Mentoring the Adult Learner in Academic Midlife at a Distance Education University

Abstract

In this case study the authors investigated how doctoral students in a private distance education institution maintained a high level of persistence with a distant academic community and developed academic support during their second year of study. The construct developed by the authors to characterize this period is academic midlife, which describes those students who are between the completion of first-year tasks and the acceptance of a dissertation proposal. During the academic midlife stage, doctoral students are typically more isolated from faculty, the institution, and the virtual learning community. Three themes of mentor actions emerged, as perceived by the learners, that were related to learner persistence: (1) being responsive to learner needs and feelings, (2) offering reassurance that the academic program can be completed, and (3) showing respect for adult learner life situations and constraints.