Dr Ellen Boeren is Chancellor's Fellow (tenure track) at Moray House School of Education at the University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom). She got her PhD in Educational Sciences in May 2011 from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. On the 10th of July 2014, she gave a talk in a Ragged University event which was called "Participation, motivation and adult learning: similarities and differences across Europe". You can listen to the podcast here. She is interested in the field of higher/adult/lifelong education and conducts European comparative research studies. She holds a special interest in survey methodology. Ellen teaches 'Research Methods' for MSc students at Moray House in Edinburgh. She was appointed as the new Chair of SCUTREA (Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults). http://www.ragged-online.com/2015/04/podcast-dr-ellen-boeren-adult-education

1. SEMINAR
Dr Ellen Boeren
10 July 2014
Dr Ellen Boeren – Chancellor’s Fellow – Edinburgh
Work undertaken in cooperation with Professor John Holford – Nottingham
Motivation of adult learners in formal adult education:
individual and country level insights from the
LLL2010 project

2. OVERVIEW
1. Brief overview EU LLL policy
2. LLL and motivation
3. Brief overview of LLL2010
4. The match between motivation and country typologies
5. The match between motivation and adult learners’ characteristics
6. Discussion

3. 1. EU LLL POLICY
• Lifelong learning (re)emerged in 1990s
• Stronger role EU after signing Lisbon Treaty in 2000
 Europe wants to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-
based economy in the world by 2010
 12.5 percent of 25-64 years old should participate in LLL
 benchmark increased to 15 percent to be achieved by 2020
• Two strands in EU education policy
 market, competition, employability
 equity, social inclusion/cohesion, citizenship
• Europe 2020 + cooperation in Education & Training (ET 2020)
 continuing importance benchmarks and indicators
 focus on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth

4. 1. EU LLL POLICY
• EU policy influential … but education policy remains national responsibility
• different performances of different countries
 annual report on progress benchmarks and indicators

6. PARTICIPATION FORMAL EDUCATION

7. PARTICIPATION NON-FORMAL EDUCATION

8. 1. EU LLL POLICY
• Participation rates show similarities with welfare state regimes
 Scandinavian (Norway)
– high GDP, high investment in learning; tightly regulated labour
markets, strong social inclusion
 Anglo-Celtic (UK, Ireland)
– relatively high GDP, emphasises LLL for econ. prosperity, social
inclusion; flexible labour markets, relatively high risk of poverty
 Continental (Austria, Flanders)
– rigid, stratified E&T systems, linked to a highly regulated labour
market; limited emphasis on socially inclusion through LLL
 Catching Up (post-communist)
– Problematic/provisional: rapid social change
– Similarities: LLL for human capital rather than social inclusion
– Diversity: e.g. Slovenia emphasises learning for social inclusion

9. 2. LLL AND MOTIVATION
• Country typologies are based on macro level indicators:
 GDP – labour market indicators – poverty risk etc.
What about motivations of individual adult learners?
 do we find a similar ‘country logic’?
 or is it all about sociological background: e.g. older people participate less
because of job related reasons …
• Cyril Houle (1961): The Inquiring Mind – comparable to different strands in policy
 interest-oriented learner
 activity oriented learner
 goal oriented learner
• Roger Boshier (1973): Education Participation Scale
 large empirical testing of the Houle typology

10. 3. LLL2010
• LLL2010: Towards a Lifelong Learning Society in Europe: the Contribution
of the Education System
• 13 teams ‘from Ireland to Russia’ (MHSE – Scottish partner)
• September 2005 – February 2011
• 5 subprojects
 SP1: review policy documents LLL
 SP2: analysis of the Adult Education Survey and the Labour Force Survey
 SP3: survey of 1,000 adult learners in formal adult education
formal = credential-based recognised by ministries of education
adult learner = gap of 2 years after leaving initial education
1,000 learners sampled in 4 random blocks of 250 learners/ISCED level

11. 4. MOTIVATION AND TYPOLOGIES
• Motivation was measured by Boshier’s Education Participation Scale
• Data reduction: 2 main dimensions
(1) SOCIAL-COGNITIVE DIMENSION
 to learn more on a subject that interests me
 to participate in group activities
 to contribute more to my community
 to gain awareness of myself and others
 to get a break from the routine of home and work
 to learn knowledge/skills useful in my daily life
 to contribute more as a citizen
 to meet new people
 equity, social inclusion/cohesion, citizenship strand of LLL policy
 interest oriented and activity oriented learner Houle

