“We Are Not a Small Island, We Are the Ocean”. Becoming a Student in Mature Age. An Exploratory Analysis on Italy and Spain

Abstract

The complexity underlying motivations and obstacles encountered by Mature Adults (MA; people over 45 years old) in their participation in educational activities, requires a thorough analysis to determine which factors are most salient for this social group. Under the project funded by the European Commission "IMAL: Innovations in Mature Adult Learning", a study through a questionnaire (n = 1.066) was conducted. From that sample, data for two of the participating countries, Spain (ns= 106) and Italy (ni= 460), have been drawn. The aim of the paper is to make an exploratory analysis of both samples in order to determine the most important motivational factors for MA in their educational participation, through descriptive and bivariate analysis (independent sample test), and to test how the sociodemographic variables influence these factors by an analysis through logistic regression. The results show great similarities between both samples. Lower levels of education and not being in working condition were found as risk factors for not undertaking learning activities. In both samples, the weight of “internal” motivations is very relevant. This evidence leads to interpret MA learning as a process addressed towards personal enrichment, thus claiming for a more holistic and learner centered vision in adult education.

Keywords

• mature adults
• lifelong learning
• education
• motivation
• lifewide learning