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Motivation and commitment among adult learners enrolled in an Adult Basic Education class: The life histories of five adult learners
Abstract
This research project emerged from the researcher's work as an adult basic education instructor in a community learning center. With an inordinately high attrition rate (over seventy percent), the researcher's attention was easily focused on the small number of students who remained in the Learning Center and attended classes consistently. This group of five learners became the self-selected participants in the study. The purpose of the study was to examine the life experience of the five learners to gain insight into the nature of their motivation and commitment to learn. A series of up to six, one hour interviews were conducted with each of the participants. During the interviews, participants reflected on both past and present experience. Although it varied from person to person, discussions included childhood and family experience, prior school and educational experiences. Conclusions drawn from the research are not easily categorized. Motivating factors were different for each learner; one was motivated by a life-altering illness and another by the realities of finding employment without a high school diploma. The most salient insight gained from the research, however, was the similarity of experience across participants with issues related to dysfunctional families, personal violence, and substance abuse.
Subject Area
Educational sociology|Continuing education
Recommended Citation
Santilli, Sharon Ann, "Motivation and commitment among adult learners enrolled in an Adult Basic Education class: The life histories of five adult learners" (1991). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9207454.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9207454