Analysing the barriers to adult learning specifically for education, training, and development practitioners (ETDP) in a South African setting, using Knowles’ (1975) principles of adult learning

Abstract

This research explores the barriers of adult learners who engage in occupationally directed education programmes in South Africa based on Malcolm Knowles' principles of adult learning. The South African government has been aligning the support of a skilled workforce to various national policies and objectives, such as the National Development Plan (NDP). Unfortunately, adult learners experience overlapping barriers to accessing and completing new learning opportunities while trying to balance learning with work, education, and everyday life. This study used a qualitative research design to explore the lived experiences of fifteen adult learners who completed either the National Certificate or National Diploma in Occupationally Directed Education, Training and Development Practices (ODETDP) from a selected education and training consultancy. Five major themes emerged from the data that provided insight into participants’ experiences: learning experiences, barriers to learning, positive aspects of learning, learner motivation and real-time facilitation. Participants noted personal satisfaction and career development benefits were key outcomes of adult learning, but also expressed several environmental, intrapersonal and personal barriers for adult learners. These significant barriers included limited institutional support, mental fatigue and multiple life roles. A particularly noteworthy contribution of the study is its focus on workplace-oriented adult learning, an area that has been largely neglected in the literature. Adult education research tends to focus on formal educational settings and community-based learning. In contrast, this study emphasises how institutional inflexibility, a lack of workplace accommodation, and unstructured peer working conditions can create challenges for workplace-oriented learning. It also illustrates how both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation shift over time during the learning process and how intentional facilitation and peer interaction influence learner success. The results align with Knowles'(1975) principles but indicate that they must be nuanced to the learner's socio-economic context, work status, and learning context. The study argues that adult learning programmes ought to be expressly designed to account for the diverse modes of delivery, purposeful orientation, and positive learning environments that support collaborative and self-directed learning. These findings offer a far more situationally robust understanding of adult learning in South Africa and guide curriculum design, institution policy, and workplace approaches.