs (their. Factor.. purposes of attending extension education programs), and. included five factors, which were: (a) Instructional-related Factor;. (b). Environment-related. Factor;. (c). Curriculum-related Factor; and (d) Interpersonal-related.

(5) Examinations of Learning Needs and Learning Satisfactions among Non-traditional Students – A Case of Extension Degree Programs in a Typical College in the Central Area in Taiwan. 117. Limitation and delimitation The strength of the learning motivation could be a. Although,. institutional. factors. could. play. a. factor that affects student’s interests in participating in the. signification role in determination of the relationship. study. Thus, the interpretation of the survey data was. among variables in the categories of learning needs and. limited to the responding rate of the survey processes.. learning satisfactions, the intention of the present study. This study is limited to the weekend extension. was not to investigate how institutional settings affect their. degree programs in College C only, therefore, no national. relationships. Thus, the affection of difference among. comparison is made. This study is also limited by. institutional factors was limited.. self-reporting biases inherent in survey research.. Data Analysis A series of descriptive analyses was conducted. reduce survey variables to a minimum number of factors.. before an inferential statistical test for each null hypothesis.. An eigenvalue cut off point of 1.0 is considered as it was. All the data were quantified with descriptive statistics by. the most often used (Norusis, 1990). In order to provide a. using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS),. better interpretation of the factor matrix, a Varimax. version 10.0. Inferential statistical tests (t-Test, one-way. rotation technique was conducted. In addition, scaled items. ANOVA, and Correlation) were performed to test the. that had a factor loading less than .40 were omitted. research questions. All of the data was tested at a. (Stevens, 1986).. significance level of .05 (Gall, Borg, & Gall, 1996).. Based on the factor analyses, questions in the. To ensure internal consistency of the survey. learning needs section were extracted into four factors with. instrument scaled items, a series of reliability analyses. a minimum eigenvalue of 1.12 that led to a total of 62.7. were conducted. The results indicated that the survey. percent of variance. All the factors have a minimum. instrument had highly reliable Coefficient Alphas with a. loading of more than .40, which were .44; .44; .58; 46,. minimum of .85 in the 15 questions of the learning needs. respectively. Question in the learning satisfactions section. section and a minimum of .91 in the 22 questions of the. were extracted into four factors with a minimum. learning satisfactions section.. eigenvalue of 1.22, which led to a total of 61.1 percent of. Factor analyses were performed on the Learning needs section and the Learning satisfactions section to. variance. The minimum loadings were .45, .55, .42, .71, respectively.. Results and Findings The following is summary of both descriptive data. Most of the participants (73.5 %) were older than 30 years. and inferential statistical findings:. old, while only 4.8 percent of participants were younger. Analyze of Samples. than 20 years old. More than half of the participants (56.5. The majority of participants were male (68.9%).. %) were married. More than half (50.7%) of the.

