Tercera selecci´on de agrupaciones de valores singulares

Cross (1981): Barriers to Participation in Adult Learning

Situational barriers – barriers resulting from the student’s situation in life at a given time

-Husband had serious health problems and Courtney never knew when he would be sick (hospital/doctor visits

sometimes conflicted with class schedule)

Institutional barriers – policies and practices that prevent or make participation in activities or courses difficult

-University did not offer many night classes

-University did not offer many online classes

-During student teaching, she had to remain at school the entire time the teacher was there and missed some of her son’s activities

Dispositional barriers – the student’s self-perceptions and attitudes about her ability to succeed

-Worried about her age and fitting in

- Feared the transition of returning to college (later said her fears were much worse than reality)

Summary: Courtney enrolled in a teacher education program out of necessity. She made the decision to enroll because her husband had life-threatening health problems. Courtney needed to make sure that she could provide for her sons when her husband was no longer able. Courtney encountered barriers in each category, however, she was able to overcome each obstacle in her path.

MacKinnon-Slaney (1994): APIL Model (Adult Persistence in Learning)

Component I –personal issues

Self-awareness- personal qualities and characteristics within individuals that drive them through a formal educational environment

-High level of determination because she knew how much her degree would mean to her family

Willingness to delay gratification- believing in oneself and the effectiveness of the educational system enough to put one’s life on hold

-Postponed 3 years of her life because she believed an education would allow her to care for her children if her husband was no longer able to provide for the family

Clarification of career and life goals- committing to goals and believing that education is the vehicle through which the goals will be reached

-Committed to program because her goal was to be able to provide for her children when her husband was no longer able due to health issues - Knew that program

completion was necessary for the family

Mastery of life transitions- balancing home, school, and work responsibilities; renegotiating boundaries with others

-Managed home and work responsibilities through a change in family roles with husband and sons handling more tasks

-Learned to say no to activities that interfered with school Sense of interpersonal competence- socially competent, able to relate to

professionals and peers

-Related well to staff and faculty at university because she knew most of them outside of the university setting

-Was able to relate well socially to individuals of different cultures and ages, and found that she had more in common with the younger students than expected

Summary: Courtney vowed to complete the teacher education program at any cost. She was reminded daily of the importance of program completion when looking at her husband’s health issues. Courtney stated that she did not enroll in the program for herself; rather the decision was made for her family. Courtney put everything on hold except school, family and God. She said no to all other activities that threatened persistence.

Component II – learning issues

Educational competence – relearning how to learn (ex. Memory skills, reading, writing, listening)

-Had to adjust to technology -Had to learn how to study again

-Had to learn new methods in math (very difficult)

Intellectual and political competence – understanding the political climate of the educational environment and its relationship to the learning experience

Since Courtney knew many of the faculty and staff at the university, she had a good understanding of the political climate and could identify the power players.

Summary: Returning to school was an adjustment for Courtney. She was a bit leery of the new technology employed in classroom and clinical settings. Learning how to study and solve math problems presented a challenge. She had a good understanding of the political climate at the university and its impact on learning at the university.

Information retrieval from the university – knowing what to ask and where to get answers

- Courtney was already familiar with the university and knew where to go for answers.

Awareness of opportunities or impediments in the environment – knowing which institutional processes and practices are helpful and which are hindrances

-Opportunities – took classes on campus and was informed about opportunities that could be helpful, was able to talk with professors and administrators often - Hindrance – institution’s lack of evening and online about course offerings Environmental compatibility- general climate is welcoming, caring, and

compatible socially, academically, and physically

- Felt comfortable at university because it was located in her community and she knew many faculty and staff members

Summary: Courtney was comfortable at her university because it was a familiar place. She knew many staff and faculty members personally and interacted socially in settings outside of the university. Information retrieval was a positive aspect within the environment. Courtney stated that she could talk to the dean and even the university’s president when needed.

Comings, Parrella, and Soricone (1999): Types of Support Systems

Relationships –support from family, friends, teachers and peers -Relied on God first and her husband next

- Received support from professors and administrators at the university

-There were not a lot of nontraditional students in program, but she was able to bond with younger students Self-efficacy – belief in one’s ability to succeed at present task - Struggled with this issue at

first, worried that her age would be a hindrance -Later realized that she could succeed with the help of others

Goals – desired outcome -Goal was to complete the

program to provide for her family, wanted to ease husband’s fears that she could take care of their sons -Wanted to say that she is capable of providing for her family

Progress toward goal - able to measure progress - Able to look at grades for encouragement

Management of forces that may hinder or help persistence – understanding and identifying strong forces that affect persistence and manipulating them to one’s benefit

-Identified external factors that created risks to

persistence (husband’s health and course schedule) and managed those factors with help from husband and children

-Talked with husband about needs of children and divided tasks

Summary: Courtney set a goal and was motivated to achieve that goal because she knew that the future of her family was tied to program completion. She relied on God and her family for support. Surprisingly, Courtney was able to relate to the younger students and received support from them. Courtney is the first college graduate in her family and sais that her family was proud of her, but didn’t realize what college really involved.

Theoretical Framework Analysis