adult learners and higher education: factors influencing participation or nonparticipation decisions

A D U L T L E A R N E R S AND H I G H E R E D U C A T I O N : F A C T O R S I N F L U E N C I N G P A R T I C I P A T I O N O R N O N P A R T I C I P A T I O N DECISIONS:

Patricia Harper Apt

A B S T R A C T : Information regarding why adults choose to participate in h igher education is necessary if educators are to provide meaningful programs for these learners. This study was designed and conducted to explore the h igher education needs and interests of adults. Factor analysis of interested adults ' responses identified four major factors which could influence an adult 's decision to part icipate or not to part icipate in h igher education. Based on the na ture of the i tems comprising each, the factors were designated self-development goal, affective barrier , career goal, and si tuat ion barrier .

PROBLEM

Why do adults choose to participate in higher education? If educators are to plan meaningful programs for these potential students, more information is needed regarding the factors which can influence an adult 's decision to participate or not to participate. Al- though considerable research has been conducted about adults' interests and involvement in continued learning, little of this research has focused specifically on adults and higher education.

additional

PURPOSE This study was designed and conducted to provide

information about positive and negative factors, both

Dr. Apt is Coordinator, Adult Educat ion Research Projects, Iowa State Universi ty, Ames, Iowa 50011.

Alternative Higher Education, Vol. 3(1), 1978

0361-6851/78/1500-0003500.95 © 1978 Human Sciences Press 3

4 ALTERNATIVE HIGHER EDUCATION

psychological and situational, which could influence and possibly determine whether some adults become students in higher education.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Adults' expressed reasons for wanting to continue their education have varied among studies. This may have been due to differences among populations, different research methods, or the complexity of studying human motivation.

Houle (1961) conducted a pioneer study which concentrated more on adult learners and their motivations than the act of enrollment in an academic course or program. The findings of that study, which were reported in The Inquiring Mind (1961), showed that although the adult learners studied had similar histories, they did vary in terms of their major concerns about the purposes and values of continuing education. Within the total group, Houle identified three subgroups: (1) the goal- oriented, who used education as a means of accomplishing fairly clear- cut objectives, (2) the activity-oriented, who took part because they found in the circumstances of learning a meaning which had no necessary connection with the content or announced purpose of the activity, and (3) the learning-oriented, who sought l~mowledge for its own sake. Houle stressed, however, tha t these were not pure types; that the best way to represent them pictorially would be by three circles which over- lapped at their edges.

Using the concepts presented by Houle, Sheffield (1962) prepared a list of fifty-eight reasons why adults said that they participated in educational activities. Factor analysis was used to identify five adult learner orientations: (1) learning, (2) desire for sociability, (3) personal goals, (4) societal goals, and (5) need fulfillment. Thus, two of Houle's orientation factors were redefined. Goal orientation became divided into personal goals and societal goals. Activity orientation was redefined as the desire for sociability and need fulfillment.

In 1967 Miller proposed a motivational model which emphasized beth positive and negative factors. His model showed participation in adult education as dependent on the degree of congruence or conflict between an individual's personal needs and the strength of social and situational forces in given situations.

In 1969 Tough presented a paper, "Why Adults Learn: A Study of the Major Reasons for Beginning and Continuing a Learning Project," at the National Seminar on Adult Education Research. In this paper he

PATRICIA HARPER APT 5

described interviews with adults regarding reasons for their learning behavior. The major reasons which these adults gave for continuing a learning project included the feeling of learning successfully, enjoy- ment from receiving the content, pleasure from learning activities, and satisfaction from the possession of knowledge.

Two years after Tough's report, Burgess (1971) explored further the framework of educational orientations developed by Houle and Shef- field. He found tha t the reasons chosen by adults for participating in educational activities factored into seven groups: (1) the desire to know, (2) the desire to reach a personal goal, (3) the desire to reach a social goal, (4) the desire to reach a religious goal, (5) the desire to escape, (6) the desire to take part in an activity, and (7) the desire to comply with formal requirements. Only five of these factors paralleled Sheffield's findings. The two factors which seemingly did not parallel were (1) the desire to reach a religious goal and (2) the desire to comply with formal requirements.

Grabowski (1972) used Burgess's instrument, Reasons for Educa- tional Participation, to study the motivational factors of adult learners enrolled in an independent study program at University College, Syra- cuse University. The first five factors discovered were identical to Burgess's first five factors; however, the sixth factor in Grabowski's study was the desire to study alone, and the seventh factor was the desire for intellectual security.