(6) 118. Dr. Chi-Jung Fu. Dr. Hui-chin Chu. participants were working in manufactures, while fifteen. a mean score of 3.84, seems to be most satisfied by the. (5.1%) of the participants were unemployed. The highest. participants, while “tuition fee”, with a mean score of 2.17,. percentage (35.4%) of the participants were clerks, while. seems to be least satisfied. Items that were related to. seventy-nine respondents (26.9%) were line workers;. instructors, curriculum, and learning materials had higher. forty-five. satisfaction levels than environment-related items did.. respondents. (15.3%). were. supervisors;. twenty-eight respondents (9.5%) were management; and. Analyses of Hypotheses. thirteen respondents (4.4%) were business owners.. 1.Research Hypothesis 1:. Fifty-three participants (18.0%) had monthly income less. Research hypothesis 1 was stated as: There is no. than NT$20,000, while only 18 participants (6.1%) had. relationship between demographic factors and the learning. monthly income more than NT$50,000. However, the. needs of the non-traditional students in college extension. largest. programs.. monthly. income. group. (43.9%). fell. into. Four independent variables in the category of. NT$30,000 to NT$40,000. Because of the percentages of participants in the variables “Major” and “Years in school” were determined. Learning needs were tested separately according to the characteristics of the selected demographic variables. Gender difference caused significant difference to. at the stage of sampling procedure, no interpretation was made.. the variable Career Change. The t-value was 2.02 (p < .04).. In summary, by using modes as a guideline, a typical. Female participants had stronger desire to change their. survey participant was described generally as follows: A. careers. However, gender did not cause any difference. 30 to 39 year-old married male, who worked as an. among the other three variables. Participants who were not. administrative clerk in a manufacture environment with. married tended to have higher desire to the need of. monthly income of NT$30,000 to NT$40,000. This typical. Competency Enhancement. The t-value was 3.26 (p < .00).. participant is consistent with the profile of non-traditional. However, the results indicated an opposite direction for the. students, which is described in the literature.. variable “Career Change”. Married participants tended to. Learning Needs. have stronger desire for career change. Variables. According to the statistics test results, every item in. “Competency. Enhancement”,. this section has a mean score greater than 3, which. “Self-Accomplishment”, and “Career Change” were. indicated that all of these needs were somewhat important. different among different age groups. Their F-values were. to most of the participants. In which, “increase competitive. 5.27, 2.83, 4.24, respectively (p < .05). The variable. advantages”, with a mean score of 4.06, seems to be the. “Income” was significantly different on the factors of. most importance need. There were four items (career. “Competency Enhancement” and “Self-Accomplishment”.. development, chance of promotion, self-assurance, and. The F-values were 2.79 and 3.92 (p < .05), respectively.. fulfilling and enjoyable) having mean values larger than 4.. The results indicated that participants with lower income. Learning Satisfactions. had. stronger. desire. for. competency. enhancement.. According to the test results, all items in this section. Although, the results based on different position levels. had mean scores less than 4, which indicated that none of. also indicated a trend toward Self-Accomplishment (lower. these factors really satisfied most of the participants. In. level participants tended to be higher), the differences were. which, “relationship between teachers and students”, with. not significant. The results of the related analyses were.

(7) Examinations of Learning Needs and Learning Satisfactions among Non-traditional Students – A Case of Extension Degree Programs in a Typical College in the Central Area in Taiwan. shown in table 1 and table 2.. 119. between demographics and learning needs, therefore, the. The test results showed that there were relationships. null hypothesis was rejected. . Table 1. t-test results of the Learning Needs Factored variable. Category. Coding. n. Career Change. Gender. Female. 114. 3.69. .68. Male. 180. 3.53. .63. Single Married Single Married. 166 128 166 128. 3.99 3.70 3.52 3.69. .59 .68 .70 .65. Marital status. Competence Enhance Career Change. Mean. S. D.. t. p. 2.02. .04. 3.26. .00. -2.78. .01. F. p. 5.27. .00. 2.83. .04. 4.24. .01. 2.79. .05. 3.92. .00. Note: the statistics were shown on the tables only if the results were significant. Table 2. ANOVA test result of the Learning Needs Factored variable. Category. Coding. Competence Enhance. Age. < 20. 14. 4.34. .54. 20 to 29. 64. 3.99. .60. 30 to 39. 130. 3.91. .54. > 40. 86. 3.76. .61. < 20. 14. 3.44. .56. 20 to 29. 64. 3.39. .71. 30 to 39. 130. 3.66. .61. 86. 3.65. .65. Self-accomplishment. > 40 Career Change. Self-accomplishment. Personal income. Mean. S. D.. < 20. 14. 3.77. .81. 20 to 29. 64. 3.70. .75. 30 to 39. 130. 4.02. .72. 86. 4.10. .70. 53 65 126 31 18 53 65 126 31 18. 3.94 3.95 3.88 3.72 3.90 3.70 3.97 4.05 3.96 4.35. .58 .64 .58 .45 .65 .70 .66 .65 .79 .81. > 40 Competence Enhance. n. $. < 20 20$ to 30$ 30$ to 40$ 40$ to 50$ >50$ < 20$ 20$ to 30$ 30$ to 40$ 40$ to 50$ >50$. Note: the statistics were shown on the tables only if the results were significant. 2.Research Hypothesis 2: Research hypothesis 2 was stated as: There is no. relationship between demographic factors and the learning satisfactions of the non-traditional students in college.

