Challenges faced by adult learners in a technical vocational education and training college in the Uthukela district of Kwazulu-Natal South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to investigate the challenges that adult learners are facing in a TVET college in the uThukela District in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The researcher employed the qualitative research technique approach to guide this study, which was carried out on-site at a TVET college. Participants were selected using the purposeful sampling method and the data was collected from participants via semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed using the thematic analysis method, from which themes and subthemes were derived to support the findings of the study. Prominent scholars such as Malcolm Knowles’s theory on andragogy and Mezirow’s transformative learning theory was used to form the framework of the research. Most adult learners attending the TVET college do so with the hope of improving their lives, as many of them come from low-socio economic backgrounds. TVET colleges release the financial burden of studying on learners, by offering bursaries for them to complete their studies. Additionally, adult learners attend TVET colleges because the curriculum offered in the courses are supposed to be more practically oriented. However, these very reasons that compelled adult learners to attend the TVET college, created its own challenges. The study revealed that the major challenges facing adult learners in the TVET college were as a result of financial constraints due to late bursary payments, adult learning styles, academic barriers and family responsibilities. These challenges in turn exacerbated absenteeism, a lack of focus during teaching and learning and led to a lack of academic motivation and interest. In lieu of the fact that most of the adult learners rely upon the bursary, the study recommends that the parties that are managing bursary payments adhere to timeously scheduled payments. Furthermore, lecturers need to be capacitated in order to respond to the different learning styles of adult learners. Additionally, adult education workshops on how to reconcile family obligations and academic pursuits are a resource that student support services can employ.