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Adult Education Learning programs are ideal for prospective adult educators to facilitate academic classes and professional development programs that prepare adults for the GED or another high school equivalency.
Adult Basic Education and ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers, for example, teach adults basic skills like reading and speaking English.
With a degree in Adult Education Learning, graduates work with non-traditional learners re-entering the educational system to further their education, broaden their horizons, or get their first diploma or degree.
Educators of this type may face unique challenges with these students because of their age and potentially their employment status in the areas of educational human resource development and as training and development managers.
As such, Adult Education Learning programs at the undergraduate level take a different approach to instruction for adult literacy. Its curricula combine theoretical strategies with instructional resources, enabling adult educators to draw from their experiences.
They can pursue the online master’s program thereafter for academic and professional advancement.
The Labor Statistics Bureau sets the average salary of Adult Education/Learning professionals at $58,590.
The Lowdown
An online Bachelor’s in Adult Education/Learning equips students with the methods, tools, and skills to succeed in this calling. Math, English, and Science are the common subjects taught by instructors specializing in adult education. They also provide continuing education courses in the arts, cooking, welding, and photography related to personal growth or craftsmanship.
Typical students require adult educators with the right skills to facilitate welcoming and nurturing classes.
Methodology
Finding the best online bachelor’s degree in Adult Education Learning can be quite a challenge! We help make it a little easier for you with our list of top undergraduate online programs offered by the country’s best community colleges, as well as public and private schools.
Each online program or school on our list was picked based on these criteria:
- Delivered as an online or hybrid program to emphasize convenience for students seeking to earn the degree,
- Features all Adult Education fundamentals in the rigorous coursework featuring adult learning theory and human resource studies to address the ever-growing field of adult education so that students become prepared for an online Master’s in Adult Education program or employment in the field,
- Develops each student’s teaching, critical thinking, leadership, and communication skills to produce well-rounded professionals with expertise in adult teaching educational programs,
- Facilitated through a Learning Management System that offers an excellent platform for easy access to online coursework, virtual classes, and interaction with professors and co-learners,
- Taught by professional adult educators and contributors to the field,
- Offers financial aid, scholarships, grants, transfer credits, and special discounts to qualified students,
- Recognized by the US Department of Education and accrediting organizations, demonstrating their adherence to high-quality academic standards.
Visit our Methodology page to see how our ranking process works.
Best Online Colleges with Online Degrees in Adult Education Learning
Atlantic International University
Online Bachelor’s in Adult Education Learning
Atlantic International University offers an online Bachelor of Adult Education program. Their objective is to give students the technical training they need to work in a wide range of adult education and training fields.
Students will be taught the fundamentals of the following:
- Training coordination
- Staff development
- Educational psychology
- Community participation and contribution
- Career training
- Adult education
- Adult learning behavior
In AIU’s unique approach to adult education, industry and geography should influence curriculum content, not a standard one-size-fits-all model. Within the scope of the degree program, this philosophy helps adult students achieve their professional and personal goals within the dynamic and constantly changing environment of working professionals.
What Makes this Program Unique:
In collaboration with faculty and academic advisors, the AIU team helps students create a personalized program after considering their academic history, background, and professional goals. Other remote learning programs rarely offer this level of adaptability to student needs.
Did You Know?
The online program at AIU does not mandate that all students take the same courses, textbooks, or other learning materials. Instead, the student and academic advisor separately construct the curriculum for this online bachelor’s degree in Adult Education. It focuses on the student’s major and desired field of work’s strengths and weaknesses concerning market prospects.
James Madison University
Online Bachelor’s in Adult Education Learning
James Madison University presents its Bachelor’s in Adult Degree Program for bachelor’s degree seekers. You can customize by going for a concentration or focus of study to meet your academic and career goals through this online undergraduate degree completion program.
Online and on-campus courses are available for Individualized Study majors. A major in Individualized Study allows students to incorporate other college-level learning into their degree, such as military or professional experience.
This Adult Education Learning degree completion program is designed to allow students to combine courses from two or more departments to create a study plan more aligned with their career and educational goals.
