Changing learning environments at university? Comparing the learning strategies of non-traditional European students engaged in lifelong learning.

With the importance of lifelong learning rising in our knowledge-based society, educators in higher education must meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. An important question within this context is how these students learn. Little research is yet to be found on the learning
strategies of these groups of lifelong learners. This article fills this gap, providing research on the learning strategies of lifelong learners at three European universities. The analysis shows that distance
learners and employed learners learn less through repetition and cooperation, compared to other groups of lifelong learners. Furthermore, these students revealed that they use active rather than reactive coping strategies. These results were confirmed for lifelong learners in all participating countries and
only minor differences between countries were found.