Learning Styles of Adult Students in University Extension

In learning society, the more active the universities try to play their roles, the more various their adult learners as client become. This paper aims to compare the learning styles of adult students who take the university extension programs with non-traditional graduate students. As the result of this study, we get findings as follows; Adult students entered graduate courses to achieve various goals, for example, to develop professional competencies, to receive higher degrees, and to have more knowledge and experience. But, in case of adult students who take university extension programs, learning goals are apt to converge at the similar goals defined as ""learning-oriented"", for instance, to enrich their knowledge and understanding. Adult graduate students care to take the initiative in making learning plans and practicing them. But mostly they entrust the assessment of their achievements to professors. In contrast with non-traditional graduate students, extension students prefer teacher-direction in setting learning goals, selecting contents and strategies, and deciding the pace of their studies. Additionally, they have little preference for individualized learning. They desire experimencial learning and lectures by teachers. As for the kind of teachers adult students seek, about a half of non-traditional graduate students hope for ""Enablers"", and mature students attended the university extension programs wish for the various type of teachers; ""Enablers"", ""Facilitators"" and ""Experts"". These tendencies are due to two reasons. First, in comparison with non-traditional graduate students, extension students tend not to desire ""sensitivity for learners"". Second, not a few students in the extension programs charge a teacher with ""inclusion of learning activities"". Analyzing adult students by Self-directed Learning Readiness Scale(SDLRS), their score is high on the whole. In other words, there is little difference in self-directed learning readiness between two types of adult students. However, takin