What Makes this Program Unique:
As a James Madison University online student, you will collaborate with the Adult Degree Program faculty and advisors to create a tailored Program of Study with tracks focused on your particular abilities, interests, and professional aspirations.
Your first course as a new student in an adult degree program will be the Orientation to Individualized Study. It helps create your study program and prepares you for the James Madison University college-level coursework.
Did You Know?
Their study tracks are a methodically organized technique to create your unique program plan. If you commute to campus, you can mix online and in-person coursework to form your Individualized Study major. You can also combine two or three tracks.
North Carolina Wesleyan University
Online Bachelor’s in Adult Studies
North Carolina Wesleyan University offers an online Bachelor of Science in Adult Studies. This bachelor’s degree program is available to mature adults with high motivation who can learn independently. Students can take 8-week courses in hybrid or fully online formats.
No matter your degree level, program, field of study, or even where you live, as an NCWU student, you’ll gain from a personalized, applicable, and goal-oriented education provided by knowledgeable, compassionate instructors whose vocation is to see you succeed.
NCWU’s adult and online education programs are meant to allow adult learners the option to balance their degrees with other goals, thanks to flexible study styles made for working professionals.
If you transfer credits, you can complete the Adult Studies program in just a year and a half to 3 years of study. Depending on your needs, you can take full-time or part-time courses. If you wish to attend on campus, classes are available for four hours weekly.
What Makes this Program Unique:
This online program is composed of an 8-week format, which can be combined with in-person classes. They have ten campus locations to give you convenience. This online degree has a feature allowing you to earn credits for the CLEP or DSST exams.
Did You Know?
This accelerated bachelor’s program is accredited regionally and designed for adult students. They come with a choice of full-time or part-time course loads and offer a personalized academic pathway for every learner.
State University of New York Brockport
Online Bachelor’s in English Adolescence Education
The State University of New York Brockport offers an Online English Adolescence Education Major. The English Major Adolescent Education Track prepares graduates to teach English from middle to high school.
You can achieve your goal by concentrating on either literature or creative writing. No matter your concentration, you can be equipped to be a well-rounded English adolescent teacher.
SUNY Brockport’s English major offers a variety of opportunities for students to explore literature and creative writing. Online students can participate in their study abroad programs, join the English Club, or contribute to their magazine’s articles and blogs.
What Makes this Program Unique:
The English major is intended for students who want to pursue their love of reading and writing English. But at the same time, this online degree can prepare for careers in other fields like government, marketing, business administration, law, public relations, advertising, and education.
The Literature or Creative Writing concentration improves students’ ability to think critically, do independent research, and express themselves creatively.
Did You Know?
If you are interested in reading or writing, join the English Club or attend the nationally-recognized Writers Forum. If you want to pursue higher education, you can proceed to journalism or combine your major with other fields like law, business, or medicine.
Adult Education Licenses and Certifications
Numerous academic specializations and subjects might be included in adult education online programs. Of these, you can acquire some licenses and certificates in particular fields to complement your adult education degree.
Some of these licenses and certifications can help you land your desired jobs.
For instance, instructors need a state teaching license to teach at public schools or in public institutions. There are also subject-specific qualifications and alternative credentials available to teachers. Here are some standard licenses or certificates to attain as an adult educator:
State Teaching License
If you pursue the field of education, the state you desire to teach requires prospective teachers to hold a license or certification. After finishing a bachelor’s degree in adult education, you must prepare for the state teaching license exam.
You must pass these certification exams and apply to teach in your desired learning institution.
English Language Arts Teacher Certificate
Some organizations and accredited institutions offer teaching certificates. In this case, this nonprofit offers alternative teaching certificates. Candidates can enroll in numerous subject areas, including English, in online, self-paced programs.
To become certified, candidates must pass both the professional teaching knowledge exam and a subject area exam.
TESOL Certificate
To teach English as a second language to foreign adult students, you must acquire a TEFL or TESOL certificate. Foreign language speakers can learn ESL or English from them. And most ESL companies require these certificates if you want to earn higher or have better work settings.
