Addicted to ACE: Exploring the experiences of adult learners Jane Stewart (Department of Education, Professional Development Unit)

Marg Cartner (Literacy Waikato/Tertiary Study Skills Centre) Kelly Gibson (Research Coordinator Maori, Faculty of Social Science)

Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec), Hamilton - Aotearoa / New Zealand

Introduction

Adult and community education (ACE) is defined in Aotearoa/New Zealand as a

process whereby adults choose to engage in a range of educational activities within the

community (The Adult Education & Community Learning Working Party, 2001). In the

current political climate, ACE is a sub-set of tertiary education; a term now used to

describe “all learning that takes place in the field of post-school education and training”

(Ministry of Education, 2002a, p. 4).

The peripheral existence of ACE adds to the urgency felt by those in the field in their

quest for a professional identity (Brookfield, 1986). Two prolific areas of adult

education research support the quest. The first area seeks to construct a theory of

adult learning and the second area relates to analysing participation in adult education

(Jarvis, 1987; Merriam & Brockett, 1997). It is the second area that provides the

background to this research project.

The literature on participation relates to the demographics (who participates and who

does not), the learners’ motivations and the barriers to participation (Jarvis, 1987;

Merriam & Brockett, 1997; Brookfield, 1986). Brookfield (1986) describes the topic of

participation as probably the most enduring research concern of the sector. Malcolm

Tight (1998) notes that there are two main (often opposing) discourses of participation

in the United Kingdom – one is the government’s economic/political discourse, which

links participation with the needs of the global knowledge economy. The other belongs

to the adult education literature, which claims that adults participate in learning

throughout the whole of life and that all kinds of learning are valuable. Tight (1998)

claims that the two opposing discourses should be bridged, and both discourses need

to be taken seriously. Tight (1998) also suggests that this can be achieved by giving

more authority to the learner and to the researched (p. 118).

Participation is an enduring research concern in Aotearoa/New Zealand (Benseman,

1989,1992, 1996; Harré Hindmarsh & Davies, 1995a & 1995b; Tobias, 1998).

Benseman (1996) characterises participation research as “generally of two main types”

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(p. 276), either based on psychological models of behaviour or sociological analyses.

Harré Hindmarsh & Davies (1995a) note a shift in the focus of participation research

over the years, which parallels shifts in government education policies: “More recently,

researchers have shifted the focus from access and participation to a focus on … adult

learning ‘pathways’ or ‘routes’” (p. 21). They state that the research shift parallels the

policy shift in focus from ‘equality of opportunity’ and ‘access’ to ‘outcomes/outputs’ and

‘accountability’. The focus on outcomes is continued in recent government policy

directions. These directions were embodied in a reference group, established in 2001,

to implement Cabinet decisions based on the Adult Education and Community

Learning Working Party report, Koia! Koia! (2001). The working party has been

renamed as the Adult and Community Education Reference Group, which is now part

of the Tertiary Education Commission.

The Adult Education and Community Learning Working Party (2001) notes that the

ACE sector has an important role to play in helping to build national progress and

social development. It claims that ACE has a critical role to play in opening doorways

for all learners in our community. The working party’s report acknowledges that there

has been little research in New Zealand, which supports the claims of benefits from

ACE. However, overseas studies show that the benefits can be measured, in terms of

communities and the wider society as well as to the individual learners. Some of the

benefits to individuals include greater confidence, personal development, employment,

work satisfaction. Benefits to the wider society include economic, health, citizenship

and community development as well as cultural maintenance (The Adult Education and

Community Learning Working Party, 2001, p. 13).

Collecting learning stories from adult learners is a collaborative research project

initiated by two providers associated with the Waikato branch of Adult and Community

Education Aotearoa (ACE Aotearoa). The project is informed by the literature

regarding participation in adult education. It aims to give authority to the learners

(Tight, 1998), while exploring the claims made about participation in tertiary education

in the current political context.

Initially, the collection of stories was in response to the call, from the Ministry of

Education in 2002, for stories about learners. The focus of the project shifted to

provide information for Literacy Waikato and Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec)

on their learners’ prior experiences, particularly those from non-traditional education

backgrounds (Bowl, 2003).

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Therefore, the purpose of the project is twofold:

ß To gain an insight into the pathways of adult learners

ß To explore the motivations for and challenges of participation in adult learning.

