Psychology of Success: Overcoming Barriers to ...

The Journal of Continuing Higher Education

ISSN: 0737-7363 (Print) 1948-4801 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ujch20

Psychology of Success: Overcoming Barriers to Pursuing Further Education Stanford T. Goto & Connie Martin To cite this article: Stanford T. Goto & Connie Martin (2009) Psychology of Success: Overcoming Barriers to Pursuing Further Education, The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 57:1, 10-21, DOI: 10.1080/07377360902810744 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/07377360902810744

Published online: 13 Apr 2009.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 2568

View related articles

Citing articles: 7 View citing articles

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=ujch20

The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 57:10–21, 2009 Copyright © 2009, Association for Continuing Higher Education ISSN 0737-7363 DOI: 10.1080/07377360902810744

Psychology of Success: Overcoming Barriers to Pursuing Further Education Stanford T. Goto Connie Martin Abstract. Of the many barriers that prevent adults from continuing their education, psychological barriers are least often addressed by educators. This is an important area of concern because psychological factors influence how prospective students respond to other barriers. This qualitative study was conducted to describe how adults negotiate education-related challenges as they make their way to an adult education program at a technical college. Drawing on Bandura and others, this study considers goal setting, motivation, and self-efficacy in relation to social context. The findings illustrate how psychological factors are influenced by friends and family members. Educators can utilize this principle to enhance recruitment strategies and student support.

dults often face challenges that make it difficult for them to advance their lives through education. As Darkenwald and Merriam (1982) point out, barriers to further education may be institutional, informational, situational, or psychological. Adult educators generally concentrate on addressing barriers that they most directly influence (King, 2002), particularly those having to do with instructional delivery (institutional barrier) or program marketing (informational barrier). In addition, workforce programs sometimes provide supports to alleviate situational barriers, such as childcare (BrassettGrundy, 2002) or transportation (Crudden, Sansing, & Butler, 2005). It is less clear what can be done to address psychological barriers that keep adults from going back to school and improving their employment. Psychological factors, such as self-esteem (Taylor & McAtee, 2003) and locus of control (Leininger & Kalil, 2008), are intangible, yet they strongly influence how adults perceive their ability to succeed in education. Educators often assume that such issues are beyond their influence, particularly in dealing with adults who have not previously enrolled in an education program. This may be true in many instances. However, there are ways that educators can influence adults who are

A

not sure whether they can succeed in workforce training or other forms of education. To develop effective strategies, one must consider how adults perceive and respond to education-related barriers. These issues were addressed in a study of adults who did not complete high school. Conducted by a team of educators in the state of Washington, the Adult Learning Research Project provides insight into a group of adults who might be called thresholders: those who are considering additional education but face various challenges in their lives. Figuratively speaking, these individuals are on the threshold of starting a new life through education. This article examines processes that lead thresholders to go back to school. Drawing on qualitative findings, we illustrate how goal setting, motivation, and self-efficacy influence the ways that adults approach various types of barriers. Our analysis is informed by Bandura’s social cognitive theory of human agency (2001).

Existing Research There is a growing body of research on cognitive processes influencing the decisions and actions of adult

Stanford T. Goto is assistant professor of educational leadership at Western Washington University. Connie Martin is an ESL instructor at Whatcom Community College. Address correspondence to Stanford T. Goto, Western Washington University, Department of Educational Leadership, MS 9087, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225-9087, USA (E-mail: [email protected]).

The Journal of Continuing Higher Education • 11

learners. A good deal of work has documented educational persistence among students in adult education. There is also a substantial body of research on career development among mature adults. In general, these works examine the relationship of individual perception and social environment. Observers have focused particularly on how personal goals, motivation, and self-efficacy influence the ways adults make educational decisions. Goals Research in this area has examined how the goals of adult learners influence personal progress in education or employment. One study by Comings, Parrella, and Soricone (1999) considers the specificity of educational goals as one variable among several that affect persistence in pre-GED classes. The researchers found that students who have a clear idea of what they want to accomplish in a given class are more likely to complete that class. Moreover, student persistence is strengthened when individuals believe they are making satisfactory progress toward their goals. Another study of employed adults (Raabe, Frese, & Beehr, 2007) found a positive correlation between career goal commitment and how one manages one’s career. Those with a specific and realistic career plan are more likely to be satisfied with their careers. These findings appear to be relevant to adults who are not yet enrolled in an adult education program. It seems logical that thresholders would pursue a GED, for instance, if they have firm life goals that involve receiving a high school equivalency degree. Presumably, individuals would be likely to invest effort in education and persist toward their goals if they have a strong outcome expectancy, a belief that personal action will lead to a particular result (Bandura, 1977). One might further predict that an adult’s determination to seek further training will increase with the specificity and robustness of his or her life plans, particularly regarding job advancement. These assumptions might lead educators to focus on informational barriers. Presumably, if thresholders are provided with sufficient information about educational opportunities and the potential for better employment, they can develop more informed life plans that include appropriate training. Motivation Another prominent area of research examines the level and nature of adults’ motivation in pursuing education. Beyond simply having specific life goals, adults must foster and sustain sufficient drive to achieve those goals. Researchers have analyzed the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on learner satisfaction, persistence,