(8) 120. Dr. Chi-Jung Fu. Dr. Hui-chin Chu. satisfaction differ significantly among different income. extension programs. Four. independent. variables. in. the. category. groups, there was no pattern found. The test results indicated that learning satisfaction. “Learning Satisfactions” were tested separately according to the characteristics of the selected demographic variables.. differed. significantly. Participants of different gender significantly differed in all. Participants who had no jobs had the higher level of. aspects of learning satisfactions. Among the four variables,. satisfaction. female participants tended to have higher satisfaction with. instructional-related variables while the self-employed. a lowest t-value of 2.73 (p < .01). Marital status affected. participants were the least satisfied group with a mean. participants’ attitudes toward instructional-related Factor. score of 2.84. The results of the related analyses were. with a t-value of 2.07 (p < .05). In which, participants who. shown in table 3 and table 4.. with. a. among mean. occupation. score. of. 3.55. groups. toward. This study also revealed that most of the respondents. were not married were more satisfied. The variables “Age” and “Personal Income” affected. were not really satisfied with curriculum-related variables,. participants’ attitudes toward instructional-related factors.. since there was no any group mean score higher than 3.0. The younger the participants are, the higher the. except manufacture workers. The test results showed that. satisfactions they have. The participants who make the. there were relationships between demographics and. highest income tended to have higher levels of satisfaction.. learning satisfaction, therefore, the null hypothesis was. Although the test results showed that the levels of learning. rejected.. Table 3. t-test results of the Learning Satisfactions Factored variable. Category. Coding. n. Instructor. Gender. Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male. 114 180 114 180 114 180 114 180. 3.36 3.07 2.71 2.49 3.17 2.78 3.86 3.56. .65 .73 .64 .70 .64 .72 .72 .81. 3.45. .00. 2.73. .01. 4.73. .00. 3.34. .00. Married. 166. 3.11. .71. -2.07. .04. Single. 128. 3.29. .72. 1 2. 164 130. 2.65 2.48. .68 .70. 2.15. .03. Environment Curriculum Interpersonal Instructor Environment. Marital status Years in school. Mean. Note: the statistics were shown on the tables only if the results were significant.. S. D.. t. p.