This study reports on twenty adult learner accounts (5 Maori and 15 non- Maori) of

participation in adult learning.

Methodology

Research team

The research team comprises Wintec academic staff members. Initially, two non-Maori

researchers undertook the research. As the study progressed two interested Maori

staff joined the research team. The aim was for each researcher to interview ten adult

learners; 40 participants in total. Due to various circumstances, the two Maori

researchers withdrew. The Faculty of Social Science Research Coordinator Maori

stepped in to retain the integrity of the Maori data.

Recruitment of participants

Purposive and snowball sampling approaches were used to recruit participants

(Llewellyn, Sullivan & Minichiello, 1999; Robson, 2002). The participants were either

Literacy Waikato and/or Wintec students who had joined tertiary education as adult

learners. Interested Literacy Waikato, Tertiary Study Skills Centre (TSSC) staff and

Bachelor of Applied Social Science (BASS) tutors were approached and asked to

support the project. Tutors discussed the research project with students, inviting their

participation. Formal letters were distributed at this point, which provided further

information about the project and its purpose. Participants’ rights were explained,

including security of their information, confidentiality of their identity, protection of the

names of others and organisations.

The interview process

To prepare participants for the taped interview session each was given an interview

schedule (see Appendix 1), including trigger questions and a learning map to study at

their leisure prior to the interview. The interview schedule questions identified the

learner’s background experiences and types of post school learning activities they were

involved in. Focus was directed at the catalysts involved for the new learning

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enrolment, how motivation was sustained, what helped and hindered the learning and

where the learning led.

The purpose of the learning map was to encourage the students to reflect on their

learning experiences prior to the interview, in privacy and at their leisure. A template

adapted from the Adult Reading and Learning Assistance (ARLA) Federation’s1 self-

paced tutor training manual (1994) was given to the participants. Participants were

asked to record their own learning experiences and changing circumstances, prior to

the interview. Such reflection can give insight into why and when new learning

situations occur. The maps assisted the researchers and participants to identify

significant time-lines. These were kept by the participants and not collected as data.

Participants were given further opportunities to ask questions about the research

project before signing consent forms. Interviews took place at a time and location

preferred by participants.

Adult learning stories were collected, using semi-structured interviews which allowed

in-depth and extended exploration of individual accounts. All interviews were taped and

transcribed. Interviews lasted from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. Prior to any

analysis being undertaken, participants were given the opportunity to edit their stories.

Interview data analysis

Miles and Huberman (1994, cited in Robson, 2002) note that after data collection, data

analysis is based on three concurrent flows of activity: data reduction, data display and

conclusion drawing/verification. As is typical with qualitative data, collections of words

generated from the interviews can be cumbersome to analyse. The method of analysis

focussed on reducing the quantity of qualitative data to manageable amounts. It

enabled the researchers to demonstrate how they would record the data, identify key

relationships between the participants’ stories and draw conclusions from the data

presented.

Two approaches were used to analyse the data. First, researchers constructed

individual learner profiles2, tracing learners’ participation in learning activities alongside

their other responsibilities (McGivney, 1992). Part of the impetus for recording the

learner profiles was to maintain the learners’ individual stories. Second, a “template

1 Re-formed as Literacy Aotearoa Inc. 2 These are not included in this paper because of concerns that the participants’ anonymity may be compromised.

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approach” (Robson, 2002, p.458) was used for the data analysis. This approach was

based on pre-determined key codes, which served as a template into which the

interview data could be sorted. The key codes were derived from previous research

into adult education participation (Tobias, 1998) and experience in the field.

The key codes used in data analysis reflected the learning map and the key research

questions from the interview schedule. These included:

• Background - school and family

• Types of learning

• Prompts/Catalysts/Triggers

• On-going motivation

• Support for learning

• Challenges encountered

• Consequences of learning.

The non-Maori transcripts were analysed by two non-Maori researchers, working with

transcripts from the interviews that they had recorded. The transcripts from the Maori

interviews conducted by the research team were analysed by the Research

Coordinator Maori.

The final steps of analysis of the 20 learning stories were derived from the data

displayed on the key code matrices. Following the individual development of the

matrices, the three researchers met to compare and contrast their analyses.

Discussion arose about the appropriateness of the pre-determined codes and further

codes were included. Common themes and differences among the group of

participants as a whole were identified.