and other outcomes. In general, studies have found that intrinsic factors, such as level of job satisfaction, tend to be more powerful long-term motivators, compared to extrinsic factors (Fjortoft, 1995). Observers further point out that motivation is shaped, not only by one’s perceptions of the environment, but also by one’s self-perception (London, 1998). According to Bandura (1977, 1982), individuals set personal goals, in part, based on what they think they can accomplish. Their motivation to pursue those goals can vary, depending on how they evaluate their performance in moving toward those goals. “Through the exercise of forethought,” explains Bandura (1991, p. 248), “people motivate themselves and guide their actions in an anticipatory proactive way.” One might predict from this hypothesis that at least some thresholders would be marginally motivated to pursue additional education. Individuals who previously struggled in school are likely to have low expectations about their ability to succeed in additional education. They may have extrinsic motivations, such as the need to earn more money, but their intrinsic motivation to go back to school is likely to be tenuous. In and of itself, this line of theorization explains why previously successful people continue to be successful and why previously challenged people remain challenged. However, this does not explain why some adults who previously experienced failure go on to complete certificates or degrees. Obviously, additional factors must be considered. Self-Efficacy This area of research focuses on how people perceive their capacity to act. As Bandura puts it, “self-efficacy is concerned with judgments of how well one can execute courses of action required to deal with prospective situations” (1982, p. 122). Observers generally suggest that there is a correlation between efficacy beliefs and educational/ occupational outcomes among adults (Semmar, 2006). A study of welfare recipients, for instance, found that those who feel empowered in making career choices are likely to devote more time to career development (Hodge, 2001). Similarly, a study of low-income women found that those who feel they have self-determination in their lives are more likely to believe they can achieve their career objectives (Robinson, Davis, & Meara, 2003). This study also suggests that knowing someone in the target occupation increases one’s sense of efficacy. These findings illustrate an important distinction between outcome expectations and efficacy expectations. While outcomes expectations are what individuals expect will come of a given action, efficacy expectations are what

12 • Psychology of Success

people expect they personally can accomplish with their actions (Bandura, 1977). For example, an adult might believe that people who go on to college will gain more stable employment (outcome expectancy); at the same time, she doubts that she has the ability to do college-level work (efficacy expectancy). Bandura explains, “People fear and tend to avoid threatening situations they believe exceed their coping skills, whereas they get involved in activities and behave assuredly when they judge themselves capable of handling situations that would otherwise be intimidating” (1977, p. 194). He continues, “Efficacy expectations determine how much effort people will expend and how long they will persist in the face of obstacles and aversive experiences. The stronger the perceived self-efficacy, the more active the efforts” (1977, p. 194). This line of theorization complicates our understanding of goal setting and motivation among thresholders. It would appear that it is not sufficient to hold generic goals to go back to school. Thresholders must come to believe that they have the means and native ability to do so successfully.

in the heads of individuals. These assumptions are summarized in Table 1. Bandura challenges this assumption with his social cognitive theory of human agency (1977, 2001). In his view, these interconnected processes are social as well as mental. Goals, motivation, and efficacy are formed through one’s interactions with others. Bandura explains:

Limitations of Existing Research Research suggests that goal formation, motivation, and self-efficacy are interrelated in complex ways. Multivariate correlational studies show the extent to which these variables correlate with certain outcomes, such as persistence or career satisfaction. This sort of analysis is vital for adult educators. However, correlational studies do not show how adults go about forming goals, fostering motivation, and building self-efficacy as they try to overcome barriers to education. One limitation is that existing studies tend to characterize psychological barriers as discrete cognitive variables that influence educational outcomes. Goal setting, motivation building, and efficacy formation are portrayed as more or less independent mental processes occurring

Existing research on psychological barriers to education tends to be microanalytic in the sense that the focus is on personal causation. (In other words, educational outcomes are assumed to be the result of cognitive processes within an individual). This is true even of correlational studies with large sample sizes. These analyses seek to make broad generalizations about what is going on in the heads of individuals. Bandura calls on observers to situate a micro view of cognition within a macro understanding of social context. For adult educators, this would mean taking a more holistic and organic view of barriers to education. We would suggest that qualitative research is best suited to producing a “socially interdependent, richly contextualized” analysis.

Within this theoretical framework, human functioning is analyzed as socially interdependent, richly contextualized, and conditionally orchestrated within the dynamics of various societal subsystems and their complex interplay. The mechanisms linking sociostructural factors to action in this macroanalytic approach are left largely unexplained, however. A comprehensive theory must merge the analytic dualism by integrating personal and social foci of causation within a unified causal structure. (2001, p. 5)

Table 1. Psychological Influences on Goal Achievement: Assumptions and Limitations of Current Research. Area of research

Assumptions about adult learners

Limitations of viewing as a discrete variable

Goals

Adults are more likely to achieve their life goals if their goals are specific and well-grounded.

Understanding life goals is necessary but not sufficient in explaining or predicting adults’ ultimate success.

Motivation

Adults are more likely to achieve their life goals if their motivation is robust. Motivation is influenced by past experiences of success or failure.

Focusing on past experience as a determinant of motivation does not explain why some adults achieve their life goals, despite experiencing failure in the past.

