Participation In Adult Education Research Articles

Asking more than we can tell: social status, social milieu and social space in explanations for participation in adult education

This paper argues that even though there is continuous research work on participation in adult education, the current state of research is not satisfactory. It develops this assumption by discussing studies that focus on social status and social milieu as explanatory factors for adult education. The authors draw on findings from a research project on social space and adult education as the basis for arguing that the category of space cannot be neglected in explaining participation, as well as developing cornerstones of a research programme based on analyses which theoretically and methodologically integrate perspectives which have thus far been researched separately.

Workers’ Power and Intentional Learning among Non-managerial Workers

This paper explores relations of workers’ power, in terms of unionization and delegated workplace authority, with incidence of participation in adult education and job-related informal learning activities. Empirical analysis is based primarily on the first Canadian survey to document both aspects of workers’ power and both formal and informal learning. Prior inconsistent research on unionization and adult education is critically reviewed. The current study focuses on non-managerial employees between 25 and 64. The findings of this 2004 survey, as well as secondary analysis of other relevant surveys, confirm that union membership is consistently positively related to both participation in adult education and some informal learning topics. Delegated workplace authority also has positive effects on both adult education and some informal learning topics. While delegated workplace authority is not related to unionization, their positive effects on workers’ intentional learning are additive. Implications of these findings for further research and optimizing workplace learning are discussed.

Factors affecting participation in adult education: a case study of participation in Hackney and Waltham Forest, London

The claim that participation in lifelong learning can augment participants' quality of life and economic and social status, as well as national prosperity, seems irrefutable. Nevertheless, in the UK, surveys consistently indicate that, overall, the participation of adults (16+) has not been increasing over the last decade. While there are some national statistics on participation/non-participation in lifelong learning, information on the learning divide—the level and the nature of adult participation/non-participation in lifelong learning in local contexts—is limited. This study analyses factors influencing participation in adult education both favourably and unfavourably. The study is based on individual and focus-group interviews and on a questionnaire survey. Recommendations for change that might tackle barriers and promote drivers to boost participation in adult education are proposed.

Factor Structure Of Deterrents To Adult Participation In Higher Education

As institutions of higher learning have seen the aging of American college students, they have been increasingly concerned about helping them overcome what deters their reentry. Adult perception of deterrents is identified in this study. Analysis and the factor structure underlying these deterrents is examined in the Situational, Institutional, and Dispositional category of deterrents. Six factors with no extraneous items were identified: bad experience, institutional reasons, lack of resources, course offerings, cost/benefit ratio and childcare were identified for potential adult students at a small private tuition-driven undergraduate college. This complex set of findings fits with barriers established in the literature. Bad Experience, a dispositional barrier, and the Institutional factor correspond to Cross’ (1981) typology. Lack of Resources and Course Offerings are spread among situational, institutional and dispositional factors. Cost/Benefit Ratio is situational and institutional. Childcare is situational. This study contributes to a complex model of deterrents to participation.

THE NEED FOR PARTICIPATION IN OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION: The Open University Malaysia Experience

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.

Abstracts: Reading & writing

Abstracts: Reading & writing

Patterns and trends in part‐time adult education participation in relation to UK nation, class, place of participation, gender, age and disability, 1998–20031

Analysis of data from six years of the British Household Panel Survey (1998–2003) has been used to look at variances in take‐up of part time learning opportunities by adults over time in the UK and, separately, by its four constituent nations. The paper provides a useful backdrop of ‘facts and figures’ on patterns of take‐up in part time education and training over the first six years of Labour Governments. Whilst the home‐international comparisons show differences in terms of general levels of participation they show similar patterns of participation along gender and class lines. Apart from evidencing a steep upturn in the take‐up of home‐based learning amongst women, a persistent finding was how little had changed over this six year period in terms of removing barriers that position some as disadvantaged and others as advantaged.

Reading practices among adult education participants

Readers' individual literacy practices involve a variety of materials such as books, newspapers, magazines, technical materials and work documents. This study explored the relationship between readership (reading as a form of communication, an advancement of culture, and the development of the individual) and readers' choice of materials for participants in adult education, whose skills varied from very low literacy to high school/General Education Development (GED) levels. In this study we reviewed adult education participants' pattern of reading materials and the frequency of usage among participants. A representative sample of 273 adult education participants was recruited from 12 Kansas adult education programs. Their literacy practices were evaluated in terms of age, education level, and reading skill levels. Our results pointed to differences based on age but not educational completion level. The implications are discussed in terms of matching curricular materials used in instruction to salient learner characteristics. Recommendations for literacy instructors are provided that could enhance the learners' persistence and success.