(9) Examinations of Learning Needs and Learning Satisfactions among Non-traditional Students – A Case of Extension Degree Programs in a Typical College in the Central Area in Taiwan. 121. Table 4. ANOVA test results of the Learning Satisfactions Factored variable Instructor. Category. Coding. Age. < 20 20 to 29 30 to 39 > 40 < 20$ 20$ to 30$ 30$ to 40$ > 40$ to 50$ >50$ Unemployed Government agents Manufacture workers Self-employed Non-manufacture workers Unemployed Government agents Manufacturing Workers Self-employed Non-manufacture workers. Instructor. Personal income. Instructor. Occupation. Curriculum. n. Mean. 14 64 130 86 53 65 126 31 18 15 27 149 43 58 15 27 149 43 58. 3.63 3.35 3.17 3.03 3.35 3.11 3.14 2.99 3.59 3.55 3.31 3.30 2.84 3.17 2.94 2.80 3.07 2.84 2.91. S. D. .93 .60 .73 .71 .75 .75 .67 .66 .73 .63 .72 .64 .78 .84 .65 .92 .64 .71 .79. F. p. 4.23. .01. 3.09. .02. 4.30. .00. 2.82. .01. Note: the statistics were shown on the tables only if the results were significant. opportunity to promotion or getting higher pay tended to. 3.Research Hypothesis 3: Research hypothesis 3 was stated as: There is no relationship between learning needs and the learning satisfactions. of. non-traditional. students. in. have lower satisfaction toward interpersonal-related factors. The variable “Self-Accomplishment” was positively. college. related to the variables of instructional-related factors and. extension programs. Four variables of “Learning Needs” and four. interpersonal-related factors. Participants who had stronger. variables of “Learning Satisfactions” were paired and. desire for self-accomplishment and social needs tended to. performed. have higher satisfaction toward instructional- related and. paired-sample. correlation. analysis.. Six. paired-samples were significantly related (Table 5).. interpersonal-related factors. The variable “Career Change” was negatively related. The variable “Competency Enhancement” was positively related to the variables of environment-related. to. factors. Participants who had stronger desire for improving. curriculum-related factors. Participants who had stronger. their competence tended to have higher satisfaction toward. desire for changing their careers tended to have lower. environment-related factors.. satisfaction. The variable “Job Advancement” was negatively. the. variables. of. toward. instructional-. related. instructional-related. and. and. curriculum-related factors.. related to the variables of interpersonal-related factors.. The results indicated that there were relationships. Participants who had stronger desire for increasing their. between learning needs and learning satisfaction, therefore.

(10) 122. Dr. Chi-Jung Fu. Dr. Hui-chin Chu. the null hypothesis was rejected. Table 5. Paired Samples Correlation Results of Selected Paired-Variables Variable Pair. n. Correlation. p. Competency enhancement. vs.. Environment-related factor. 294. .18. .00. Job advancement. vs.. Interpersonal-related factor. 294. -.16. .01. Self-accomplishment. vs.. Instructional-related factor. 294. .24. .00. Self-accomplishment. vs.. Interpersonal-related factor. 294. .35. .00. Career change. vs.. Instructional-related factor. 294. -.24. .00. Career change. vs.. Curriculum-related factor. 294. -.17. .00. Note: the statistics were shown on the tables only if the results were significant.. Conclusions Female adult learners were more satisfied with their. meet the requirements of the increasing expenses on. learning than their counterparts. They also were concerned. children’s education and other demands. Lower income. more about career change, which supported the previous. students. study made by Malin in 1980 that female adult students are. competency levels which is consistent with the assumption. more satisfied with their learning compared to males.. that lower income students are more likely to seek for job. Younger adults (29 years old and younger) showed. advancement and career opportunities. Higher income. stronger tendency on pursuing competency enhancement. students in this present study showed higher satisfaction. while the older adult learners (30 years old and older) were. levels than their counterparts.. more concerned about career change. Age only showed. had. stronger. tendency. to. improve. their. Previous studies found that occupation is a factor. on. that affects student’s learning satisfactions (Ma, 1988; Yu,. instructional-related factors in which the satisfaction levels. 1998). The finding of the present study is consistent with. dropped as age increases. This finding seemed opposite to. the literature. None of the groups were satisfied with the. the literature that the older adult learners are more satisfied. environment-related factors. This revealed an important. with their learning. This might be attributed to Taiwanese. issue that financial concerns are a big problem for adult. culture and the educational practices in Taiwan that is still. students re-entering schools. The mean score on Item 16. traditional. Therefore, a further study in depth on age is. (tuition fees) in satisfaction section was only 2.17, which. needed.. indicated that tuition fee they have to pay for their. differences. toward. learning. satisfaction. Married adult learners had higher tendency to. education was one of the reasons that respondents were not. change their career while unmarried adult learners were. satisfied with. Financial burden has always been a problem. more concerned about competency enhancement. It can be. for adult students (Chu & Hinton, 2000).. assumed that married adults are more likely to have a need. Position was also a factor affecting student’s. to make more money in order to support their families.. satisfactions. This study found that the business owners. The income of their current jobs might not be sufficient to. were the most satisfied group towards instructional-related.