Self-Efficacy

Adults are more likely to persist toward their life goals if they believe they have the ability to achieve those goals.

Self-efficacy is influenced by a variety of psychological and social factors that cannot be disaggregated.


Study Design The Adult Learning Research Project was designed to produce a macroanalysis of how thresholders perceive and respond to educational barriers. While the purpose of the study is consistent with Bandura’s social cognitive theory, the research design differs considerably from the studies of Bandura and other experimentalists who use psychometric instruments to test hypotheses under controlled conditions. This study employed a naturalistic, qualitative design (Bogdan & Biklen, 2006) that was not driven by an initial hypothesis. There were no experimental controls imposed on the collection of data. Our intention was not to produce calibrated measures of goals, motivation, or efficacy. The study was conducted with current GED students at a technical college in northwestern Washington. Although these students were not thresholders at the time of the study, they had recently been in that position and could readily recall their experiences before they came to the program. A small, non-random convenience sample (15 students) was selected from two GED classes. The participants were mostly female (66%) and European American (80%), between the ages of 25 and 34 (53%). Despite the small sample size, this study was macroanalytic in the sense that it examined a wide range of social factors influencing perception and behavior. Data were collected in five parts administered over multiple days. This sequence was designed to move participants toward increasingly complex analyses, starting with descriptions of personal experience and culminating in sociological analysis of groups. •

•

•

•

Part One. A questionnaire gathered basic demographic information about the students. It also asked them to consider what had helped them begin in an adult basic education program, as well as what motivated them to continue their participation. Part Two. Similar to Part One, this short-answer instrument asked students to describe an adult who might benefit from adult basic education but was not enrolled in a program. Part Three. An essay prompt asked students “to tell us the story of the person described in Part Two.” Students were directed, in particular, to explain why this person had not taken classes. Describing an individual’s characteristics prepared students for the next step. Part Four. This questionnaire asked students to identify “the three most important areas that make you feel a connection with people outside of your family.” Respondents could choose from listed categories

•

(e.g., social activities, faith/religion, language/culture, children’s caregivers) or they could make up their own categories. Part Five. Individuals and small groups were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol. Some generic questions were prepared in advance; follow-up questions were derived spontaneously. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim.

The research team analyzed the data after each day of collection. In a multi-stage process of data reduction, the data were first sorted into non-interpretive categories and then condensed into progressively more interpretive categories (Miles & Huberman, 1984).

Analysis Life Goals and Situational Barriers The students in this study identified a variety of reasons for going back to school. Some felt compelled by external forces, such as family pressure or agency requirements. Most, however, reported being intrinsically driven to help themselves and their families. One mother explained, “I want a better life, a better education, get out of living in an apartment. I want a house. I want [my children] to play in a yard.” In general, the students hoped that earning a high school equivalency degree would help them move on to better employment. As one individual observed, “[My current job] can support us and keep us where we’re at financially, but I’ll never get ahead. And we’ll never have better things and we’ll never be out of debt.” These findings complicate the premise that adults who pursue education differ from non-attending peers in the specificity of their goals (Comings, Parella, & Soricone, 1999). In fact, some were compelled by broad and abstract desire to find a more meaningful life. As one student put it, “I didn’t want to go back to being a janitor. I’m going to be forty, … [and] I want to do something that has value to me, rather than just to make money to pay the bills.” This desire prompted some existential pondering. “There’s got to be a questioning, a wondering,” explained one man. “This is it? There’s nothing more to life? Just go to work, get the job done, come home have a couple of brews, get up and do it all over again?” For the most part, students in this sample felt that their life goals were similar to those of peers who were not in school. The general consensus was that having robust goals is important in the pursuit of education. The students identified a variety of situational barriers that prevent adults from pursuing their goals. These included financial problems, transportation, work conflicts,


difficult family situations, and other challenging issues. Two types of barriers, childcare and health problems, were the most frequently mentioned by far. The need for childcare was a particularly common theme among women of parenting age. As one mother put it, “I wouldn’t even be able to come to school if I didn’t have someone I trusted, that I can afford [to] watch my kids.” Another explained the predicament of mothers in general: “They’re trapped. So, they just give up.… If you can’t secure good daycare, you [can’t] do anything essentially.” In general, parents in this study were concerned about finding trustworthy, competent, and affordable childcare that would allow them to go to school and/or work. Some relied on a partner or paid caregivers. Others were not as fortunate. Individuals also referred frequently to physical and mental health problems that prevented them from advancing in life. In some instances, health problems impaired the physical ability to pursue education. In other cases, the effect was less direct: the health challenge eroded self-confidence, which made people doubt their ability to succeed in education. For many, situational barriers were multifold. The effects of these barriers were not just cumulative; problems tended to interact with each other, magnifying and confounding the challenges. One woman explained her predicament: I have a severely under-active thyroid that I’m not being medicated for currently. So I don’t always have the energy to stand up.… They [my husband and children] trashed the house!… Please give me an energy boost tomorrow so I can clean up when I get home from here. And sometimes I stay up late and do it. So then I feel like I wouldn’t let this happen if I weren’t going to school. In this case, a health problem made it difficult for the student to balance housework and school, which raised tensions with family members and made the student feel inadequate as a homemaker. This sort of multifaceted conundrum greatly complicated educational decisions. As another student explained, “It’s like a big tug-of-war with your life. Instead of two ends of the rope it’s like you’ve got six pieces of rope going both ways and you’re—you know, it’s a never-winning circle.” In describing peers who do not pursue additional education, the students in this study referred to virtually the same barriers that they cited for themselves. Again, health