Findings are presented under key question areas, and in some instances the

subheadings of ‘intrinsic’ and ‘extrinsic’ are also used. ‘Intrinsic’ represents the

learners’ cognitive and emotional processing; ‘extrinsic’ represents environmental

influences, which impact upon these internal processes (Smith & Spurling, 2001).

Findings

This research is based on the interviews of 20 adult learners. All participants have

been or are currently enrolled at Wintec. Seven of these participants have been

associated with Literacy Waikato. They are all working towards gaining specific tertiary

qualifications.

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Where do they come from?

The participant group comprises 15 women and five men; of these five self-identify as

Maori, 14 as Pakeha, and one as Hong Kong Chinese. Participant ages range from 25

to the late fifties. Two participants have disabilities which significantly impact on their

learning. Thirteen of the group left school with no formal qualifications, six gained

some school certificate subjects, one completed sixth form and one completed the

seventh form. Overall, primary and secondary schooling experiences were not positive

for the participants: School was just something that you had to go to … but we just went to school even if we didn’t like it, we turned up … (non-Maori, female). I found that the teachers were quite tough. If you didn’t do homework you got … belted with a stick on your legs (Maori, female). We were not allowed to speak Maori, at all in the grounds. You got strapped if you got caught ... So my parents didn’t encourage us to learn the language because of that … But they spoke it all the time in the home (Maori, female).

Many participants experienced challenges in adulthood, some of which could be

described as life crises. A constant theme for all the participants is that learning is

never their sole focus, as they all have many other responsibilities. Prior to becoming

formal adult learners all but one had worked in a variety of occupational areas. During

their formal learning, many continued to work in part-time or full-time employment often

using previous workplace skills. Many also continued to be involved in voluntary work.

Types of learning experiences

The adult learning experiences recalled by participants could be described as informal,

non-formal and formal education. These included:

• Play Centre/Kohanga Reo/Parents’ Centre training

• Returning to secondary school

• Adult literacy programmes

• ESOL Voluntary Home Tutor training

• Tertiary Education courses, ranging from certificate to degree level

• Work based training or apprenticeships

• Personal interest classes, such as arts / crafts

• Bridging programmes such as Mahi Ora.

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Why do they bother?

It became apparent that returning to learning was not the result of only one ‘trigger’ but

rather a series of complex interactions, which over time prompted decisive action. In

most instances a ‘seed’ was planted, sometimes by a chance interaction, and acted on

at a later date. Intrinsic factors All participants were motivated by personal vision:

Learning the reo, … it wakes me up. Every time I get up it makes me come to kura cos I want to learn more reo. Before we just used to laze around in bed and watch TV, had no purpose, just my kids coming back, looking after them. That’s all I was worried about, and my mokos. Now it makes me get up. That’s my desire, my whakaaro (Maori, female). I love learning, I have always enjoyed learning … and I value education as a very, very important aspect of my life, … I’ve inherited that from my father, he valued education and I know that he encouraged all of us kids to get an education (Maori, female).

All but two had feelings of self worth: “I knew that I wasn’t stupid” (non-Maori, female).

Most participants reported that they had harboured the motivation for further learning

since leaving school: Always been there to do, something for my self worth, just to see if I was capable of doing them (Non-Maori, female). I will always be learning probably until the day I die (Non-Maori, female). That was my focus in life, I was going to be educated and do something (Non-Maori, female).

Extrinsic factors Extrinsic factors generally included family and employment reasons:

A lot of my education has been based around my family’s needs and my dissatisfaction with the education system (non-Maori, female). Education needs to be available for mothers where there are children, doesn’t it? Or where there are children there needs to be education for mothers – put the other way around (non-Maori, female). … I know in the future that the degree is going to be standard to get a job or have more opportunities to get a job (non-Maori, male). I just knew that I had to get a licence no matter what it took. I could just apply myself so to speak when I wanted to – when I wanted something I could apply myself to the education thing – read the Road Code, do the questionnaires, all those kind of things (Maori, male).

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A series of events initiated and truncated changes in their learning journey:

Separating changed my focus (non-Maori, female). My desire for education did get very watered down when my marriage was really bad (non-Maori, female).

