Open Access“Why don’t they participate?” Reasons for nonparticipation in adult learning and education from the viewpoint of self-determination theory
Author(s) -
Jan Kalenda
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
the european journal for research on the education and learning of adults
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.277
H-Index - 8
ISSN - 2000-7426
DOI - 10.3384/rela.2000-7426.3535
Subject(s) - amotivation , psychology , lifelong learning , intrinsic motivation , adult education , self determination theory , scale (ratio) , developmental psychology , sample (material) , empirical research , social psychology , pedagogy , philosophy , chemistry , physics , autonomy , epistemology , chromatography , quantum mechanics , political science , law
The study deals with the perceived reasons for nonparticipation in adult learning and education (ALE), drawing on existing research concerning the motivation for lifelong learning, adult attitudes towards education, and the study of dispositional barriers. The aim of the study is to determine the subjective reasons/motivation of adults not to participate in ALE and what factors influence their nonparticipation. For this purpose, we drew on self-determination theory (SDT). Based on that we have created the research tool “Motivation to Nonparticipation Scale” (MNP-S), which measures three factors: extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, and amotivation. The empirical research was conducted with a representative sample of adults (N = 943, age: 19 to 81 years) who had not participated in ALE. Contrary to theoretical assumptions of SDT, amotivated adults do not predominate among nonparticipants, with the main subjective reasons for nonparticipation based on intrinsic or extrinsic motivations.