and childcare were mentioned prominently. One woman spoke of a friend: “She’s got a degenerative tissue disease in her legs so she’s got really bad ulcers at times and so I think that holds her back a lot from wanting to go out there and get either back in school—get her GED.” Another described an ex-partner: “[It’s] his mental illness that keeps him back.” The students’ comments suggest that they saw few circumstantial differences between adults who pursue additional education and those who do not. All are likely to face a variety of situational barriers. Motivation, Self-Efficacy, and Psychological Barriers The students had varying views on what motivates those who do or do not pursue further education. Some felt that they and non-attending peers were similarly motivated and that it was primarily life circumstance that dictated who would be able to seek further education. Other students, however, believed that those who return to school are more strongly motivated to pursue a better life through education. As one woman put it, “I think [adults who don’t go back to school] don’t think about it as much as the people that do want it.” These individuals tended to portray non-attending peers in negative ways, implying that those who do not continue their education are lazy, irresponsible, and unmotivated. In an essay, one student described a friend who did not finish high school: “He does as little as possible to get by and trys [sic] to delegate responsibilities to other people. Rather than taking care of himself. He is an adult child chasing woman [sic] and getting drunk.” Another student similarly wrote about a co-worker who needs more education: “The person I’m thinking of has a real motival [motivational] problem. I think he’s afraid of leaving his safe little world he lives in.” Underlying these comments was a tone of moral indignation. Some students had outright disdain for peers who did not continue their education. These comments reveal more about the students than about their non-attending peers. In effect, the students were bolstering their own motivation by drawing a moral contrast between themselves and those who had terminated their education. Distancing oneself from non-attendees was a way of overcoming a prominent psychological barrier: a fear of moving on to bigger things in life. One woman put it succinctly, “They’re afraid to step out of that comfort zone and go to the next step, which is getting a job, or going to school.” This anxiety involved more than a fear of the unknown. Many believed that pursuing further education would likely necessitate “breaking from the past,” essentially cutting


themselves off from familiar patterns of life. They believed that pursuing education would change not only what they knew, but how they lived and who they were. For the most part, the students looked forward to this change with hopeful anticipation. Other adults may find this transformative potential to be intimidating. The decision to pursue further education was influenced strongly by the individual’s sense of self-efficacy. People were more likely to take on unfamiliar challenges when they believed they had the ability and intelligence to achieve their goals. This was a monumental hurdle for many of the students. Some had painful memories of being told by family members and others that they were “not smart enough” to succeed in personal ventures. Not surprisingly, many experienced failure in school. One older student recalled, “I was told I wasn’t very smart growing up, so I thought that, ‘What’s the point?’ You know, ‘Why should I get an education?’” Another speculated that some adults “feel like they’re too … far down on the totem pole … [they] just don’t think they’re smart enough to, to do it.” A number of students saw an explicit link between selfefficacy and self-esteem, as explained at length by this single mother:

shouldn’t listen to what they say!” exclaimed one mother of two. “You should just try your hardest and see what you actually feel about how smart you are.” Some individuals drew strength and resolve from adversity, as evident in this woman’s account:

Well, I would think if I just compared my life to some of the other single parents, and if they had it just as rough as I did or even rougher, I could see how they would feel lost. They would give up on themselves.… And I think that’s what a lot of people do is they feel they’ve either let themselves down or other people have let them down. And they feel they can’t get the help anywhere.… It brings down your self-esteem and you feel like you don’t even want to do it anymore. You feel, OK, well I may not be making it very well but at least I’m making it so I’ll just live this life, you know.… I would say at least half the people in my same situation are probably so down and so low that they feel that they just can’t do it. And maybe the other half has motivation and just hasn’t found—or are in school like me.

Logistical Understanding and Informational/ Institutional Barriers The decision to seek additional education was further influenced by the students’ understanding of available resources and procedures. Individuals varied greatly in their level of institutional understanding. Some had little inkling of how the GED coursework fit into a broader educational system. Others were fairly sophisticated in their knowledge of the institutional mechanisms that would lead them toward their life goals. The common thread among these individuals was that they had faith that there was, in fact, a navigable pathway through the educational system. This understanding was far from given. As one woman explained, “[My mother] never even talked to me about college or anything. You know, I didn’t even know what that was until I heard other people in high school talking about it!” The lack of institutional knowledge was a particular handicap for parents, who had to plot the logistics of caring for their families while pursuing their own education. One student described how overwhelming the planning can be:

It is clear that a lack of encouragement can have caustic effects on one’s self-esteem, which ultimately can contribute to motivational paralysis. What is remarkable is that some individuals can overcome these debilitating conditions, sometimes through sheer determination. Some individuals in this study made a conscious decision to reject negative messages that they had heard earlier in their lives. “You

We moved around a lot so we weren’t stable all the time. My mom was a single mom working her butt off all the time. And sometimes she wasn’t in the greatest relationships with, you know, ‘gentlemen.’ So that took a toll on us, as well. And I think that, in the long run, my sister just got lost.… I kind of sunk into my own shell and thought school was my only way out. I gotta finish high school. I gotta finish high school. In cases like this, the prospect of accomplishing a difficult goal, such as going back to school as a mature adult, was a powerful motivator. One student wrote, “Knowing that I have my GED will make me feel better about myself.” This sentiment was echoed in another written comment: “I am enjoying the education—and self discovery. I love to find that I am a lot smarter than I thought.”

