Successful community college adult learner persistence during the COVID pandemic

ABSTRACT

Understanding what helped adult learners stay motivated to overcome their obstacles and complete their technical programs is important if Ohio wants to meet its goal of 65% of their workforce possessing an industry-recognized credential or degree. This qualitative study asks six recent adult learner graduates to reflect on their experiences in earning their degrees and how they were able to overcome obstacles. The two research questions were (1) How do adult learners at a community college perceive their own motivation and self-efficacy to overcome the barriers they faced earning their degrees? and (2) How do institutional resources and programs help students overcome obstacles to the completion of their degrees? The theoretical framework used for this study was self-determination theory. In-depth interviews revealed that all participants demonstrated autonomous behavior. Results further showed the need to support students with additional financial resources and both pedagogical and modality changes in academic programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)