Ellen Boeren

Why do adults learn? Developing a motivational typology across 12 European countries

Participation in adult education is today generally considered an individual responsibility. However, participation is the result of a complex bounded agency between individuals, educational institutions and regulating governments. This paper explores the motives of 12,000 European adult learners in formal adult education in 12 European countries. Analysis shows consistent patterns comparable to welfare state typologies. Further exploration demonstrates that motives to participate in adult education courses can be interpreted in relation to the labour market, education and social policy in the country of participation.

Vocationalism Varies (A Lot): A 12-Country Multivariate Analysis of Participation in Formal Adult Learning.

To encourage adult participation in education and training, contemporary policy makers typically encourage education and training provision to have a strongly vocational (employment-related) character, while also stressing individuals’ responsibility for developing their own learning. Adults’ motivation to learn is not, however, purely vocational—it varies substantially, not only between individuals but between populations. This article uses regression analysis to explain motivation among 12,000 learners in formal education and training in 12 European countries. Although vocational motivation is influenced by individual-level characteristics (such as age, gender, education, occupation), it turns out that the country in which the participation takes place is a far stronger explanatory variable. For example, although men’s vocational motivation to participate is higher than women’s in all countries, Eastern European women have significantly higher levels of vocational motivation than men in Western Europe. This supports other research which suggests that, despite globalization, national institutional structures (social, economic) have continuing policy significance.

Evidence-based policy-making: the usability of the Eurostat Adult Education Survey

This article reflects on European education policy which is driven by benchmarks and indicators. While the European benchmark on adult lifelong learning participation—15% to be achieved by 2020—is measured by the Labour Force Survey, the Eurostat Adult Education Survey (AES) was designed to better understand the topic of adult lifelong learning participation in-depth. This article explores the AES as an instrument to inform policy-makers and whether it provides adequate information to empirically testify participation hypotheses. The article argues that analysis of the AES provides limited understanding of the educational supply side. Furthermore, policy-makers should be aware of methodological and conceptual weaknesses before relying on these data in their policy development.

Understanding adult lifelong learning participation as a layered problem

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the layered nature of lifelong learning participation, bringing together fragmented insights in why adults do or do not participate in lifelong learning activities. The paper will discuss the roles and responsibilities of individual adults, education and training providers and countries’ social education policies, often labelled as the micro-, meso- and macro-level. The aim of this work is to add a new model to the knowledge base that attempts to integrate separate insights at the three different levels. Apart from discussing the relevance of the micro-, meso- and macro-level, together with a comprehensive model, the paper provides some recommendations for future research in the area of adult lifelong learning participation, such as the adoption of multilevel models, the need for more data linkage and the desire for more diversification of research in terms of geographical spread and types of educational activities adults can undertake.

The Methodological Underdog: A Review of Quantitative Research in the Key Adult Education Journals:

An examination of articles published in leading adult education journals demonstrates that qualitative research dominates. To better understand this situation, a review of journal articles reporting on quantitative research has been undertaken by the author of this article. Differences in methodological strengths and weaknesses between quantitative and qualitative research are discussed, followed by a data mining exercise on 1,089 journal articles published in Adult Education Quarterly, Studies in Continuing Education, and International Journal of Lifelong Learning. A categorization of quantitative adult education research is presented, as well as a critical discussion on why quantitative adult education does not seem to be widespread in the key adult education journals.

Researching lifelong learning participation through an interdisciplinary lens

ABSTRACT This paper explores the interdisciplinary nature of studies in the field of lifelong learning participation. Until recently, participation studies have been presented in a rather fragmented way, often drawing on insights from separate disciplines such as sociology or psychology. The complex nature of lifelong learning participation, however, urges scholars to go beyond this disciplinary fragmentation and to advance knowledge in an integrative way, through the construction of new interdisciplinary theories and the adoption of interdisciplinary research approaches. This paper discusses a new integrative theory and outlines a range of methodological challenges of working in interdisciplinary teams on interdisciplinary projects. Examples include understanding each other’s disciplinary background, the need to combine different insights from sociology, psychology, learning providers and governments’ policy decisions in multilevel models and the desire to adopt both quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Adult Lifelong Learning Participation: Definitions and Contexts

This first chapter will introduce the reader to the rationale of why I have written an entire book around the notion of participation in adult lifelong learning activities. I will refer to the importance of lifelong learning and will provide background information regarding the policy context in which participation debates have been shaped over the previous decades. I will do this by referring to the work of leading organisations in the field, such as the European Commission, the OECD and UNESCO.

Lifelong Learning Participation: The Need for Integration

The previous chapters in this book have explored why adults participate in lifelong learning activities from different viewpoints, based on insights from policy, psychology, sociology, economy and macro level theories. This chapter attempts to integrate the different dis ciplinary theories into an interdisciplinary way of thinking. This chapter will refer to existing theories helping to understand the integration of different levels and will focus specifically on integrative approaches as found in relation to adult lifelong learning participation.

Lifelong Learning Participation: Institutional Barriers

The previous chapters have generated insight into the psychological and sociological determinants of adult lifelong learning participation. They have very much focused on the level of the individual adult, the choices he or she is making and how his or her socio-economic and socio-demographic background influences the chances that he or she will participate. However, participation is much more than an individual responsibility and despite its strong focus in a changing policy context, there remain a number of institutional barriers.

Trends and Barriers in Adult Lifelong Learning Participation

The policy context of participation and the role of agencies in influencing lifelong learning discourses at the global level have been explored in the previous chapter, but what about trends in participation in different continents across the globe? What are the specificities of these regions’ policies to stimulate lifelong learning participation and what data is available to provide an overview of current trends? In addition, I aim to explore trends in relation to recent scholarly writings in the field of adult lifelong learning participation.