Abstract:

Gran City is a fictional role-play scenario consisting of several offices and educational institutions serving different learner populations. As part of a doctoral degree in Education, students explore the different areas of Grand City, and wear the hat of individuals in charge of solving complex educational problems by writing academic papers and presenting solutions supported by evidence. By utilizing the data and the stories provided within Grand City, this paper makes a case to use blended learning to the advantage of adult learners at times of reduced funding. This fictional scenario can be used by policy and decision makers to real situations in contexts with similar characteristics and needs.

Grand City has a one-stop community center offering educational programs to adults living in the community. For the past ten years, many adults living in the community have benefitted from these educational programs, including service men and women, employees of local enterprises, adults looking into transitioning to higher education, as well as members of minority groups. Recent changes to the funding of the community center have put these programs in danger. Morevover, entrepreneurs in the community are concerned about the funding cuts as the Grand City Community Center has contributed to providing employees with stronger skills and higher working ethics.

The main objective of this paper is to avoid the discontinuation of adult learning programs offered by the community center, in line with the Education 2030 Agenda promoted by UNESCO that aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. As far as the methodology of this study is concerned, a research agenda protocol was developed for conducting a scoping review on the contribution of blended learning in adult education, following a five-stage methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley. More analytically, the research questions were defined, inclusion and exclusion criteria were clearly depicted, and the whole research outline was presented. On the basis of that scoping review protocol, the authors continued by carrying out the scoping review. In such comprehensive scoping review, selected empirical research and systematically reviewed articles were charted and mapped with respect to a plethora of dimensions. The results of the paper highlight the role of blended learning as a means to both plan for and respond to emergencies and validate the proposal made for the Grand City Community Center to begin a blended learning program in the Grand City Community Center, which allows the community center to continue serving the adults living in the area at times of reduced funding.

Keywords:

Higher education, online students, support services, student support, academic support, student progression.