GOING BACK TO SCHOOL: PARTICIPATION MOTIVES AND EXPERIENCES OF OLDER ADULTS IN AN UNDERGRADUATE CLASSROOM

The purpose of this article is to expand knowledge concerning participation motives and difficulties faced by older adults returning to intergenerational college classrooms. This study examined reasons elders returned to college, reasons they stopped attending, difficulties they faced, positive aspects of returning to school, campus integration, and variations in these experiences by gender, employment status, educational attainment, and degree‐seeking behavior. The source of the data was a survey of students over the age of 60 from a small state college. Gender and employment status proved to be important sources of difference in respondents’ participation motives as well as their experiences in the classroom. Suggestions for administrators of these programs and for future research are explored.