For some participants a specific life event / crisis, such as a partner’s illness or

accident, necessitated a change in life direction: When [my husband] was diagnosed with major health problems … and I [realized] that the only way we were going to get on as a family and get off social welfare benefits, was that I was going to have to be the breadwinner (non-Maori, female). It helped me through the shock of becoming a mother (non-Maori, female). Some friends have said to me you could have gone down to the pub and drunk yourself into obliterations and felt sorry and pity for yourself but you went back to school [laughs] (Maori, male).

One participant described the need to further develop literacy skills after he was left to

raise his children when his marriage ended: Thinking about how I was going to write things down and how they would ask me to spell things…(Non-Maori, male).

Returning to learning was sometimes supported by chance interactions with another

person, a friend, family member or someone working in a professional capacity with the

learner: [The ACC rehab lady said] “you have the opportunity to re-school yourself at this time” and I decided to take this track (Non-Maori, male). [Chairperson of the organisation said] “I think you have really awesome skills around social work and you should go back to school” (Maori, male).

Different participants identified a need to ‘up-skill’ for employment reasons: I started originally just to make sure that I would keep my [early childhood] qualifications and my pay rate (non-Maori, female).

The Hong-Kong Chinese participant was also motivated by the New Zealand context,

which she noted as offering immense opportunities for being educated as an adult,

compared to her female friends in Hong-Kong.

In summary, most participants were prompted by a change in personal circumstances,

both social and economic, an awakening desire to fulfil a longer term vision of their

lives and chance meetings.

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What keeps them going?

Maintaining learning commitment required personal determination as well as a

supportive context, both within the learning environment and at home / work.

Intrinsic factors The participants maintained their learning focus by setting personal goals. For

example, “I’ve always challenged myself” (non-Maori, female); experiencing and

celebrating success along the way: Seeing the progress probably … just having the confidence and I noticed that my writing style changed and I got a heck of a lot quicker and I was putting out a better quality of work really quickly (non-Maori, female).

Implementing time management strategies was critical for completing assignments and

studying for tests / exams. For example, one participant commented, “I treat the

course like a job” (non-Maori, male).

Having a clear vision of the end goal or achievement was also important: I should continue to learn, it’s just like the racing. If the riders get on the horse they can’t get off - they should stay on until they finish. (non-Maori, female).

Extrinsic factors Participants’ intrinsic motivation was often supported by encouragement from family

and friends, and being a role model to family members: Because it was something I was doing with my children I was interested in it and motivated to learn more and it just clicked on a switch to learn more (non-Maori, female). My husband is really keen and he’s really pleased for me to have my Bachelors, when I get that (non-Maori, female). But what keeps me doing it is the challenge by my grandchildren, just asking me questions, and I always say to them I will just check that out and so I will go to the library and look it up or ask someone. That happens to me all the time … they think I know everything (Maori, female).

A supportive learning environment consisted of social connections with other learners: In one or two of my papers I had somebody that I used to go with and she was much the same as myself and, if we needed to study we studied together (non-Maori, female). It was a safe place and realising that you weren’t on your own (non-Maori, female).

Programmes also needed to be relevant to their immediate lives, “[I was] applying

things as I was learning … I could relate it back because I was doing it anyway” (Maori,

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female). Having respectful staff and tutors was also important for the learning

experience: We had awesome tutors who were – encouraging … they built us up, they made us feel valued, our opinions, our attitudes were all valued and all respected (Maori, female).

In some instances participants referred to relying on one key person “as a backstop”.

The benefits accrued from gaining tertiary qualifications include increased

employability: Each time I add to my qualification the more doors that can open (non-Maori, female).

What gets in the way?

Despite their personal drive and supportive environments, the learners encountered

challenges and talked about the downsides of learning.

Intrinsic factors The lack of a clear direction delayed learners from getting started: “I couldn’t actually

think what I wanted to do” (non-Maori, female). Some learners said that they had

unrealistic expectations. For example, one participant commented: “I’m actually

probably not ready … I’ve been technologically challenged” (non-Maori, female). Other

participants continued to struggle with negative self-perceptions and fear of failure: I told myself that I was dumb, but nobody actually said I was dumb (non-Maori, female). Still fear of spelling at times. I just freeze, I can’t write it … Like giving birth to letters (Maori, female). … a fear of failure, my marks were a measurement of me and my character (non-Maori, male).

