"Don't Tell Me About a Tough Week": Practitioners' Deficit Discourse About Adult College Student Lives

• In Event: 29.082 - Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: 29.082-19 - Adult Educators Addressing Deficit, Disability, Illness

Abstract

This session will present findings from a year-long phenomenographic dissertation study of adult college students’ learning practices and perspectives within two Midwestern adult learning-focused postsecondary institutions. Specifically, it will discuss vignettes from interviews with 24 practitioners illustrating deficit perspectives about adult college students' lives in relation to their academic commitment. These interviews focused on perceptions of students’ learning styles, characteristics, and strengths, ultimately contributing to a broader narrative about adult “college student-ness” (Donaldson & Townsend, 2007, p. 46). Attention to practitioner perspectives on adult students’ lives and learning can inform future research on the influence and practice implications of persistent deficit ideologies about adult students’ insufficiency and marginality in higher education (Donaldson & Townsend, 2007; Sissel, Hansman, & Kasworm, 2001).

Author

• Danielle Gioia, University of Pennsylvania