Thus, as stated earlier, studies have differed in findings. Although some studies show corresponding factors, none of the total findings show exactly the same factors.

METHODOLOGY

Since the purpose of this study was to gain additional knowledge about the positive and negative factors which could influence an adult to participate or not to participate in higher education, the researcher obtained permission from the Educational Testing Service to adapt its Adult Learning Survey Questionnaire for the collection of needed data from potential higher education students.

Data were collected from a random area sample of 117 adults with an age range of 18 to 89 living in six counties of rural, western Iowa. These data were subjected to a correlation matrix program and factor analyzed by the maximum likelihood method. Analysis of variance was utilized to determine if significant differences existed among selected adult characteristics (age, sex, marital and family status, education, occupation, and income) and factors.


FINDINGS

The factor analysis revealed four major factors which could influence an adult's decision to participate or not to participate in higher education. These factors were interpreted as self- development goal factor, affective barrier factor, career goal factor, and situation barrier factor.

Factor 1, interpreted as a self-development goal, is presented in Table 1. The items which make up this factor are primarily related to the kind of person the adult wishes to be. This idea is expressed in a number of ways, such as to improve my self-image, to learn how to participate effectively as a citizen in my community, to satisfy my curiosity about a particular subject or topic, to be a better friend,. spouse, or parent, and to increase my awareness of different philosophies, cultures, and ways of life.

Table i. Factor I: Self-development goal

Overall a Rotated Questionnaire statement mean factor

(N = 117) loading

To improve my self-lmage 248.4

To learn how to participate effectively 245.9 as a citizen in my community

To satisfy my curiosity about a 265.5 particular subject or topic

Be a better friend~ spouse or parent 282.9

Personal satisfaction, personal 332.3 happiness

To increase my awareness of different 216,9 philosophies, cultures and ways of life

To deal more effectively with personal 290.6 situations and problems

To gain a feeling of belonging 179.5

To develop an understanding and 205.5 appreciation of science and technology

Will be most comfortable with the 262.6 people - instructors, students - there

.727

.672

.631

.616

.614

.590

.585

.582

.550

.522

aTransformed means on Scale 0 to 466


Table 2. Factor 2: Affective barrier


(N = 117) loading

A feeling that I probably could not 122.0 do the work

Am simply no longer interested in 116.4 formal schooling

Lack reason or incentive for further 109.7 education

A feeling that ! am too old to go 106.3 back to school

Teachers would not understand my 105.6 learning needs and problems

I would be reluctant to try a way 160.9 of learning with which I am not familiar

776

• 720

.689

•626

• 584

.532

a Transformed means on scale 0 to 466.

Factor 2, interpreted as an affective barrier, is presented in Table 2. This factor is composed of six statements which reflect negative feel- ings that might prevent even an interested adult from participating in higher education.

Factor 3, interpreted as career goal, is presented in Table 3. The seven statements which comprise the cluster for this factor indicate a desire for career or job improvement.

Factor 4, interpreted as a situation barrier, is presented in Table 4. The statements in this factor have a common theme of situational restraints.

The factor means and standard deviations appear in Table 5, which shows that the situation barrier factor rated of highest importance in participation or nonparticipation decisions, followed by the self- development goal factor, career goal factor, and affective barrier factor.

Analysis of variance showed the level of an adult's education had a significant (.01 level) bearing on the importance of the self- development goal factor. Examination of the mean scores of interested adults grouped according to education completed revealed that adults who were interested in pursuing higher education but who had completed only the eleventh grade or less and adults with one to three years of college ranked the self-development goal factor as most impor-


Table 3, Factor 3: Career goal

Questionnaire statement

To obtain a degree which is required for 215.8 my present or future job

To improve my professional status 255.3

Job requirement, to perform present job 251.0 better or to obtain a promotion

Employer 158.1

To work toward a degree 189,4

Job responsibilities 239.1

Prepare myself for new job or career 279.3

Overall a mean

(N = i17)

Rotated factor loading

• 642

.624

•600

.592

•579

.513

•402

a Transformed means on scale 0 ~o 466.

tant. High school graduates and adults with graduate degrees ranked this factor above the midpoint. Adults with trade, business, or technical school diplomas ranked the self-development goal factor as being below the midpoint in importance.

