ABSTRACT
Given the increased importance of lifelong learning, adult students in higher education represent a growing population in the terrain of higher education. This increase in older students has brought with it a growth in student diversity and heterogeneity (Kasworm, 2003). Adults enrol in higher education for several reasons and with different prior educational experiences. Adult students' approaches to learning might also be somehow different from their younger colleagues because they are in a different life stage and perceive the world and their future time differently (Kasworm, 2003; MacKeracher, 2004; Richardson, 1994; Vermunt, 2005). Because of their complex lives and many different roles, these adults deliberately seek out educational settings that support their way of learning. Therefore, there is a need in theory and in higher education practice to understand learning patterns across the lifespan.