Transitioning Children, Youths, and Young Adults with Disabilities

JOPERD • Volume 78 No. 3 • March 2007 T he process of transitioning children and youths with disabilities, as well as those without disabilities, occurs many times throughout their educational lives. The process begins at home, continues through early childhood education, middle or junior high school, and senior high school education, and culminates in postsecondary education or training. Each time the student moves to a new level or school, transition services should be addressed so he or she can successfully progress from one level to the next in his or her educational journey. Transition services make it easier to travel from one level to another in as smooth a manner as possible. A progression of this nature is needed in order for as many students as possible with and without disabilities to become productive, independent citizens. Although the amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA, 2004) also include transition-service guidelines for infants and toddlers, this article focuses primarily on community participation transition services for youths and young adults. The amendments to IDEA (2004) and special education state plans mandate that transition services be provided for students with disabilities who are 16 years and older. First and foremost, these mandates are person-centered. The transition services should be “a results-oriented process, that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child’s movement” (“Proposed Rules,” 2005, p. 35841) from the traditional pre-kindergarten to grade-12 school setting, to post-school activities. Components of transition services include “postsecondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation...” (“Proposed Rules,” p. 35841), which includes recreation and leisure activities. However, the current emphasis in this process tends to focus primarily on vocational opportunities. Regardless of abilities or disabilities, a healthy body allows one to function better in all aspects of life, and it is that concept that suggests that the adapted physical education (APE) specialist can contribute to all components of transition services, and not just to the recreation and leisure component of community participation. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to offer guidance in understanding, planning, and implementing transition services in physical education and recreation settings, especially in community recreation and leisure activities for students with disabilities. These should begin “not later than the fi rst IEP to be in effect when the child turns 16, or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP Team...” (“Proposed Rules,” 2005, p. 35865). Some states begin their services when the child is in the ninth grade or is 14 years of age. This article is divided into the following topics: (1) the transition process, (2) who implements transition services, (3) how to plan and Transitioning Children, Youths, and Young Adults with Disabilities

Factors influencing participation in adult education at three colleges in Zimbabwe

The sudden upsurge in student numbers seeking skilled related further education courses at Zimbabwe polytechnics and technical colleges prompted this study to search for the factors driving adults from all walks of life to participate in education. The study emplyed the survey method and data was collected through the use of mailed questionnaires, analysis of student enrolment records and informal interviews. The study looked at the whole population of 474 adult learners registered at the time of the investigation. 41% of the respondent were from Harare polytechnic, 36% from Bulawayo polytechnic and 23% from Mutare technical college. The results revealed that students participate in adult learning mainly to fulfill their personal goals related to their lifestyles and aspirations and to increase knowledge as well as to fill in idle time. Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research Vol. 17 (1) March 2005: pp. 69–79

The effects of adult learning on self-efficacy

We use quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the links between participation in adult learning and self-efficacy, particularly for the subgroup of adults who had low levels of achievement at school. We focus on self-efficacy because it translates into a range of wider benefits and because it may afford protection from depression and other forms of social exclusion. Quantitative analyses of data from the National Child Development Study (NCDS) provide evidence for an association between taking courses and transformations in self-efficacy for all cohort members, but the association is greatest and the evidence is strongest for our subgroup. A related fieldwork project involving in depth interviews with 15 women with poor school attainment sampled from the NCDS provides insights into some of the processes that underlie the associations found: (i) perceptions of achievement in adult education increase self-efficacy; (ii) adult education leads to more challenging occupations, which build self-efficacy; (iii) resistance to participation in adult education is reduced as self-efficacy increases; and (iv) learning on the job can build self-efficacy, and although participation in employer-provided training courses does not appear to play an important role, it reflects engagement in occupations where the value of learning is recognized. The interviews also illustrate how school impacts on self-efficacy and motivation to learn throughout the life course, and how important background and life circumstances can be in shaping the impacts of adult learning on self-efficacy.

The incorporation of poverty into adult identity over time: implications for adult education

For many years, poverty has domi0nated international headlines as a global condition. In some countries, poverty has become a chronic socio‐economic problem. This qualitative study explored the incorporation process of poverty into adult identity and assessed the nature of the learning that occurred. Destitute adults in Botswana were chosen and used as example. The study shows that poverty shapes adult identity and learning is transformational. The incorporation process is described. Implications for poor adult participation in education are highlighted.