(11) Examinations of Learning Needs and Learning Satisfactions among Non-traditional Students – A Case of Extension Degree Programs in a Typical College in the Central Area in Taiwan. factors,. curriculum-related. interpersonal-related. factors.. and. more satisfied with their learning. Students who are older. negative. cared about their careers were less satisfied with the. factors, There. is. a. 123. and. instructional-related factor and curriculum-related factor.. Interpersonal-related factors. The higher the desire for job. Taiwanese educational practices, which tend to be more. advancement, the lower the satisfactions.. traditional than non-traditional, might not be able to meet. relationship. between. Job. Advancement. As described earlier, younger groups tended to have. their learning needs. This could be attributed to the fact, as. strong desire for self- accomplishment. This study also. discussed earlier, that older students were less satisfied. found that students who were seeking self-accomplishment. with the educational practices in Taiwan. Therefore, one. tended. toward. can conclude that the participants who were older and. interpersonal-related. were seeking career changes had unfavorable attitudes. to. have. instructional-related. higher factors. satisfaction and. levels. factors. Therefore, it could be concluded that participants. toward factors related to instruction and curriculum.. who were younger and pursuing self-accomplishment were. Contributions of the study Learning needs of adult students were significantly. re-enter school, the government might need to provide. different among different groups in almost every aspect of. financial helps such as student loans for adult learners, and. demographic variables. Therefore, the philosophy of “one. other means to help adult learners to return to school.. size fits all” toward adult extension education definitely. Business. does not work. Practitioners of adult education in Taiwan. reimbursement for the workers who are seeking advance. have to make their efforts in curriculum design and. training and education.. instructional methods to enhance adult learning.. employers. Compared. with. also. other. should. three. provide. factors,. financial. learning. Most of the older learners did not accept traditional. environment-related factors received lowest level of. teaching techniques. To improve the efficiency of teaching. satisfaction. Institutes may need to alter their strategies for. and to obtain better learning results, the researchers. creating a more suitable learning environment for adult. suggest that the adult instructors should seek advanced. learners. To simplify registration processes, special. education in learning and applying the concept of. hotlines for providing services to adult learners, online. Andragogy, which is defined as “the art and science of. service of A&Q section are suggestions to this area.. teaching adults” proposed by Dr. Malcolm Knowles, and. Age is a factor affecting adult student satisfactions. to improve their interpersonal skills of dealing with those. on learning, and most of the studies on learning. adult learners. Taiwan government should take this issue. satisfaction indicated that the older the adult learners, the. seriously and develop an implementation plan such as. higher the satisfaction levels toward learning. However,. providing training, workshops, and seminars to instructors. this particular study did not show the same pattern. This. who are involved with teaching adult learners.. might be attributed to cultural differences and traditional. Most adult students considered financial issues as. educational practices in Taiwan. Therefore, further study is. most critical reason in learning activities continuity. In. needed on cultural issues and educational practices in. order to provide better opportunities for adult learners to. Taiwan..