Furthermore, these internationally recognized certificates can make your job application easier if you plan to work abroad.
Courses in an Online Bachelor’s in Adult Education Learning
Diversity in Adult Education
The philosophy and instructional techniques for educating atypical learners from varied cultural and national origins are covered in this course. Students investigate how to adapt their curriculum to be more culturally competent.
Individuals learn to accommodate neurodiverse individuals and learners with disabilities in addition to cultural diversity.
Adolescence Classroom Management
This course emphasizes methods for solving classroom problems and enables learners to investigate the teacher’s position as the curriculum manager. You will also learn about the relationships between teachers and students and how to improve classroom environments.
Using theories and techniques that best fit the various types of classroom situations, this course emphasizes the creation of a comprehensive classroom management strategy.
College Composition
The college composition course is useful if you plan to be a college professor. This builds your composition skills, as well as your critical thinking and information literacy abilities.
With a focus on the writing process, students create, revise, and edit several essays. To complete the course, students must complete an argumentative research paper.
Adult Learner
Non-traditional learners learn how to motivate themselves by applying learning theory in instruction. The adult learner course discusses adulthood’s developmental obstacles, the variations between pedagogy for children and adults, and the instructional strategies utilized to implement adult learning principles.
Adult Development
In the adult development course, students research how adults evolve physically, socially, and mentally. Theories of learning, theories of typical and abnormal personality development, and influences on human development are all covered in the course.
Organizational Leadership
A business course in Organizational Leadership can be beneficial for adult educators, too. This course introduces a wide range of ideas, theories, and practices for a fundamental grasp of management.
Organization and Management
Another business course, Organization and Management, allows students to understand the business organization, principles, processes, and functional areas of management.
Workforce Development
A workforce development course provides education and training for students so that they will learn how business and industry meet the needs of the present and the future.
Possible Jobs for Adult Education Learning Graduates
After completing an online bachelor’s in adult education learning, it makes sense to start preparing early for the future. One important way is to research the possible jobs available in your industry.
You can work as a teacher in colleges, for corporations, or even in small businesses if you are interested in this field. Discover some of the possible careers that you can start paving after graduation.
College Professor
For those who want to finish college or proceed to another educational degree, non-traditional students would be more frequent at colleges and universities or go for online programs.
A person with a degree in adult education is uniquely qualified to mentor these individuals in their academic endeavors because of their extensive knowledge of adult learning styles and human development.
Compared to children, adults have very different demands. Higher education problems are often influenced by their past experiences and responsibilities at home, in their families, and at work.
Corporate Training Specialist
It is common for training managers and training specialists to work for human resources departments within corporations. Employees receive on-the-job training from them.
There are many types of employee orientation programs, from the most basic to the most complex, such as training on using new software. All training managers and specialists must possess strong teaching and program development skills, regardless of their educational and work backgrounds.
Educational Administrator
Educational administrators should have a background in teaching adults. A master’s degree is typically required for this type of higher-level position. After all, educational administrators must handle all kinds of learners and deal with diverse people from all walks of life. An Adult Education degree can help you in this role.
Human Resource Manager
Businesses of all sizes hire human resource managers and directors to manage their staff well. HR managers create job listings that they publish for advertisements, screen applicants based on resumes, and select those who will qualify for interviews.
HR managers collaborate with other departments to ensure employees receive the finest perks. Staff contacts them for any concerns related to work or the company.
Career Counselor
To uncover the types of jobs that would be the most gratifying for them, career counselors assist people in determining their aptitudes and interests. Some work settings they work in are job recruitment agencies or schools.
They may also be required to assist with résumé writing and interview techniques. This job requires a lot of teaching and assisting.
Executive Coach
If you want to be a coach, you can be an executive coach after graduating with an online bachelor’s in adult education learning. Executive coaches help executives, managers, and sporadically other employees improve their job efficiency by focusing on their strengths and limitations.