Extrinsic factors Added to the negative self-talk were frustrations associated with the programmes within

the learning environment, for example, entry requirements:

Because all this adult education stuff is recorded under the Playcentre umbrella, all the achievements are intangible, they are not measurable … It is a barrier …you’ve got skills but they are not written down on pieces of paper (non-Maori, female).

Some learners talked about a lack of support from teaching staff:

The tutors were very insensitive to any culture outside their own … You can have all these strategies but if they are not respected what’s the purpose of having them? (Maori, female).

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Other participants talked about difficulties with students on their courses, for example,

“I felt a bit of a stranger, not in the main flow” (non-Maori, female).

The financial cost associated with tertiary study was a challenge for the participants,

many of whom were reliant on government benefits and student loans to support their

families and their learning: Many times I rang and discovered it was going to cost $500 … sort of thought “Can’t do that”, slammed down the phone (non-Maori, female).

All the participants expressed concerns about finding and managing time for learning

activities on top of their other roles and responsibilities: If I try to do everything … what if something else comes into that pile and I overload it? (non-Maori, female).

Some participants were aware that they did not have the time they wished for, to

complete their studies: “I don’t have the time to put in it the same” (non-Maori, female).

Work commitments often disrupted learning: I was made redundant … It took me a good six months to settle down and get everyone on track, now I can survive and get on working in a new place before I could actually get on with something else (non-Maori, female).

Similarly, family responsibilities interrupted study. In one instance, enrolling in a course

was postponed because of family illness. In another, sacrificing time with family was

one of two reasons for withdrawing from a degree course: I withdrew because of balance and direction … I could have done it, but it would have been sacrificing and I felt that I have spent years sacrificing time with my family (non-Maori, female).

In summary, difficulties with the learning environment and financial worries were

combined with time poverty for many of our learners.

Where does it lead? As is typical with narrative data collection, other conceptual categories emerged from

the learning stories. Reflection, personal vision, learning philosophies and the

consequences of learning were recurring threads throughout the transcripts. These

threads were most likely associated with the participants’ successful experiences:

It just started expanding my whole horizons – the importance of learning, being open to new ideas … I had this vision – get married, have kids, stay at home. Now there is no way I would even go back to that (non-Maori, female).

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Initial explorations of participation in adult learning reveals that learning experiences

had encouraged most participants to reflect on their own situations: I just think life is just such a big learning experience anyway. I have no regrets – I have no regrets from having done the nursing – no regrets at all – in fact I think I am probably better off because I have done it …because it was a door opener for me – it lead me into childcare and I strongly believe that … it just kind of guided me into the right avenue that I was really looking for anyway (Maori, female).

Participants did not dwell on the past but moved on with their lives, creating new

opportunities and changes from the skills, knowledge and experiences the adult

learning had given them: Education seemed important … I did not want a monotonous, uneventful life … when I make up my mind I go for it … when I finished my diploma I knew that I was going to do a degree programme (Maori, female).

In order to survive and commit to their learning, most had assessed their own learning

styles and thinking and had developed strategies to suit their particular needs:

I said [to my family] that I know some people can just sit in front of a computer and it just flows out or some people can just pick up a book and read pages of it, but I haven’t got any of those skills, so every kind of hour and five minutes that I have I need to build these skills … or do something to stay on track (Maori, male).

The consequences of learning were both negative and positive. On the negative side

were the deadlines and failures, negative responses from family and friends, costs in

time and money, and confusion from too many possibilities. In one instance a

participant’s world-view was challenged:

At first I thought I am a bit of a hypocrite because that doesn’t match with what I have been brought up with …. I started to realize that there was something more out there and a really got interested in learning … and the world opened up to me, a different concept, a different lifestyle, a different social life (non-Maori, female).

On the positive side, learning brought with it tangible rewards as well as increased

personal growth and social awareness. It was perceived as a “door opener”, a “very

mind opening time” and giving a “broader picture of the world.” Learners noted gaining

a broad skill base, being able to do their jobs better with more confidence and being

able to share the learning:

That’s what I have got from education – we need to encourage each other, share it, don’t hide it away in drawers – that is part of the passion (Maori, male).

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Discussion

The discussion covers two main areas. First, the findings are related to findings of

previous participation studies and second, limitations of the research are discussed.

Findings

The findings presented and discussed in this report relate to five main questions:

1. Where do they come from?

o What is their initial educational background?

