University Educational Opportunities to Adults 50 Years of Age or Older: Fundamental Reasons and Characteristics

Venturing inside the study of the phenomenon of university education for adults in Puerto Rico, particularly after the decade of the 1980s, lets us obtain answers to many questions that are born out of observation of the marked presence of adults in the classrooms on the island. In response to that, a lot of universities started academic programs that are aimed at adults. This theme of university education for adults in the island has, during the last decade, peaked the interest of a few researchers, who have approached it from different perspectives. One study that looked into the experience of being a university student who has 50 years or more of age during their bachelor’s degree, from a phenomenological standpoint is what gave rise to this essay. The author performs a very deep analysis of the starring role the adult students, who were interviewed individually (nine participants) awarded two issues: university education as a resource to serve human beings better; and, the example they embody, specially to their family members, by reaching their academic goals.