I have a neighbor, and she hasn’t done anything [to further her education] because she has a special needs child. He has a mental disability… and you have to know how to deal with him.… So,


she’s just like, oh well, I’m not gonna do it; I can’t do it. It’d be too hard, you know. Because think about how overwhelming it is; like the whole college thing and school thing is intimidating in the first place, even if it was just you. And then, to have to deal with all the extra. I think that’s a lot of the reason why people just don’t do it. Some mothers in this study were quite proactive in seeking out resources for childcare and education. Others simply assumed that resources were not available. Whether they were empirically correct or not in their assessment, these individuals placed a great deal of weight on the perceived availability of support. Those who had an intimate understanding of the institutional bureaucracy faced their own challenges. Many students on public assistance complained that government programs did not offer a viable pathway to long-term advancement. There was a common perception among study participants that public programs do not “help you get out of poverty,” but rather direct people into dead-end jobs: I think DSHS—if you went in and said, “OK, I want to go to school” and you say you want to be in the health field, they’ll say, “OK, we’ll send you to school for your CNA [Certified Nurse Assistant].” And you say, “No, I want to be a practical nurse.” [Then they say], “Oh, no, we won’t send you to school to be a practical nurse, which is twice, three times the pay … but we’ll send you so you can be a CNA and work your living butt off for the rest of your life.” You’ll probably never make more than eleven bucks an hour doing that job. . . I’m not even there and I’ve been doing it for almost twelve years. So, you know, it’s hard. You know, you want to do something better. You want to make a better life for you and your kids, but to find the help.… Everyone wants you to be a laborer. In only one instance did a student in our sample credit human services agencies for helping with educational advancement. However, in this case, the outside contact was pivotal. This individual spoke glowingly of a counselor who helped her find a viable way of returning to school: “I had no idea any of this was available until I went to Work Source and met [individual’s name], and I was like, ‘Who are you and where did you come from? I love you, ya know.’ She made me feel like I can do whatever.”

Role of Core People Despite facing an array of barriers, the adults in this study made it to a program at the technical college. The means that they employed and the pathways they took varied from person to person. However, one common denominator was that individuals generally had one or more people in their lives who influenced them strongly. As one student put it, “I kind of have the core people and then I have acquaintances.… They are kind of on the outside of that circle.” Typically, these were a select cadre of friends and family members with whom the individual voluntarily socialized, sometimes over many years. Over time, core people influenced each other’s views in a variety of areas, including education. The following written comments suggest the central importance of core people: “My best friend has a knack for getting me to do the things I need to do, and she babysat.” “My husband has always incariged [sic] me to come bake [sic] to school.” “My ex-girlfriend did and myself. I got her pregnant and I want better for my kids and to do that I need an education.” Core people sometimes acted as mentors, giving explicit advice on how to pursue education. At other times, they provided encouragement and moral support. In the best circumstances, close associates provided living examples of how to succeed through education. A male student explained that it is very helpful to “[see] your friends do it.” In his view, adult learners are inspired by seeing “somebody else that went [through it, somebody] that can go out and accomplish something.” Similarly, another individual commented: All my friends have their degrees. They’re in college and they want me to succeed as well. They said I was smart enough, and they encouraged me to do so. They still do. They’re really proud of me. Some of my family is, too. They tell me every day that they’re proud of me. It makes me feel good. In this particular case, the adult learner saw multiple examples of people succeeding through college education. These examples illustrated a clear logistical path for the learner. Receiving encouragement from friends and family helped to bolster this individual’s educational goals and sense of self-efficacy.


Unfortunately, few had such a robust network of support. For many of the students, the social environment tended to discourage further education. A young woman described her brother’s situation: “He’s also very influenced by a group of friends. Whatever’s cool with them, he’s doing.… He has a problem with doing whatever is supposed to be cool at the moment.” This tendency led her brother to drop out of school. Another student commented, “My parents used to make me feel like they were disciplining me by sending me to school. So I mean, in a way of striking back, I wouldn’t go. So that’s one of the reasons I quit.” The students in this study sometimes turned to core people to counteract negative influences in their lives. Two strategies were documented. One approach used by the learners was to seek out peers who were positive influences. As one man put it, “[I’m] trying to eliminate people from my life that I considered having negative traits and to surround myself with a more positive group of people.” For him and other recovering addicts in this study, the support group was a vitally important assemblage of core people. The support group helped to foster a commitment to life change and sense of self-efficacy, enabling them to exercise control in their lives. These individuals deliberately sought out people who could show them a logistical path to a better life. Another strategy was to resist negative messages for the sake of one’s children. Some parents in this study consciously resolved to raise their children differently than how they, themselves, had been raised. “You’ve gotta teach your kids it’s good to go to school,” explained one father as he criticized his own upbringing. “It’s important. You can’t send your kids to school as torture.” Essentially, their own children were core people for these adult learners. While they did not provide advice or mentorship, children served as an inspiration and positive focus for their parents. These individuals felt obligated to model self-efficacy and educational commitment for their children. They wanted to impress on them that education is an important pathway to a better life. As one mother explained, “I want to show them that even though I didn’t go to school right after high school, I’ve gone back now,… and mom’s gonna go to school and become a nurse.” This was a common belief among the students, whether or not they had children: Many believed it was important, not only to have role models of educational success, but also to be a role model to others. “The biggest thing: You teach by example,” explained a recovering alcoholic. “A lot of times I don’t come out here [to school] for myself; I come out here for someone [else who is trying to recover].” This comment hints at the last step of a Twelve Step program