(12) 124. Dr. Chi-Jung Fu. Dr. Hui-chin Chu. References: Cheng, Li-Jane (1983). A relationship between class climate and learning behaviors of adult learners in supplementary high school programs. Unpublished Master’s thesis. National Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan. Chu &. thesis. submitted. to. National. Taiwan. Normal. University. Lindeman, E.C. (1926). The meaning of adult education. New York: Harvest House. Ma, F.T. (1988). The relationship between teacher’s. Hinton. (2000). Factors. affecting. student. behaviors. and. student’s. satisfaction. in. social. completion in a distance learning mediated HRD. education programs. Unpublished Master’s thesis.. baccalaureate program. Paper presented at the. National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan.. meeting of the AHRD 2000 Conference Proceedings, Washington, D.C., U.S.. satisfaction of adult men and 4 women attending. Creative Research System. (2001). Survey software that makes. you. look. good.. Internet. document.. 2000. Traditional. 115-130. Education,. Dewey, J. (1933). How we think. Boston: Health.. Carole,. college. Research in Higher Education, 13 (2), Ministry of Education, (2001a), Regulation. Ministry of. http://www.surveysystem.com/ Fungaroli,. Malin, J.T. (1980). Factors affecting the performance and. degrees. for. non-traditional students, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Gall, M., Borg, W., & Gall, J. (1996). Educational research – An introduction (6th ed.). New York: Longman. Harouff, D. (1996). Services for non-traditional students. Dalily Collegian, Kansas State Unviersity. Hirschorn, M. W. (1988). Many colleges expect their enrollment of black students to increase in Fall. Chronicle of Higher Education, 34 (36). A1,35,36. Houle, C. O. (1961). The inquiry mind. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Knowles, M. (1970). The modern practice of adult education: Andragogy vs. pedagogy. New York: Association Press. Knowles, M. (1973). The adult learner: A neglected species. Houston: Gulf Publishing Company. Knowles, M. (1990). The adult learner – A neglected th. species (4 ed.). Gulf Publishing Company. Lee, D.W. & Luo, W.G. (1992). Adult’s learning needs and implementation in vocational education. Master’s. Taiwan.. Internet. document.. http://www.edu.tw/ Ministry of Education, (2001b), Figures of schools and students. Ministry of Education, Taiwan. Internet document. http://www.edu.tw/ Norusis, (1990), SPSS/PC+ statistics 4.0 for the IBM PC/XT/AT and PS/2. Chicago: SPSS Inc. Pinkston, R. (1987). University support programs, academic. achievement,. and. retention.. (ERIC. Document Reproduction Service No. ED 283 441) Stevens, J. (1986). Applied multivariate statistics for the social. sciences.. Hillsdale,. N.J.:. L.. Erlbaum. Associates. Tough, A. (1982). Intentional change: A fresh approach to helping people change. Chicago: Follett. Tzai, P.T. (1997). Adult career education: Point of view of developmental missions. Adult education, 40, 2-9. Urdan, T. C. (1997). Achievement goal theory: past results, future directions. In M. L. Maehr & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Advances in motivation and achievement (Vol. 10, pp. 99-141). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press Inc. Wiersma, W. (1991). Research methods in education: An.

(13) Examinations of Learning Needs and Learning Satisfactions among Non-traditional Students – A Case of Extension Degree Programs in a Typical College in the Central Area in Taiwan. introduction (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Young, K.D. (1991). Accreditation of adult learning achievements. Adult education, 59, 20-25.. 125. Yu, P. (1998). An investigation of student’s satisfaction in 2-year college extension programs. Unpublished Master’s thesis. National Sun Yet-San University, Taiwan..

(14) 師大學報：教育類民國 92 年，48(1)，113-126. 檢視非傳統學生之學習需求及學習滿意度－以台灣中部某專科學校進修課程為例 **. 傅啟榮. *開南管理學院. **. 朱惠琴. **樹德科技大學. 本文主要在研究大專推廣教育非傳統學生之學習需求以及探討學習需求與滿意度的關係，本研究針對大專推廣教育非傳統學生之個人變數、學習需求及滿意度等相關變數分別檢視其間的相關強度。結果發現，接受回流教育的非傳統學生其學習需求與性別、年齡、及經濟狀況等變數相關。研究結果也顯示，這些個人變數也與他們對學習的滿意度相關。其中，以工作相關因素為學習訴求的學生對課程安排、老師指導方式及師生關係的滿意度較差。而以自我成就為學習訴求的學生對課程及師生關係有較佳的滿意度。整體而言，目前的課程設計，無法滿足非傳統學生多樣化的學習需求，學生對學習的滿意度未能達到滿意的水準。回流教育最大的障礙，可能來自學生經濟壓力的因素。關鍵字: 非傳統學生，大專推廣教育，學習需求及滿意度.

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