Differences in the level of an adult's education and in the level of an adult's occupation were found to have a significant (.05 level) bearing on the importance of the affective barrier factor. Examination of the mean scores of interested adults grouped according to level of education showed that adults with an eleventh-grade or less education and adults with a trade, business, or technical school diploma had the highest mean scores. Adults with graduate degrees had the lowest mean score. Examination of mean scores of interested adults grouped by occupation showed the highest means for the affective barrier factor were among unskilled workers, skilled workers, and housewives.

The characteristics of age (.05 level of significance), marital and family status (.05 level of significance), and occupation (.0t level of significance) were found to have a statistically significant bearing on the importance of the career goal factor. Examination of mean scores of interested adults grouped according to age showed that those in the 18 to 20 age group and the 21 to 29 age group had the highest means for the career goal factor. Of interested adults grouped according to marital and family status, single adults with no children had the highest mean scores. When interested adults were grouped according to occu-


Table 4. Factor 4: Situation barrier


(N = 117) loading

Amount of time required to complete 175.9 .506 desired program

Transportation problems 216.2 .486

Time involved in getting to location 353.3 .456

Convenience 366.2 .454

Child care problems 159.8 ,444

Financial cost (section 5) 326.5 .440

Cost (section 9) 273.2 .425

a Transformed means on scale 0 to 466.

pation, the unemployed, unskilled, and professional workers had the highest mean scores.

Income (.05 level of significance), sex (.01 level of significance), and marital and family status (.05 level of significance) were found to have a significant bearing on the importance of the situation barrier factor. Examination of interested adults grouped by income showed that

Table 5. Factor Scores a

Items Factor Number Factor Title Mean S.D. in

Factor

i Self-Development Goal 249.99 85.75 i0

2 Affectlve Barrier 120.35 88.18 6

3 Career Goal 232.76 102.94 7

4 Situation Barrier 267.38 75.45 7

aFactor moans and standard devlation ere based on transformed score scale 0 to 466.


adults with yearly incomes of $3,000 to $4,999 and $5,000 to $6,999 had the highest mean scores, and adults with an income of $20,000 or more had the lowest mean score. The mean score for women as to the importance of this factor was significantly higher (.01 level) than the mean score for men. Married adults with young children and the single, widowed, divorced, or separated adults with young children had the highest scores among the marital and family groups. Single, widowed, divorced, or separated adults with no children had the lowest mean score.

Multiple classification analysis of variance showed interactions of age and sex, mari tal status and sex, education and age, and education and sex to be statistically insignificant for all factors.

DISCUSSION

The four factors identified in this study as influencing an adult 's decision to participate or not to participate in higher education add quanti tat ive support for Miller's theoretical model of adult participation or nonparticipation in education because an inter- play of both goal and barrier factors was discovered.

The situation barrier factor was rated potentially of greatest importance in adults' higher education participation or nonparticipation decisions, but it was closely followed by the self-development and career goal factors. The affective barrier appeared to be least important among the identified factors. These findings suggest tha t if adults in the population studied are to become higher education students, educators will need to plan programs tha t will minimize situational and affective restraints but at the same time reinforce goal factors.

The importance of each factor, of course, will vary among adults. Additionally, it was found in this study tha t the statistical significance of adult characteristics such as education, occupation, sex, age, income, and marital and family status differed among factors.

The adult population studied was rural and located in a midwestern state. Replication studies of adults living in urban communities and in other parts of the United States probably would be fruitful especially since this is a relatively young research area. These studies would provide additional information as to why adults from varying back- grounds choose to participate in higher education and facilitate the efforts of educators to create accessible, meaningful programs for these learners.


REFERENCES

Burgess, P. Reasons for adult participation in group educational activities. Adult Educa- tion, 1971, 22, 2-29.

Grabowski, S. M. Motivational factors of adult learners in a directed self-study bachelor's degree program. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Syracuse University, 1972.

Houle, C. The inquiring mind. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1961. Miller, H. L. Participation of adults in education. Occasional paper no. 14. Brookline,

Mass.: Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults, 1967. Sheffield, S. B. The orientations of adult continuing learners. Unpublished doctoral

dissertation, University of Chicago, 1962. Tough, A. Why adults learn: A study of the major reasons for beginning and continuing a

learning project. Paper presented at the National Seminar on Adult Education Re- search, Toronto, 1969.

adult learners and higher education: factors influencing participation or nonparticipation decisions

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