While occasionally working with a specific person, you may also be recruited to supervise more important organizational changes. Your primary duties and responsibilities involve meeting with clients, learning about their objectives, and developing plans to assist them in achieving those objectives.
Your teaching skills become handy as an executive coach.
Literary Consultant
Educational facilities or publication firms hire literacy consultants to help them deal with literacy-related issues. Your role is to provide suggestions to improve the literacy curriculum for the organization. You may evaluate their literary resources and see if they’re effective and high-quality.
Planning, implementing, and providing intervention to students as necessary are all parts of your role as a literacy teacher or consultant.
Leadership Coach
Many corporations and businesses hire leadership coaches. To help them develop their leadership skills, a leadership coach works closely with corporate CEOs, organizational leaders, and political figures.
These knowledgeable instructors assist their students in developing the skills necessary for success in their jobs through various training strategies.
A leadership coach can deliver training to groups or individuals. They work closely with their clients to coach them in group training sessions and during actual leadership situations.
ESL Tutor
If you love teaching English, you can work as an English as a second language teacher or tutor. You must teach English to children and adults whose first language isn’t English. Your responsibilities as an ESL instructor center on teaching students English through reading, writing, speaking, and listening exercises suited to their skill levels.
The challenge of your tutoring sessions gets harder as your students get better. Both domestically and internationally, tutoring facilities and language schools will hire you as an ESL tutor. Additionally, you can work as a freelance ESL tutor and advertise your services to students who need private tutoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can students prepare for a degree in Adult Education Learning?
Before enrollment, you will have to consider your long-term goals. While the qualifications for positions in adult education differ depending on where you choose to work, the majority of states require that you hold a bachelor’s degree minimum in any field. For instance, general studies are a big part of the liberal arts curriculum at many of the schools.
Fortunately, an online bachelor’s in adult education meets this requirement.
You’ll probably select a major based on your areas of interest and then take additional education-focused coursework. A master’s degree or a certificate in a specialized teaching field, like a TESOL certificate, may later be required of you.
You can prepare for a job in adult education through various degree programs. You will become more marketable in a variety of fields to better suit your job goals thanks to these programs, which are typically designed for adult learners themselves.
How much does an online Bachelor’s in Adult Education cost?
Students can reduce their living expenses by enrolling in online programs because they are not required to reside near campus. Working adults who want to further their education online can do so while maintaining their careers and saving money on tuition. For such reasons, the rising demand for online programs continues.
It’s worth noting that tuition costs depend on several variables, including the student’s location, the type of school, and the duration of the program. Generally speaking, in-state tuition is less expensive than out-of-state tuition. Additionally, longer programs typically cost more because students have to take more classes.
In general, compared to their conventional on-campus equivalents, online adult education programs provide greater cost and flexibility. Many of these programs charge all participants the same amount, regardless of where they live.
Why get an online Bachelor’s in Adult Education?
There could be many reasons and benefits for an online bachelor’s in adult education. But primarily, Adult Education programs prepare individuals to teach non-traditional students.
On top of providing a solid foundation in Education, a degree in Adult Education can be applied to more specialized fields such as language arts, foreign languages, math, science, art, and science.
This degree may also appeal to experts in a particular field who want to switch to teaching. Adult education students can complete their degrees online while juggling their careers, family, and other commitments. Individuals can become teachers focusing on working with atypical students by earning a degree in adult education.
A degree in Adult Education gives students a strong grounding in education and learning theories applicable to more specialized fields, including language arts, foreign languages, math, science, and the arts.
Summary Points
- Adult Education is a program that equips students to instruct, mentor, or coach adult learners. Adult educators may offer professional development programs for working professionals or classes to prepare adults for the GED or another high school equivalency.
- Graduates with an adult education degree are qualified to work with learners in various fields and environments. Adult education instructors may also instruct in more conventional academic disciplines like English, Science, and Math.
- Literacy specialists, corporate trainers, GED instructors, HR managers, and professors in continuing education are some of the professions offered to persons with experience or a degree in adult education learning.
Additional Information:
