Barriers to Adult Learning
Unlike children and teenagers, adults have many responsibilities that they must balance against the demands of learning. Because of these responsibilities, adults have barriers against participating in learning. Some of these barriers include lack of time, money, confidence, or interest, lack of information about opportunities to learn, scheduling problems, “red tape,” and problems with child care and transportation.
Many adult learners are commuters and are married, work full-time, and have children. Juggling jobs, commuting, housework, childcare, and schoolwork, if not handled properly, can cause students to drop out.
According to Kinsella (1998), the percentage of students who spend time on responsibilities outside of class is as follows: employment – 68%, housework – 85%, childcare – 41%, adult care – 23%, and homework and internships – 17%. Although we cannot generalize from one survey all adult learners, these results at least give educators some idea of the reasons for retention problems.
Other barriers for adult learners may include inability to obtain financial aid and poor financial planning; lack of persistence or motivation; gender; age; language; lack of support from employers, friends, and family; socioeconomic status; educational background; intelligence; poor study skills; poor stress management; lack of counseling services; and lack of flexible class scheduling.
© 2019 Rhonda L Foster. All Rights Reserved.