Dialogue, Knowledge, and Teacher‐Student Relations: Freirean Pedagogy in Theory and Practice

I would like to thank Frances Vavrus, Janise Hurtig, Aurolyn Luykx, Dana Burde, Carolyn Kissane, Fida Adely, Annette Hansen, the participants at the Association of Development Researchers in Denmark’s (FAU) 2003 conference on education and development, and the coeditors and anonymous reviewers of Comparative Education Review for their invaluable feedback on this article. 1 For example, ActionAid’s Reflect project represents an internationally renowned example of the implementation of Freirean-based literacy; see David Archer and S. Cottingham, Action Research Report on Reflect: The Experience of Three Pilot Projects in Uganda, Bangladesh and El Salvador (London: Overseas Development Association, 1996); Julia Betts, “Literacies and Livelihood Strategies: Experience from Usulutan, El Salvador,” International Journal of Educational Development 23, no. 3 (2003): 291–98; Caroline Dyer and A. Choksi, “The Reflect Approach to Literacy: Some Issues of Method,” Compare 28, no. 1 (1997): 75–87; Anna Robinson-Pant, Why Eat Green Cucumbers at the Time of Dying? Exploring the Link between Women’s Literacy and Development: A Nepal Perspective (Hamburg: UNESCO Institute of Education, 2001). 2 In Latin America, the term “popular” denotes the poor and working classes; popular education is rooted in a Marxist class critique. On popular education in Latin America, see Robert Arnove, Education and Revolution in Nicaragua (New York: Praeger, 1986), and “Education as Contested Terrain in Nicaragua,” Comparative Education Review 39, no. 1 (1995): 28–54; Celso de Rui Beisiegel, Estado e educacao popular (Sao Paulo: Pioneira, 1974); Carlos Rodrigues Brandao, A questao politica da educacao popular (Sao Paulo: Brasiliense, 1980); Anthony Dewees and Stephen Klees, “Social Movements and the Transformation of National Policy: Street and Working Children in Brazil,” Comparative Education Review 39, no. 1 (1995): 76–100; Osmar Favero, ed., Cultura popular, educacao popular: Memoria dos anos 60 (Rio de Janeiro: Edicoes Graal, 1983); Marcy Fink, “Women and Popular Education in Latin America,” in Women and Education in Latin America, ed. Nelly P. Stromquist (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1992), 171–93; Marcy Fink and Robert F. Arnove, “Issues and Tensions in Popular Education in Latin America,” International Journal of Educational Development 11, no. 3 (1991): 221–30; Jose Willington Germano, Lendo e aprendendo: A campanha “de pe no chao” (Sao Paulo: Cortez Editora, 1982); John Hammond, Fighting to Learn: Popular Education and Guerrilla War in El Salvador (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1998); Sheryl Hirshon, And Also Teach Them to Read (Westport, CT: L. Hill, 1983); Oscar Jara, Contributions to the History of Popular Education in Peru (Lima: Tarea, 1990); Liam Kane, Popular Education and Social Change in Latin America (London: Latin American Bureau, 2001); Thomas J. La Belle, Nonformal Education and Social Change in Latin America (Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center Publications, University of California, Los Angeles, 1976); Thomas LaBelle, Nonformal Education and the Poor in Latin America and the Caribbean: Stability, Reform, or Revolution? (New York: Praeger, 1986); Robert Mackie, Literacy and Revolution: The Pedagogy of Paulo Freire (New York: Continuum, 1981); Valerie Miller, Between Struggle and Hope: The Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade (Boulder, CO: Westview, 1985); Vanilda Pereira Paiva, Educacao popular e educacao de adultos (Sao Paulo: Edicoes Loyola, 1973); Victoria Purcell-Gates and Robin Waterman, Now We Read, We See, We Speak: Portrait of Literacy Development in an Adult Freirean-Based Class (Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2000); Carlos Alberto Torres, The Politics of Nonformal Education in Latin America

Lifelong learning, adult and community education in rural Victoria, Australia

In this article, we focus on the practices which have helped overcome a range of specific barriers to participation in adult and community education, and in the process have contributed to cohesion of the group involved and the community in which the program operates. In building and promoting social cohesion we can view learning as a personal journey, and search for meaning as well as a “map that can be used to guide learners along a learning route” (McGivney, 1999, p. 11). As claimed by Chapman and Aspin (2001), lifelong learning for social cohesion will become a reality if we show a readiness to invest in people.

Through a gender lens: explaining North‐Eastern Thai women’s participation in adult literacy education

This ethnographic study employs a gender perspective to understand the motivations of eight women literacy learners participating in a village‐based functional literacy programme in rural North‐eastern Thailand. Field research took place over six months of periodic residence in a North‐eastern Thai village, and involved participant observation, individual interviews and informal focus groups. An analysis of the women’s reproductive, productive and community roles, and their practical and strategic gender needs (Moser 1993) is used to frame findings on the women’s participation in the literacy programme. In brief, although the women valued educational programmes that reduced the burden of their reproductive labour, offered income‐generating opportunities in their productive roles and supported their leadership roles in the community, the village literacy programme had limited effect in addressing these practical gender needs. However, because a patriarchal ideology and Buddhist institutions had denied the women access to schooling as children, they now saw the literacy programme as both a symbolic return to school and a collective women’s space to advocate for more desirable adult educational programmes. In these ways, the programme addressed their strategic gender needs. The study argues that a gender lens is critical in explaining women’s participation in literacy programmes and in designing literacy education for development.

