Doctoral Students to Present Research at Adult Education Conference

Margaret A. Voelkel, Cedric Kenner and Jerry West, three University of Arkansas students pursuing Doctor of Education degrees, will present their research at the 60th annual American Association for Adult and Continuing Education conference Oct. 30 to Nov. 4 in Indianapolis.

All three are students in the College of Education and Health Professions.

Voelkel will present research based upon her doctoral dissertation that focused on encore careers and generativity among older adults. Generativity is a term coined by psychoanalyst Erik Erikson that denotes a concern for establishing and guiding the next generation. Voelkel's session is titled "Making a Difference: Generativity as a Motivating Factor in Life-Long Learning."

"My research focused on learning motivation among adult learners and that link to generativity and engagement in an encore career," she said.

Voelkel is a faculty member in the Center for Business and Professional Development at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. She defended her dissertation in September and will graduate in December.

Kenner will present research based upon his doctoral dissertation that focused on the integration of racially and ethnically diverse military veterans in American higher education. His session is titled "Integration of Racially and Ethnically Diverse Modern Day Military Veterans in American Higher Education."

"I chose to focus my research on what has assisted racially and ethnically diverse veterans in becoming acclimated to college," Kenner said. "The number of military veterans is increasing in higher education and those who are racially and ethnically diverse often face other barriers when adjusting to college."

Kenner directs the Multicultural Center at the University of Arkansas. He defended his dissertation in September and will graduate in December.

West will present a session titled "Target Success at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith."

"My session will focus on academic interventions used with developmental education students," West said, referring to students in pre-college or remedial classes. "I have been collecting data to evaluate the impact of the program on student retention to determine what types of interventions work best for adult students compared to traditional age students."

West is a faculty member in the College of Student Success at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.

Two College of Education and Health Professions faculty members will also present at the Commission of Professors of Adult Education conference that will be held in conjunction with the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education conference. David Deggs, assistant professor of workforce development, and Michael T. Miller, associate dean of academic affairs and professor of higher education, will present "Social Actions and Beliefs among Undereducated Adults," which reports how community expectations influence learning preferences among adults enrolled in programs in basic literacy, general educational development, and English as a second language.