A Further and Higher Education perspective in Wales
This research was in partnership with the Learning and Work Institute Cymru to gain greater insight into adult learner experiences of further and higher education in Wales as this is largely a missing voice from the recent literature. Higher Education is in need of developing a more inclusive approach to widening access in Wales that does not exclude non-traditional learners in favour of the more profitable cohorts of younger students (Evans, et al, 2017). This research sought to explore and understand the motivations, aspirations and barriers to adult learning within a further and higher education context.
An emerging approach to qualitative data collection and analysis called Pictorial Narrative Approach (Lapum et al., 2015) was adopted and supported by a short nation-wide survey providing quantitative data from over 200 adult learners in Wales. The Pictorial Narrative Approach approach enabled members in focus groups to vocalise their response whilst observing the analyst draw her interpretations of their views.
The focus groups explored nine areas of interest evident within the literature and this created key themes that were further supported by the survey findings.
Motivations to learn
The motivations that provided most passion and importance were the more intrinsic reasons such as family and friends and particularly providing positive role modelling to younger family members and own children. There was also the notion of developing greater self-respect, self-worth, reaching their full potential and providing future opportunities for employment or progression within employment. Higher education was therefore seen to ‘open up doors for a more secure future’ and was a way of ‘getting my identity back’ and it was also a real motivation to simply learn new knowledge and skills and increase social opportunities.
