Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior: The role of educational background and learning experiences in (not) participating in adult education
Lisse Van Nieuwenhove, Bram De Wever
Department of Educational Studies (TECOLAB), Ghent University, Belgium
Boeren, E. (2009). Adult education participation: the Matthew principle.
Filosofija-sociologija, 20
(2), 154-161.Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (2010).
Predicting and changing behavior
. New York: Taylor & Francis Group.Introduction Methodology Results Conclusion
References
Actively participating in society demands a frequent renewal of skills and knowledge
Adult education as solution
But: Low-educated (LE-) adults often not engaged in adult learning => Matthew
effect: those who have, get more (Boeren, 2009).
Why do adults (especially LE-adults) refrain from adult learning?
Shortcomings existing literature:
Low-educated adults
Economically oriented and work-related
, neglecting personal characteristicsAdults that are
not engaged
or not expressing interest in adult learningThe Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Fishbein &
Ajzen, 2010) can offer basis to study non-economic barriers
The goal of this study is
1) To propose a framework to study barriers to learning and
2) To compare participation barriers of low- and high- educated adults
Questionnaire (average duration of 25 min.) including 4 scales.
The 3 TPB-constructs are measured by direct and indirect (not included in this study) items.
Preliminary results of 335 adults were included
§ 144 males, 189 females
§ 149 LE-adults, 186 HE-adults
§ Mean age=43
4 scales were constructed, each item was scored on a 7-point Likert scale
§ LEXP: N=12, cronbachs alpha: 0,859
§ ATT: N=6, cronbachs alpha: 0,903
§ PSP: N=3, cronbachs alpha: 0,821
§ PBC: N=5, cronbachs alpha: 0,790
Intention= “Are you planning to participate in the next 12 months?”
Binary logistic regression was used to study predictors of intention.
LE-adults significantly (p<0.001) score lower on all included variables than HE-adults: PBC (5.10 vs 5.76), PSP (3.70 vs 4.57), ATT (5.21 vs 6.11) and LEXP (4.20 vs 5.35).
For LE-adults only PBC (p=0.048) and PSP (p=0.002) are significant predictors of intention. For HE-adults only ATT (p= 0.006) and PSP (p= 0.06).
Our preliminary study sheds light on non-economic barriers to learning and acknowledges the role of educational background.
Future steps
1. Evaluating indirect items of the TPB 2. SEM-analysis, testing all relations
3. Qualitative study on attitudes and perceived social pressure, using vignettes to provide an in-depth view of non-traditional participation barriers of low-educated adults
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
LEXP ATT PBC PSP
Scale scores (1-7)
LOW HIGH
Perceived social pressure:
significant predictor for LE-adults and HE-adults
Learning experiences:
not a significant predictor for LE- or HE-adults
Attitudes:
only significant predictor for HE-adults
0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5
PBC
ATT
PSP
LEXP
Odd's ratio
