This paper provides an overview of adult learner participation in open and distance
education by focusing participation needs based on selected socio-demographic
variables such as age, years of working experience and monthly income. The related
study involved a sample of 454 Open University Malaysia students from a number of
learning centres located in different parts of the country. The study found that adult
learners are generally below the age of 39, relatively not affluent, have less than 20
years of work experience and have a high need for participation. The highest need is
professional advancement, followed closely by cognitive interest, and communication
improvement while the lowest reported need is escapism/social stimulation. Age and
work experience exhibited negative regression coefficients, indicating inverse
associations with participation need. These results are comparable to the findings of
previous research on the role of age, work experience and monthly income as factors
determining participation in adult higher education