Military Students and Contexts in Adult Education

Abstract

Selecting representative articles for a military-related special issue of Adult Learning was a daunting task. Even the term military student could mean a member of the active duty, Reserve, National Guard, or retired military population, a spouse or primary dependent of one of these students, or all of the above (Military.com, 2008). In addition, military-related education occurs in a variety of settings, both military and civilian. articles in this special issue demonstrate the range of contexts, programs, and issues related to the military student, including developing leadership skills in civilian members of the military community, developing intuitive decisionmaking skills in actively serving military mid-level leaders, choosing to pursue a master's degree while on active duty, easing veterans' transitions and adjustment to the classroom, and highlighting two female veterans experiences during their first year of community college. More specifically, this special military issue begins with civilians working with the military, specifically civilians selected to attend the Management Staff College's (AMSC) program in leadership development, which addresses working within the military culture. Godinez and Leslie, in Army Civilian Leadership Development: Self-Efficacy, Choice, and Learning Transfer, note such civilians work closely with the military and are valued members of the military community. To develop as leaders, civilian students in this military context must recognize they have a choice to take action that influences their work environment. authors suggest AMSC's learning environment is intentionally designed to be paradoxical to the work environment in an effort to promote student leadership self-efficacy beliefs. next two articles situate in the Army's Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, an active duty military school focused on developing critical thinking skills for mid-level officer leaders. In The Wisdom of Tacit Knowing-in-Action and Mission Command, Moilanen details a research project conducted at CGSC examining officer perceptions of intuitive decision making in times of crisis. According to the author, adult learners regularly confront complex and dynamic challenges in moments of crisis that require self-efficacy of intuition and immediate decision. He concluded an after action review process can elicit perceptions of tacit prompts that compel action. In the third article, Decision-Making Considerations for Mid-Career Officers to Pursue Master's Degrees, Vance explores how U.S. officers attending the CGSC decided to enroll in a master's program. study determines if and how career requirements, post-military aspirations, family considerations, and previous academic experience influenced officers' choice to pursue a master's degree. In addition, findings identified four themes related to the choice, specifically self-efficacy, goal setting, persistence, and time management. Moving to the higher education context, implementation of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill Veteran's Benefit Program has increasingly affected institutions, educating active duty military and those separated from the military. Kirchner, in Supporting Student Veteran Transition to College and Academic Success, notes that more than 73% of all separating service members plan to use their student benefits (Student Veterans of America, 2015). …