2. Why do they bother?

o What are the prompts, catalysts and triggers to engage in adult learning

situations?

3. What keeps them going?

o What maintains their participation, what supports their learning?

4. What gets in the way?

o What are the obstacles or challenges to participation?

5. Where does it lead?

o What are the consequences of learning?

Motivation for learning is an individual cognitive process, open to a large degree of

influence and shaped by the wider social and physical world (Smith & Spurling, 2001).

Smith and Spurling (2001) emphasise that the family, educational institutions,

communities and the world of work have “particular influence on learning motivation”

(p. 49).

Benseman (1996) notes that analysis of participation tends to be fall into two main

categories, either based on psychological models of behaviour or sociological

analyses. The focus for this research is both sociological and psychological. It

identifies the impact of social and environmental contexts on participation in adult

learning. The research also explores individual motivations (Benseman, 1996)

including intrinsic and extrinsic factors that have affected the adult learning processes

(Smith & Spurling, 2001; Taylor, 1995; Tobias, 1998).

Where do they come from?

The findings relating to the backgrounds of participants, correlates with other research

conducted within Aotearoa / New Zealand (Taylor, 1995; Davey, 2003; Renwick, 2003;

Stephens & Higgins, 2003). What became evident from participant accounts was that

their initial schooling experiences, primary and secondary, were not necessarily

positive. Taylor (1995) reported that many of the participants had been “…motivated

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by the fact that their front-end education had been inadequate and they knew they

could do better” (p.114).

The majority of participants in this research were aged between 40 and 60 years.

Thirteen of the 20 participants had left school without formal qualifications. This was

particularly indicative of the Literacy Waikato students. Davey’s (2003) study about the

university experiences of learners over the age of 40, noted that leaving school on or

around their 15th birthday, was an “extremely common pattern up until the 1970’s”

(p.25).

Why do they bother? Davey (2003) reported that some learners expressed long-term aspirations for

education and a “love of learning” (p. 38). Long-term aspirations are reflected in this

research where participants harboured their desire to learn since leaving school, with

no or few qualifications. In some instances a ‘seed’ had been planted and given the

opportunity to grow later in life.

Prompts for moving on with formal learning are often a combination of personal, social

and economic influences (Bowl, 2003; Davey, 2003). This was supported by the

research findings where participants were prompted by several interconnected

influences, rather than one ‘trigger’ event. Bowl (2003) notes that direction and support

comes in a rather haphazard way and often a chance encounter leads learners to

return to education. Similarly, time and place were identified by Gorard, Rees, Fevre

and Welland (2001) as the most significant determinants of participation: “where and

when an individual is, determines their structure of opportunities” (p. 172). The

significance of chance, time and place is supported by this study. Most of our

interviewees noted a series of interactions with other people, some personal friends

and others who were professionals, who had a role in their decision to participate in

adult learning.

Stephens and Higgins (2003) noted an additional motivation for older Maori as

students. For these learners, education reflected cultural goals with these being as

important as career centered goals or self-improvement. The older Maori students

perceived themselves as bearers of knowledge to whanau and those outside the

university, with a key motivation being to attain knowledge about tikanga and te reo

(Stephens and Higgins, 2003). The importance of cultural goals and sharing learning

with others is reflected in this study. Maori participants were often motivated to learn

more about tikanga and te reo within a formal learning environment. They also

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reported a sense of leading by example and ensuring that their learning was shared

with whanau, and the different communities with which they were involved.

What keeps them going?

Maintaining learning commitment required personal determination, which derives from

a mixture of internal and external motives. The internal motivation arose in part from

having a clear vision of the end goal. This personal vision, which helped to initiate

engagement in learning, also maintained their focus throughout their learning activities.

These findings support previous research findings (Davey, 2003; McGivney, 1992;

Taylor, 1995; Tobias, 1998).

Renwick (2003) suggests that for male learners personal motivation arises from the

use of learning activities to cope with adversity. Both male and female participants

described how learning experiences helped them to cope with changing personal

circumstances, some of which were particularly difficult.

Personal determination of participants was supported by positive social and learning

contexts (Tobias, 1998). It became evident from the findings that a supportive learning

environment for the research participants involved key factors: social connections with

other learners; the relevance of the learning to their immediate lives; in formal settings,

respectful staff / tutors; and in some instances, one key person who acted as a

‘backstop’. These key factors support some of the distinct elements described by Bowl

(2003) for non-traditional learners in formal settings, specifically building support

networks and breaking down hierarchies.

