Jim Berger, Special Instructional Programs

Motivations for Adult Learners:

Why do adults return to or stay in higher education? Adults are motivated to attend and/or stay in an education program for different reasons. The research points out that there is no single key motivator for entering college. Most prospective students have the drive to enter college but some may be hindered because of situational or transitory barriers. The research also indicates that women sometimes make the decision to enter college based on their relationships or major life events rather than strictly personal motives.

In general, motivations for adults can be broken down into three categories:

1. Adults are motivated to attend college because they are faced with personal transitions or changes (Kasworm, 2003). This usually occurs when adults are faced with pressure to change their lives or their perspectives. Sometimes this can be due to the loss of a job, the push to improve in a job, the loss of a spouse or significant other, or an incident that changes how they view life.
   
2. Adults are motivated to attend college because they see a new life ahead of them and, rather than become reactive to their life situation, they become proactive to find new ways to improve their lives before something happens.
   
3. A third group of students respond to a mixture of the first two motivators. This group is both responding to the transitions in life and to the desire to improve their future lives. Also part of this group is a set of adults who are responding to outside and societal pressures to attend college to improve prestige and social standing.

It is important for us, as professors, to know why adults enroll and ways to make sure that our adults stay in our programs. A paper by Kasworm describes some of those motivations. (If you want a copy contact Nancy Givens).