Adult learners in wales: trajectories and technologies

Patterns of lifelong participation in adult education and training in Wales are distinctive within the UK. Participation, qualification and economic activity tend to be lower than for the other geographic regions of the UK, and remain systematically structured by age, sex and social class. A problem facing practitioners and policy‐makers attempting to increase participation rates in Wales is the very low population density and accompanying problems of travel to institutions. Wales is therefore a prime site for testing the notion of 'anytime, anyplace, anywhere' inherent in virtual participation. The results presented in this paper show that, so far, technology has simply replicated existing societal divisions. Of a random sample of 1000 households from a 2002 survey, no one in Wales reported ever using the UK's University for Industry/learndirect, for example. Using life‐like logistic regression analysis of patterns of participation in post‐compulsory learning, the paper shows that many of the determinants of adult learning are social and economic. Access to, and use of information and communication technology (ICT), are not good predictors of participation in learning. Rather, access to ICT is an outcome of the same socio‐economic determinants as participation itself. Perhaps the money spent on high‐profile initiatives such as the University for Industry would be better spent on more traditional forms of adult learning, whether involving technology or not.

Jump-Starting Democracy: Adult Civic Education and Democratic Participation in Three Countries

In countries emerging from authoritarianism into democracy, citizens have little preparation for participating in the new political dispensations they face. Adult civic education promises a way to jump-start the lifelong socialization experience that their counterparts in the long-established democracies enjoy. But do these brief crash-courses in democracy really have any impact? Recent surveys of civic education efforts sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development in the Dominican Republic, Poland and South Africa find that those taking part in the programmes do participate significantly more in local level politics and, to a somewhat lesser extent, in politics more generally as well. There is also evidence that non-elites can benefit more from such programmes and begin to close the participation gap that separates them from traditional elites. The overall gains in participation are, however, modest. But given that political participation in absolute terms has been quite low in both old and new democracies, it can be argued that even modest gains are important and make investment in civic education worthwhile.

Revisiting major determinants of participation in adult education with a direct measure of literacy skills

The purpose of this article is to investigate major determinants of participation in adult education. Specifically, a direct measure of literacy skills available in the International Adult Literacy Survey is included. Interpreted as a measure of human capital, it is expected that literacy skills are at least as important a predictor of participation in adult education and training as educational attainment. The findings however do not support this expectation. Instead educational attainment remains the most important factor predicting participation in adult education and training. The models in this article are based on the idea that readiness to learn is formed early in life and further developed through educational and work experiences. Factors that are hypothesised to influence participation in adult education and training are separated into factors associated with the long arm of the family and the long arm of the job. The findings indicate the long arm of the family plays an important role, which supports early intervention, especially during the formal schooling years. The results also highlight the strong link between the use of literacy skills at work and participation in adult education and training.

A “Nordic model” of adult education: What might be its defining parameters?

Judging by their literacy proficiency scores, Nordic countries stand out from others. Their consistently high scores are intriguing and make their populations interesting benchmarks for other countries that participated in the International Adult Literacy Survey. This article addresses the question of whether there are any specific ‘Nordic’ ways of planning and implementing adult education policies. Are there any features that define a common approach to adult education, one that sets the Nordic countries apart from other advanced regions in Europe and North America? Beyond the general pattern, specific sub-groups of the population are explored, and especially the groups ‘at-risk’, i.e. those that score low on literacy proficiency scales, have the least education, are old or unemployed. All Nordic countries are included in the analysis: Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden participated in the original IALS survey, whereas Iceland collected comparable data on adult education participation in a separate survey. That Nordic countries have a comparatively high level of participation in adult education is a fact that leaves no room for discussion. However, if not only the rate of participation but also volume is considered then the Nordic countries appear more similar to others. What sets the Nordic countries apart is the level of public support for adult education for the low-skilled population. More generally, it would seem that public support for disadvantaged groups is the main defining characteristic of Nordic countries.

Institutional Barriers to Participation in Adult Education Among African Americans within Religious Institutions

Numerous studies have identified deterrents to participation in adult education among adult learners, mainly in formal settings. The purpose of this study was to examine institutional deterrents to participation as identified among African Americans who are members of religious institutions, specifically African American Christian churches. Institutional deterrents were classified into six different rubrics. Results from the study suggest African American Christian churches should closely examine their policies and procedures for developing and marketing their educational programs and developing or enhancing teacher preparation techniques.