What gets in the way?

Writing about non-participation usually focuses on barriers that prevent people from

making use of the educational opportunities available (Benseman, 1996). These

include dispositional, situational, and institutional barriers, with “dispositional barriers

being the most powerful deterrents” (Benseman, 1996, p. 279). Certainly, negative

self-talk got in the way for the participants, delaying them from getting started with

learning, and sometimes continued to challenge them throughout their learning

experiences. These dispositional barriers may have arisen as a result of their initial

schooling experiences, which tended to be negative. As noted in the findings, the

participants in this study experienced a sense of social distance or separation between

home and school (Tobias, 1998).

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In terms of situational barriers, Taylor reports that there were “barriers that participants

had to face at each and every stage of their progression route” (1995, pp.128-129).

A major theme from the literature reviewed was ‘finding time’ for studies amongst many

other responsibilities (Bowl, 2003; Davey, 2003; Taylor, 1995). Bowl (2003) uses the

term ‘time poverty’ to describe these challenges and contends that this is gendered:

“The picture which emerged was one of women constantly running to keep up with all

the demands on their lives, but determined to do so” (p. 83). Given that the majority of

participants in this study were women, these themes were particularly evident.

Institutional barriers have been described by Taylor (1995) as another major area of

frustration, particularly a lack of acknowledgement and support for adults once they

were within the structure of educational institutions. This was seen in direct contrast to

some, though not all, of the participants’ experiences. These experiences illustrate the

importance of providing a supportive institutional environment for learners and having a

key contact person within the institution; thus helping them to develop a strong platform

for their individual learning motivation (Smith & Spurling, 2001).

Where does it lead?

As noted in the findings, new categories of vision, personal learning philosophies, and

reflection emerged from the data. Smith and Spurling (2001) state that reflection on

successful learning experiences produces “virtual motivation” (p.33) setting learners on

upward paths of ever-increasing motivation and success in learning. Tobias (1998)

surmised that participation in adult learning and education represents a desire to take

control of their own lives and shape their own destinies. The intrinsic motives of the

research participants in this study are testimony to a similar desire.

The participants have all described being actively involved with voluntary community

work, multiple learning experiences from informal to non-formal to formal tertiary

education, and often paid employment. This pattern of active involvement is similar to

Bowl’s (2003) findings where “participants had been educationally or economically

active since leaving school…” (p. 54).

Several writers (Harré Hindmarsh & Davies, 1995; Taylor, 1995; The Adult Education

and Community Learning Working Party, 2001) identify learning pathways and the

benefits accrued along the way. The participants noted the benefits of greater

confidence, personal development, employment, and work satisfaction.

17

In summary, the findings of this study represent a brief snapshot of the complexities of

the participants’ learning experiences. The findings align with many similar studies,

particularly those undertaken in Aotearoa / New Zealand. Overall, like Taylor (1995),

the learners’ participation in adult learning, can be characterized as: …a gradual, and often winding roadway, at times resembling a minor spaghetti junction – interrupted, truncated, and/or moulded by family crises, having children, work and family commitments – rather than a linear movement towards a predetermined goal (p. 119).

Participation in formal and credentialed education is a central issue for the institutions

who compete for students. Tobias (1998) states that we should resist pressuring

people to continue in their formal studies and at the same time do all we can to ensure

that opportunities remain open. The call to protect open tertiary opportunities for adults

is repeated by other Aotearoa / New Zealand researchers (Benseman, 1996; Renwick,

2003) who note the role that open entry plays in promoting educational equality.

Certainly, ensuring that opportunities remain open is supported by those addicted to

ACE in this study. Although there have been downsides to learning, they share a

passion for learning and the “door opening,” “mind opening” and “broader picture of the

world” which ensued as a consequence.

Limitations of the research

From the 1980’s, there have been challenges to the positivist and quantitative

approaches that dominated North American participation research (Tobias, 1998).

Counter challenges are also made, which argue that qualitative research provides

anecdotal evidence (McGivney, 1992) and “fine, meaningless details” (Fieldhouse cited

in Coare & Thomson, 1996, p. 201) about adult education and learning.

