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time and talked me through withdrawing from a course and feeling okay about not
enrolling in summer courses.”

Reflection, Conclusion, and Recommendations
In reviewing the data, the researchers concluded that, as adult learners are nearing
retirement age, their personal goals as lifelong learners are to access higher education
opportunities and to utilize this learning in their remaining work and retirement
futures as well as for personal fulfillment. These conclusions echo those of others
(McConnell, 2013; Merriam & Caffarella, 1991) indicating that adult learners see
their continued education as truly a personal process.
Adult learners bring experience and knowledge to the process of education,
supporting and enhancing continued learning. They bring wisdom that younger
learners may not have. The opportunity to pursue a degree, drawing upon real-life job
experiences while also enhancing lives with information gained in the coursework,
seems to be a golden opportunity for adult learners.
Adult learners, particularly Baby Boomers, appreciate the skills and knowledge
younger learners and family members can share as well. Baby Boomers found
support from these sources. Younger peers, children, and coworkers helped make
the graduate experience flow more smoothly and helped the Boomers overcome
many challenges. Engagement, mutual appreciation, empathy, and interaction across
generational levels were key in the overall positive experience.
Critical reflection and thinking outside the box were recognized as strong factors
in learning and personal growth for students in the graduate programs:
I do practice more reflection now. I like to reflect on work I’ve done or
experiences I’ve had, to think about how I could have done things differently
or how things could look differently. I am more aware and conscious of
diversity and the need for inclusive and safe places for everyone, and I have
learned to enjoy ‘doing’ more to learn things.
Graduate program faculty may need to consider course assignments that
allow Baby Boomer learners to exhibit skills and knowledge fully in sharing their
experiences in life. To do so and better meet the needs and goals of these learners,
increased engagement of adult students throughout the program is recommended.
Recognizing the skills and knowledge of adult learners, engaging them in discussion,
and building relationships based on empathy and shared goals will more fully support
adult learners.
Baby Boomers bring to the classroom different histories, life experiences,
preferences, and values, as well as an appreciation of the skills of others and
learning overall. It is clear from this research that these Baby Boomer learners, while
recognizing that “every stage of life has its own stressors, especially when adding
graduate school to the list,” appreciated the intrinsic value of education, relationships
developed, and knowledge gained that transferred into the reality of their lives.

References
Ahmad, N. A., Rauf, M.F.A., Zaid, N. N. M., Zainal, A., Shahdan, T. S. T., & Razak, F. H. A.
(2022). Effectiveness of instructional strategies designed for older adults in learning digital
technologies: A systematic literature review. SN Computer Science, 3(2), 130. https://doi.
org/10.1007/s42979-022-01016-0
Broughton, P. (2021). Engaging generational cohorts for strengthening membership. The Delta
Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators, 87(5), 56–59.

60 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators