Adult Students’ Perceptions of Online Learning in the Past 20 Years

This study explores the range of online learning perceptions of adult students from the student perspective and addresses the following research questions: 1) How do adult students characterize their perceptions of online learning? 2) What factors might influence those perceptions? 3) Are there major differences in perceptions between different students? Data was collected from previously published research studies which include the following target population: Students age 18 and above who have taken at least one online course in a post-secondary setting as an adult student in the U.S. An exploratory qualitative text analysis method was used to analyze each study, and major findings were synthesized across studies. The consolidation of research across different studies provides a starting point from which stakeholders can better understand the broad range of student perceptions, experiences, and related factors in regards to online learning.Master of Science in Information Scienc