Motivation to Learning
There are six reasons that motivate adult learners to participate in the adult learning:
- Social Relationships: making friends and meeting others
- External Expectations: complying with the wishes of someone else with authority
- Social Welfare: a desire to serve others and/or community
- Professional Advancement: a desire for job enhancement or professional advancement
- Escape/Stimulation: to alleviate boredom and/or to escape home or work routine
- Cognitive Interest: learning for the sake of learning itself (Choa, 2009, p. 910)
Each adult learner brings a new perspective and unique learning style to the classroom, which may hinder their ability to participate and engage in collaborative group assignments. In addition, “learning styles relate to the different ways people think and feel as they solve problems, create products, and interact” (Cercone, 2008, p. 140). According to Merriam and Cafferella (as cited in Choa, 2009), barriers to participating in adult education is divided into four distinct categories:
- Situational, which depends on their present situation;
- Institutional, which depends on any act of discouragement;
- Dispositional or Psychosocial, which is a personal attitude towards learning; and
- Informational, which is not being aware of educational activities available to them (p. 910).
Cercone, K. (2008). Characteristics of adult learners with implications for online learning design, AACE Journal, 16(2), 137-159. Retrieved from http://www.distance.uvic.ca/pdfs/instructors/Characteristics-of-Adult-Learners.pdf
Chao, R. (2009). Understanding the Adult Learners’ Motivation and Barriers to Learning. Danish School of Education, Arhus University, Denmark. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/1267765/Understanding_the_Adult_Learners_Motivation_
and_Barriers_to_Learning
Hughes, J. C., & Mighty, E. J. (Eds.). (2010). Taking stock: Research on teaching and learning in higher education. School of Policy Studies, Queen's University, McGill-Queen's University Press.
Pappas, C. (2014, August 15). 9 Tips To Apply Adult Learning Theory to eLearning. eLearning Industry. [Webpage]. Retrieved from http://elearningindustry.com/9-tips-apply-adult-learning-theory-to-elearning