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Challenges and Expectations of Baby

Boomers Seeking a Graduate Degree

By Phyllis Broughton, Kay Dotson, and Jennifer Harder

The authors examine the learning experience challenges and expectations of adult learners,
specifically Baby Boomers (born between 1946-1964), seeking a graduate degree in either an
adult education or library science program at a university in the southeastern United States.
Both programs are taught in a completely asynchronous online format. The authors interviewed
current and recent graduates of these programs, examining the barriers, challenges, and
achievements of identified Baby Boomer graduate students during their learning process. They
provide recommendations and suggestions for departmental and institutional changes that will
improve engagement and implementation of learning experiences for future students.

his study pertained to adult learners who identified as Baby Boomers.
TGenerational cohorts (Creighton & Hudson, 2002) are defined as Baby
Boomers (1946–1964), Gen X (1965–1980), Millennials (1981–1996), and Gen Z
(1997–2012). Each generational cohort has its own distinct characteristics, values,
work attitudes, and communication styles based upon its members’ life experiences
(Broughton, 2021).
Baby Boomer students interviewed for this study were retired or close to
retirement. Many participants in this study had returned to school for personal
reasons, e.g., a few were teaching part-time in a community college and wanted
to learn more about adult learning and teaching at that level, some pursued going
back to college as a personal goal, and others wanted to become more involved
in community-based activities and believed these programs would strengthen their
knowledge working within the community. Educators who teach classes with mixed
generations are encouraged to recognize that adult learners bring different histories,
life experiences, preferences, and values to the classroom. The purpose of this study
was to examine teaching and learning of the Baby Boomer generation who were
enrolled in these programs or had graduated in the previous year.
Today’s education and campus look quite different from those that existed when
Baby Boomers were seeking an undergraduate degree in the late 1960s through the
mid-1980s. According to Hoffower (2018), “Today’s colleges are more expensive
with increases in technological advancements and opportunities, diversity, stress,
and competition” (p. 1). College classrooms are different with online learning and
electronic resources. Professors and students are connected virtually through online
resources. These differences from Baby Boomers’ earlier undergraduate experiences
involve more than changes in face-to-face and online learning, including also
changes in communication, resources, and engagement.
The authors’ research examined data collected from interviews with 10 graduate
students from two graduate programs—Adult Education and Library Sciences—
housed in the Interdisciplinary Professions Department in the College of Education
at a southeastern United States university. Five graduate students within each
program self-identified as Baby Boomers and were either currently enrolled or had
graduated the previous year. Through interviews, researchers wanted to identify
learning strategies and review barriers, challenges, and achievements Baby Boomer
graduate students recognized during their learning process.

Educators’ Choice 53