Female adult learners' return to post-secondary: the impact of motion, emotion and connection on students' transformative learning

This study examined the lived experience of seven adult female learners as they (re)engaged with post-secondary education at the mid-sized university in western Canada. Using phenomenological hermeneutics, particularly as it is interpreted by Max van Manen, the researcher aimed to elicit from the participants the essential themes of their experience. The goal was to better understand and appreciate how adult female learners construct the transformative and connective qualities of this journey. As post-secondary institutions in Canada are grappling with declining enrolments within the traditional student demographic, many are actively discussing the multi-faceted concepts of student engagement, support and persistence. This study focused on adult learners, a demographic that is growing at Canadian institutions and one that will become more critical as the traditional 18-25 age group shrinks as a proportion of post-secondary enrollment. The study provided an opportunity for students to express themselves in their own words over a 13 week period and permitted an in-depth examination of how they constructed their learning experiences and self-knowledge. Using van Manen’s approach to phenomenological hermeneutics, the current study emphasized the interpretive analysis of actual life texts, writing as research and the development of pedagogical competence. Through purposeful sampling techniques, seven participants were recruited who were between the ages of 27 and 57 years and enrolled in a university preparation English course. Phenomenological hermeneutical analysis, both structural analysis and meaning unit coding, was then applied to the weekly journals created by the participants. The results produced ten themes, which were further refined into three main themes of motion, emotion and connection. The implications of these findings were discussed for students and educators, with strategies for supporting the transformative learning experiences of female adult students within post-secondary settings.