A Winding Path: Understanding Barriers to Education for Nontraditional Students at a Southeastern U.S. Community College
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Authors
Singletary, Kristy
Issue Date
2022-12
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Adjustment (Psychology) , Adult education , Adult learning , Adult students , Community colleges , Dissertations, Academic--United States , Nontraditional college students , Persistence , School enrollment
Alternative Title
Abstract
This study was conducted to construct an understanding of barriers to education that threatened nontraditional students’ continuation at a two-year community college. My investigation into this phenomenon was grounded in Knowles et al.’s (2020) theory of Andragogy, Cross’ (1974; 1981) concept of barriers and Characteristics of Adults as Learners (CAL) Model, and Horn and Carroll’s (1996) characterization of nontraditional students. My data collection and analysis processes for this study were anchored by a basic interpretative approach and the theory of constructivism. I collected data during two rounds of semi-structured interviews with participants. After interviews were transcribed verbatim, I conducted a two-cycle approach to data analysis. I began data analysis by Theming the Data: Phenomenologically. I constructed a central thematic statement from participants’ stories: for participants, persisting despite barriers to education meant access to a better future. During the second cycle of data analysis, I used Pattern Coding to condense themes into three overarching subthemes: “Going Back to School,” “Keeping Up,” and “Having the Right Tools.” My findings on these subthemes illuminated the types of barriers to education participants described. My findings suggest that situational barriers were the most substantial and consistent barrier to education that participants described and the most difficult barrier for participants to overcome. Finally, my study’s findings also suggest that intrinsic motivation play an important role in nontraditional students’ ability to persist when they encounter barriers that threaten their continuation in college.
Keywords: adult learner, nontraditional student, community college, barriers, andragogy, persistence
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This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.