to “carry this message to others.” More broadly, this comment reflects a desire expressed by many in this study to accomplish something that is meaningful in life.

Implications for Practice It comes as no surprise that adults in this study faced a variety of challenges, such as health problems and financial difficulties. Fortunately, many of these individuals were able to overcome multiple situational barriers that previously hindered their dreams for a better life. Our findings suggest that having goals for self-advancement is not sufficient to prompt action or to ensure persistence. Among the adults in this study, those who were most committed to achieving their educational goals tended to have (a) robust motivation to build a better life, (b) strong efficacy beliefs, and (c) a clear understanding of an institutional pathway. This combination of conditions strengthened their resolve to overcome situational barriers in their lives. For the most part, educators have limited means to influence the attitudes and beliefs of “thresholders” who have not yet pursued adult education. Direct contact with prospective students is usually limited. While educators recognize the potential benefits of knocking on doors and going to community events (Wonacott, 2000), few have the time or resources to engage extensively in such labor-intensive outreach. In general, the purpose of direct contact is to explain educational opportunities and institutional pathways. But delivering program information is of limited use if potential learners are suspicious or distrustful of institutions, as was the case with some individuals in this study. Of course, educators must do everything within their means to identify and change institutional practices that prevent learners from advancing. But even this may not be sufficient, because the perception of institutional barriers (whether based in fact or not) can keep thresholders from pursuing additional education. As this study illustrates, these perceptions can be powerful psychological barriers that may or may not reflect real institutional barriers. Consequently, it is necessary for educators to address psychological factors that prevent adults from pursuing education. Of all the barriers hindering further education, psychological barriers are perhaps the least understood and least often addressed by educators. At the same time, psychological factors play a key role in shaping how thresholders respond to situational, institutional, and informational barriers. It is impossible for educators to clear away all barriers that keep thresholders from making better lives for themselves. However, it may be possible for educators


to influence how thresholders perceive barriers in their lives. A number of approaches are promising: Student Liaisons and Face-to-Face Outreach Research suggests that adults tend to heed the examples and advice of close associates whom they respect (Babchuk & Courtney, 1995). Educational programs can leverage this phenomenon. As Brod puts it, “the most powerful tool for recruitment in education is still wordof-mouth publicity generated by satisfied students” (1990, p. 1). A simple approach is to ask students to tell others about the program. A more involved strategy might involve training (and ideally compensating) students to be peer mentors who work with program administrators in the recruitment and retention of new students. Perhaps the most promising strategies involve educators and students working together to promote the instructional program. Various combinations of these approaches are evident in these programs: •

•

•

Killaloe Literacy Program (Ontario) organized an oral history project to document the stories of local women. Literacy students were encouraged to suggest participants and conduct interviews. While students practiced their listening and writing skills, they also acted as spokespeople for the literacy program. Some handed out program brochures to people who might be interested (Goldgrab in Draper & Taylor, 1992). I-BEST Program, Skagit Valley College (Washington) devised a word-of-mouth marketing campaign. Current students were encouraged to tell peers about how they had benefited from job training and basic skills education. Some students were interviewed on a Spanish-language radio program. They talked about their experiences in the I-BEST Program (Goto, Spitzer, & Sadouk, 2008). Saskatoon Community Literacy (Saskatchewan) sent adult literacy students to local schools to encourage youths to stay in school. The adult students served as role models and informal advisors (Draper in Draper & Taylor, 1992).

All of these programs combine learning, support, and recruitment. In the Killaloe and Saskatoon examples, in particular, the student roles are built into the curriculum. The students practice life skills (e.g., listening, communicating) while they represent the program. Another common feature, particularly illustrated by the I-BEST and Saskatoon examples, is that the programs encourage

students to be role models, essentially demonstrating a logistical path to success. (This relationship is reciprocal in the Killaloe example: Students are models for interviewees, and interviewees are models for students.) These efforts at role-modeling might serve to counteract perceived situational barriers. The students in our study were less likely to view a given logistical challenge (e.g., childcare, transportation) as an insurmountable obstacle if they had seen a peer overcome a similar challenge. The adults in our study gave examples of how “core people” boosted their motivation and sense of efficacy in pursuing education. It is possible that programs that foster peer-to-peer interaction can at least partially replicate this effect. Engagement in Local Communities There is substantial documentation on the benefits of recognizing and fostering various forms of community. Adult educators have spoken at length about creating learning communities, where learners work collaboratively in supportive, controlled environments (Brod, 1990). These conditions are meant to promote feelings of belonging and pride in accomplishment among adults who might otherwise not feel connected to a group of learners (Kerka, 2003). Another approach is for educators to facilitate learning in communities where adults live. Advocates of community-based education argue that educators must have direct and sustained contact with their constituents in community settings in order to develop credibility and trust (Draper in Draper & Taylor, 1992). It is also important for educators to respect the socio-historical perspectives of the community and to recognize the assets that members already have. Both approaches (building new learning communities, teaching within existing communities) are evident in these programs: •

