Adult Education

New Zealand Adult Education

Are you considering a return to the classroom as an adult learner? Find our more about how to make your adult education experience a successful one.

• Adult Education
• Distance Learning

Anyone cruising the campuses of New Zealand will notice a significant number of more mature adult learners. New Zealand adult education providers draw students from a wide variety of backgrounds, including those who have spent time raising children and are now taking the opportunity to further their education; those wanting to change career direction; and people who wish to improve their level of expertise by gaining a further qualification. These and others find themselves heading back to find adult education in New Zealand educational institutes.

As an adult student, you may be worried about being 'rusty' or concerned that you won't be able to juggle the commitments of family, work and education. There are also those who did not succeed in their school days or who worry that they will feel out of place around the many young university or polytechnic entrants.

Whatever your background, here are some survival tips for learning as an adult:

• Bring your own experience to your learning:
  Remember that you have more life experience than younger students. In many fields, this will give you more historical, social, political or personal context in which to place the information you are learning. Add on to this the fact that you might have technical skills, travel experience, other languages, a greater depth of reading experience and many more positives that can add to your learning.
• Manage your time:
  Talk to your family, partner, employer or others affected by your return to education. You may need support from them and it is likely that if you are returning to study, compromises will be on the cards at some point. Make sure you allow enough time to study and do extra reading or practical exercises. Being stressed might prevent you from enjoying and succeeding in your learning.
• Establish good study habits:
  This is essential to successful learning. Think about how you learn best – is it by seeing, hearing, doing, or a combination of these? Apply this to your study and note-taking habits. Some lecturers provide recordings and written transcripts of their lectures. Perhaps you will learn best if you tape each lecture and take notes while listening over the lecture later? Learn what is right for you. It's also good to implement a well organised system for your notes and a calendar, so that you can keep track of assignments, lecture breaks and test dates.
• Use the resources available to you:
  If you're having trouble entering the academic world or adjusting to your classes, take time to see the university career counselor. For those with children, there is often daycare onsite, as well as a student health service if needed.
• Be open to technology:
  There's no need to be afraid of the technology which will undoubtedly be part of your learning experience. You will have to deal with electronic student cards, computerised library catalogues, word processing of assignments and essays, photocopiers and email. Don't let this intimidate you if it's new to you – there are always people there to help. Investigate one of the free introductory classes covering the basics of computing and word processing.

In terms of education, it's never too late. Many adult learners, despite doubts about returning to the classroom, find that adult education in New Zealand offers rewarding experiences and allows discovery of untapped abilities. If you are interested in continuing your education, check out the range of degree, diploma and workshop courses on offer at your local university or polytechnic.

Looking for more information? Find New Zealand adult education in the NZS.com directory.

Do you want to write for NZS.com, New Zealand's top Web directory? We are looking for New Zealand writers for our unique new article writing program - whereby you can write and submit articles for our website, and you will earn 50% of the revenue from the advertising on your article's page. Check out the Article Authors homepage to apply now!

Education images from Flickr: Adult Learning, Encyclopedias and Globe.