Underachievement at GCSE level has significant effects on an individual's life chances. Each year, around half of 16-year-olds leave school without having achieved a full level-2 qualification (five GCSEs at A*-C including English and maths). Many of these students enrol on a programme of study at local further education (FE) colleges. Recent…

This paper presents the findings from a study that examines the motivations of adult Australians of non-Italian origin to learn Italian in continuing education contexts in Sydney. The study embraces a view of motivation as a multifaceted phenomenon that is produced in a social environment through the interaction between the second language…

This article explores the use of Biographical Narrative Interpretive Methods (BNIM) in research on motivations for trade union learning. Our use of BNIM--a new methodological approach for us--was intended to test our own research practice in an effort to get further inside the "felt world" and "lived life" of the union learner.…

This paper explores writing pedagogy in the primary classroom and connections between children thinking creatively and their achievement in writing. Initially 'continuing professional development' for teachers, I designed and facilitated a two-day writing workshop with a class of children around the theme of a Victorian murder mystery. This was…

The sociolinguistic context of Irish, a minority language which is also the first official language of the Republic of Ireland, presents a multitude of issues for consideration in relation to Irish language teaching and learning. This article reports a small-scale (n?=?12) exploratory qualitative study of the range of motivations to be observed…

This article reports findings from a qualitative study of adults' perceptions and experiences of learning musical instruments. Conducted in the south-east United States, 15 adults who were learning instruments were recruited via community music groups and private instrumental teachers. Analysis of transcripts of semi-structured interviews…

The emergence of a knowledge-based and technology-driven economy has prompted adults to seek additional knowledge and skills that will enable them to participate effectively in society. The rapid growth and popularity of the internet tools such as Web 2.0 tools have revolutionized adult learning. Through the rich support of Web 2.0 tools, adult…

This study examined physicians' motivation to engage in work-related learning and its contribution to expertise development beyond work experience. Based on deliberate practice theory, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 residents and 28 experienced physicians in internal medicine, focusing on the activities they engaged in during…

The leadership of the United States Fire Service (FS) believes that higher education increases the professionalism of FS members. The research problem at the research site, which is a multisite fire department located in southeastern United States, was the lack of research-based findings on the factors influencing the achievement of higher…

This article reports on a mixed methods study that investigated aspects of formal, non-formal and informal learning for workers and adult high school learners seeking literacy and essential skills. Three key themes emerged from the qualitative data: motivations for participation in various forms of learning; seeking out informal learning…

Many adults need help with literacy learning. This is extremely challenging for the tertiary education sector and workplace-situated learning organisations. E-learning may be an effective and efficient way to improve the delivery of teaching of basic skills to learners. Our research study included five embedded case studies within one tertiary…

This paper reports on one aspect of a larger case study that explores the nature of motivation to learn in an online distance environment. The study adopts self-determination theory (SDT) as a theoretical framework and focuses particularly on the underlying concepts of autonomy and competence. These are used to investigate ways in which certain…

The research reported in this study concerns older adults from Australia who voluntarily chose to learn the craft of woodturning. Semi-structured interviews and a survey questionnaire were distributed to members of a woodturning club to explore their motivations and the processes by which they learned how to woodturn. The findings indicated that…