•

Sheffield Literacy Campaign (UK) was designed to serve low-income immigrants primarily from North and East Africa. Community members viewed previous educational efforts as being patronizing and culturally insensitive. Organizers of the new program sought to avoid these pitfalls by recruiting “literacy assistants” from the neighborhoods. These assistants went to homes and community centers to provide one-on-one tutoring and to recruit more participants (Brook, 1993). YouthBuild USA (Massachusetts) merged community service and academic instruction. At-risk youth worked on housing rehabilitation projects while attending an alternative high school. The curriculum was organized around peer-group communities


and culturally appropriate content. The goals of the program were to promote academic development, leadership, employment, and life skills (Kerka, 2003). These approaches might help thresholders to overcome certain psychological barriers. A sizable obstacle for some adults in our study was a fear that self-advancement through education would necessarily require them to “break with the past,” essentially giving up their old ways of life. It is quite possible for this belief to develop if the knowledge, values, and physical location of an educational program are detached from learners’ everyday lives. On the other hand, this belief is less likely to persist if the educational program is physically situated in community and the curriculum is culturally relevant. Ideally, participants will see no conflict between continuing their education and affiliating with their communities. This assumes, of course, that individuals want to maintain old affiliations. Some adults in our study were quite eager to get away from negative people and harmful situations. These individuals are more apt to benefit from sheltered learning communities that isolated to some extent from negative influences that people encounter in their daily lives. A possible compromise is to offer elements of both models, along the lines of YouthBuild USA, which offers a controlled learning community that is situated within the community at large. Professional Collaboration Educators recognize the importance of working with other specialists to address the complex and varied needs of adult learners. Some programs house educational specialists along with health and human service professionals (Kerka, 2003). Other programs focus on education, while collaborating with other agencies (Kuo, 1999; National Alliance of Business, 1994; Pennington & Seltzer, 2001). In working together, service providers can share information, avoid duplication, and plan more comprehensively while promoting community development (Relave, 2002; Sherow, 1997). Collaboration makes it more likely adult learners will be directed to the appropriate services and that their movement between providers will be facilitated and tracked. •

Bridge Over Troubled Waters (Massachusetts) was designed to serve runaways, homeless, and other atrisk youth. In addition to meeting initial survival needs, the program offered pre-employment training, career development, peer counseling, health education, and parenting support. Presumably, this one-stop model

•

would benefit those who are not well-equipped to track down discrete services (Kerka, 2003). Building Communities for Learning Project (Pennsylvania) helped communities to develop community-based adult education programs by facilitating collaboration among stakeholders. The project’s planning model aimed to provide funding, training, and technical help. BCL recognized that, although the need for collaboration is well documented, implementation of collaborative efforts is “often difficult to establish and maintain” (Sherow, 1997, p. 2).

Underlying these projects is an assumption that stakeholders, whether they are learners or service providers, are not necessarily aware of programs and services available in the community. This was evident among adult learners in our study. Many relied on recommendations from “core people” who, in some cases, were scarcely more informed than they were. The chances of misdirection were great. Perhaps not coincidentally, some individuals experienced frustration in dealing with public agencies, and they were skeptical that service providers could help them move up in life. A coordinated professional network helps to break down informational barriers and (perceived) institutional barriers. Having up-to-date information on the programs in the network, health and human service professionals are more likely to direct thresholders to an appropriate educational program. Likewise, adult educators are better equipped to direct their students to outside services. In turn, adult learners become more independent as they see how to negotiate the organizational terrain; oftentimes, they take a more direct role in planning their life trajectory (National Alliance of Business, 1994).

Issues for Further Investigation In decades past, educators often took a build-it-andthey-will-come approach to program design. It was assumed that offering a sound curriculum was sufficient to fill classes. The examples cited in this section illustrate how far adult education has come in designing programs that reach out to thresholders who have not yet made it through the organizational door. Adult educators are well aware of the need to understand their constituents and to develop supports that are tailored to the particular population. This is perhaps best accomplished by practitioners in community-based programs that are embedded in the everyday lives of adult learners. Not all programs, however, are positioned in this


way. For those of us who do not teach in community-based programs, there is a need for localized research that explores the goals and perspectives of communities that are currently underserved by adult education. This sort of site-specific research typically combines qualitative and quantitative analyses to provide a rich description of local populations (e.g., Whatcom Coalition for Healthy Communities, 2007). Some foundational research questions include: • • •

What communities in a given region are currently underserved by adult education? How do community members view education and educational access? What institutional, informational, and situational barriers limit participation for these communities?