This study is situated within this on-going debate. A choice was made to align the

research with those interested in qualitative approaches about participation in adult

education and learning. The study situates learning alongside other aspects of

people’s lives, evokes complex motivations and reveals the inter-connectedness

between significant factors (Coare & Thomson, 1996). It demonstrates “the complexity

and diversity in a wide variety of learning situations” (Ministry of Education, 2002b, p.5).

Other researchers in Aotearoa / New Zealand have also made this choice (Benseman,

1989; Benseman, 1992; Brink, 2002; Davey, 2003; Harré Hindmarsh & Davies, 1993;

Renwick, 2003; Stephens & Higgins, 2003;Taylor, 1995; Tobias, 1998). In this way this

study builds on the work already completed by those committed to the ACE sector in

Aotearoa / New Zealand.

18

Three main difficulties were evident during the research project: accessing participants;

reporting diversity; and interpreting motivations. The difficulty of gaining access to

participants (Tobias, 1998) forced the researchers, in the end, to rely on personal

approaches by tutoring staff and snowballing techniques (Robson, 2002) to find

participants. As a consequence, it is fair to say, the group of learners is limited to those

who are addicted to learning and have a positive relationship with formal education. In

this instance the stories of those who did not continue have not been told (Benseman,

1996; Bowl, 2003).

The second difficulty related to the inability to fit individual stories into “either the model

or the explanations” (Gorard et al, 2001, p. 171). McGivney (1992) also discusses the

diversity of adult learners. Diversity in the participants of this research led to difficulties

in attempts to thematically group the findings from individuals’ learning stories. The

research team was faced with twenty diverse individuals, whose lives were not easily

grouped together into similar patterns in order to make inferences (Robson, 2002).

McGivney (1992) provided a way forward in terms of reporting diversity. Even though

her study is quantitative in nature, she provided examples of individual progression.

This approach to report background information about each of the participants, was

adopted.

Finally, McGivney (1992) and Tobias (1998) caution researchers about expressed

motivations for learning and the interpretation of these. McGivney (1992) notes that

participants may: find it simpler to express a simple concrete and easily understood purpose for their involvement than to disentangle the mesh of inter-related and perhaps not fully recognized motives that may have led them to take this step (p. 17).

In a similar vein Tobias (1998), citing the work of West (1996), notes that motives are

complex and subtle, therefore drawing a distinction between external (instrumental)

and personal motives for learning may be artificial and reductionist. Having noted the

caution, both internal and external motives are apparent in the literature. Therefore,

the same strategy for reporting the findings was used.

Conclusion

The research tells the story of those who have continued their learning journeys; it

gives authority to the learner and to the researched (Tight, 1998). It supports the

claims made by the sector of individual and wider societal benefits (The Adult

19

Education and Community Learning Working Party, 2001). The story begins to provide

insight into how best to prompt and support adult learners in the pursuit of their

personal visions. This indicates an area for possible future research.

In conclusion, information from this study provides insight into the pathways of adults

who are actively involved in learning activities. These early explorations of their

experiences broaden understandings of learners’ motivations for and challenges of

participation in adult learning.

20

Acknowledgements

We wish to acknowledge the adult learners who participated in this research – many

thanks for giving us insight into your learning experiences. We also acknowledge

support from colleagues at Wintec and at Literacy Waikato.

Contact Details

Jane Stewart

Department of Education

Waikato Institute of Technology

Private Bag 3036

Hamilton

New Zealand

Email: Jane.Stewart@wintec.ac.nz

Phone: +64 7 834 88 00 ext 8595

Marg Cartner

Literacy Waikato

PO Box 588

HAMILTON

Email: Marg.Cartner@wintec.ac.nz

Phone: +64 7 834 8880

21

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Appendix 1 Interview schedule ß Adult and community education includes a range of educational activities within the

community. It includes informal (kitchen table and garage learning) and non-formal learning (outside a qualifications framework, so does not have formal exams as part of the learning).

ß Look at your own learning experiences and changing circumstances and on a

separate piece of paper chart them on a map similar to the one attached. Put good learning experiences above the line and less happy ones below the line.

ß From looking at your map it becomes clearer when and why you became involved

in learning situations. The following questions are designed to help you explain the map.

1. What kind of learning activities have you been involved in since leaving

school?

2. What prompted you to start?

3. What helped your learning?

4. What kept you going?

5. What were the downsides?

6. What did it lead to?