12. 4. MOTIVATION AND TYPOLOGIES
(2) VOCATIONAL DIMENSION
 to earn more
 because my employer required me to enrol in the programme
 to do my job better
 because someone advised me to do it
 to start up my own business
 because I was obliged to do it. e.g. to claim benefits, to avoid redundancy
 to get a job
 to be less likely to lose my current job
 to obtain certificate
 market, competition, employability strand of LLL policy
 goal oriented learner Houle

14. 4. MOTIVATION AND TYPOLOGIES
4 GROUPS OF COUNTRIES EMERGE:
AUSTRIA
BELGIUM
ENGLAND
SCOTLAND
IRELAND
CZECH REPUBLIC
HUNGARY
SLOVENIA
RUSSIA
ESTONIA
BULGARIA
LITHUANIA
VOCATIONAL -- - + ++
SOCIAL-
COGNITIVE
+ + + +

15. 4. MOTIVATION AND TYPOLOGIES
• country patterns show similarities with welfare state typologies
• variation in vocational motivation is stronger than in social-cognitive
motivation
POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS AT THE MACRO LEVEL
• differences in the educational system (e.g. more full-time daytime education
in the adult education system in Eastern European countries)
• differences in the labour market system (e.g. Eastern European countries
adapting to Western European markets)
• differences in social standards and living conditions (e.g. housing, but also
trust in political systems, general levels of happiness lower in Eastern
European countries)
BUT … controlling for individual characteristics
• sample stratified by ISCED level
• e.g. more older adults in Western European samples

16. 5. ADULT LEARNERS
Holford & Boeren
15 January 2013
• different socio-economic groups have different participation patterns
AGE
• demographic changes have implications for labour market policies
• need for continuous update of knowledge and skills for everyone … BUT
 cost-benefit analysis and return on investment negative for older adults
 age discrimination happens in the workplace
 negative stereotyping around older employees: e.g. waiting for retirement,
lower productivity, …
 but … older adults have lots of experience and are perceived as reliable
 decline participation in LLL starts around 40-45
 adults at 40-45 are only half way through their career!!!

17. 5. ADULT LEARNERS
Holford & Boeren
15 January 2013
• different socio-economic groups have different participation patterns
JOB
• workplace major provider of LLL activities
• those who have a job, have an employer who can contribute
• benefits more uncertain for those who do not have a job yet
GENDER
• men receive more training opportunities than women at the workplace
• men’s participation is more job-related while women’s participation is more
leisure oriented
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
• higher educated adults employed in more knowledge intensive jobs
• they are more familiar with the education system

18. 5. ADULT LEARNERS
Holford & Boeren
15 January 2013
How much of the variance in vocational motivation is explained by … ?

19. ADJUSTED R²

20. CONTINENTAL A-C East-rest BG-LT
AGE

21. GENDER
CONTINENTAL A-C East-rest BG-LT

22. JOB
CONTINENTAL A-C East-rest BG-LT

23. EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
CONTINENTAL A-C East-rest BG-LT

24. 6. Discussion
• country level patterns remain clearly visible …
• focus on vocational motivation stronger in Eastern European countries
• what does this tell us about the understanding of different formal adult
education systems across Europe?
• low participation rates in formal adult education in Eastern European
countries, e.g. older people are not there …
data Eurostat Adult Education Survey 2007
same year as LLL2010-SP3 survey

25. 6. Discussion
• satisfaction of adult learners in Eastern Europe is lower
strong correlation between satisfaction and perception of the classroom
environment
lower organisational quality in Eastern Europe
we looked at formal adult education, what about non-formal?

26. 6. Discussion
• RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER READING

27. 6. Discussion
• RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER READING
NEW BOOK COMING OUT SOON:
Building European lifelong learning society: the enduring role of national characteristics.
Edited by E. Saar, O.B. Ure and J. Holford. Published by Edward Elgar
Boeren, E., Holford, J., Nicaise, I. & Baert, H. (2012). Why do adults learn? Developing a
motivational typology across twelve European countries. Globalisation, Societies and
Education, 10(2), 247-269.
Boeren, E., Nicaise, I. & Baert, H. (2012). Adult learners’ satisfaction and its relation with
individual and educational institutional characteristics. Pedagogies: an International Journal,
7(2),132-149.
Boeren, E., Nicaise, I., Baert, H. (2010). Theoretical models of participation in adult
education: the need for an integrated model. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 29
(1), 45-61.

28. 6. Discussion
THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION
Dr Ellen Boeren – Chancellor’s Fellow – Edinburgh