DISCOVERING RETURNING ADULT LEARNERS' MOTIVATIONS, DROPOUT INTENTIONS AND REASONS FOR RETURNING

Abstract

In light of recent initiatives to promote lifelong education, returning adult learners is now a growing proportion amongst undergraduates. In this study, we examined whether academic motivations influence dropout intentions amongst returning adult learners enrolling in National University of Singapore's part-time degree programme. This study also investigated their reasons for returning to university. We proposed that having self- determined academic motivation would lead returning adult learners to develop lower dropout intentions, whereas having non-self-determined academic motivation would lead returning adult learners to develop higher dropout intentions. We found that all seven types of academic motivations did not predict drop out intentions. Hence, our findings do not support self-determination theory in its application amongst returning adult learners. We also found that returning adult learners enrolled in university mainly due to pragmatic reasons. This indicates that the programme's utility may be crucial in attracting and retaining returning adult learners. As a whole, our findings demonstrate that returning adult learners are very different from traditional students in terms of their educational needs and the factors that influence their dropout intentions.