In addition, there is a need for more research into the thought processes of thresholders, who are thinking about pursuing additional education. Rather than approaching cognitive processes (e.g., motivation, goal setting, selfefficacy) as discrete variables, investigators would be wise to consider Bandura’s call for macroanalytic study of cognition within a social context (2001). In particular, we suggest that investigators pay close attention to the psychology of success: how thresholders manage to overcome psychological barriers. Questions in this vein are critical: • • •

How do thresholders build motivation and selfefficacy? How do thresholders form education-related goals? What motivates thresholders to pursue their goals?

Answering such questions would fill an important gap in the existing research. While there is substantial documentation on external barriers that adult learners face (e.g., Crudden et al., 2005; King, 2002), there is much less documentation on how adults prepare themselves psychologically to overcome these challenges. Gaining insight into these processes would help educators to support thresholders as they pursue their educational goals.

References Babchuk, W. A., & Courtney, S. (1995). Toward a sociology of participation in adult education programmes. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 14, 391–404. Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215.

Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37, 122–147. Bandura, A. (1991). Social Cognitive Theory of SelfRegulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 248–287. Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, xiv–27. Bogdan, R., & Biklen, S. K. (2006). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theories and methods (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Brassett-Grundy, A. (2002). Parental perspectives of family learning: Wider benefits of learning research report. London: Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning. Brod, S. (1990). Recruiting and retaining language minority students in adult literacy programs. (Report No. 1990-08-00). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult Career and Vocational Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED321621) Brook, L. (Ed.). (1993). Serving communities. Bristol, England: Staff College and Association for Colleges. Comings, J., Parrella, A., & Soricone, L. (1999). Persistence among adult basic education students in pre-GED classes. (Report NCSALL-R-12). Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. Crudden, A., Sansing, W., & Butler, S. (2005). Overcoming barriers to employment strategies of rehabilitation providers. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 99, 325–335. Darkenwald, G., & Merriam, S. (1982). Adult education: Foundations of practice. New York: Harper and Row. Draper, J. A. (1992). Case Studies on Community Building. Introduction. In J. A. Draper & M. C. Taylor (Eds.), Voices from the Literacy Field (pp. 75–80). Toronto, ON: Culture Concepts, Inc. Fjortoft, N. (1995, October). Predicting persistence in distance learning programs. Paper presented at the Mid-Western Educational Research Meeting, Chicago, IL. Goldgrab, S. (1992). Preparing psychiatric patients for independent living. In J. A. Draper & M. C. Taylor (Eds.), Voices from the Literacy Field (pp. 113–122). Toronto, ON: Culture Concepts, Inc. Goto, S., Spitzer, R., & Sadouk, J. (2008, June–July). Beyond the classroom: Identifying and reaching


adults who need basic skills. Paper presented at Rendezvous: Washington State Adult and Family Literacy Conference, Seattle University, Seattle, WA. Hodge, S. (2001, December). Social indicators, dysfunctional career cognitions, and career decision-making self-efficacy in work role participation of welfare recipients. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Vocational Education Research Association, New Orleans, LA. Kerka, S. (2003). Alternatives for at-risk and outof-school youth. (Report No. 2003-00-00). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult Career and Vocational Education. (ERIC Documents Reproduction Service No. ED482327) King, C. (2002). Barriers affecting GED participation among recent high school dropouts. Adult Basic Education, 12, 145–156. Kuo, E. (1999). Creating beneficial institutional collaborations. (Report No. 1999-02-00). Los Angeles: ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges. (ERIC Documents Reproduction Service No. ED427818) Leininger, L. J., & Kalil, A. (2008). Cognitive and noncognitive predictors of success in adult education programs: Evidence from experimental data with low-income welfare recipients. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 27, 521–535. London, M. (1998). Career barriers: How people experience, overcome, and avoid failure. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Miles, M., & Huberman, A. M. (1984). Qualitative data analysis: A sourcebook of new methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. National Alliance of Business. (1994). Transitions: Building partnerships between literacy volunteer and adult education programs. Washington, DC:

Author. (ERIC Documents Reproduction Service No. ED374237) Pennington, H., & Seltzer, M. (2001). Building bridges to family-supporting jobs. Women’s Policy Journal of Harvard, 1, 1–7. Raabe, B., Frese, M., & Beehr, T. A. (2007). Action regulation theory and career self-management. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 70, 297–311. Relave, N. (2002). Improving collaboration between welfare and workforce development agencies. Welfare Information Network Issue Notes, 6, 1–10. Robinson, B. S., Davis, K. L., & Meara, N. M. (2003). Motivational attributes of occupational possible selves for low-income rural women. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50, 156–164. Semmar, Y. (2006). Adult learners and academic achievement: The roles of self-efficacy, selfregulation, and motivation. Unpublished manuscript, University of Qatar, Doha, Qatar. Sherow, S. M. (1997). Building communities for learning. Report from the Center for Literacy, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. and the Pennsylvania State Dept. of Education, Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education, Harrisburg, PA. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 419109) Taylor, R., & McAtee, R. (2003). Turning a new page to life and literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 46, 476–480. Whatcom Coalition for Healthy Communities. (2007). Whatcom prosperity project: Experiences of poverty in Whatcom County. Bellingham, WA: Author. Wonacott, M. E. (2000). Adult student recruitment and retention: Practice application brief No. 18. Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED457405)