Adults returning to study VCE Mathematics: lifelong learning, transition and engagement, and the adult learner

This study investigates the experiences of adults returning to study mathematics in an adult learning environment. Current government policy aims to increase school retention rates, and the proportion of low socio-economic status school leavers who successfully make the transition to higher education (Skills Victoria, 2010a). The Technical and Further Education (TAFE) system in Australia has a long history of providing adults who experienced school as problematic, with a ‘second chance’ to complete their general education in a post-school setting. This study seeks to improve understanding of how these policy goals might be achieved, and to contribute to pedagogical debates on how we meet the needs of learners who have experienced social, economic and educational barriers (Kell, 2010). The study explores the factors that influence persistence and non-persistence of second chance learners who chose to study a Year 12 Mathematics subject at the Victorian Certificate of Education level (VCE) at a suburban TAFE Institute. The primary motivation of adults who enroll in a senior secondary certificate at TAFE “is to obtain a university entrance score as a prerequisite for university” (Karmel, 2004, p. 3). Year 12 Mathematics presents a significant hurdle for students who may have had a disrupted education, yet is needed for progression into many study and career paths. This study used qualitative semi-structured interviews to gather insight into educational experiences of the three participants who were all enrolled in Year 12Mathematical Methods. Two students were early school leavers; the third was a school completer returning to study to pursue an alternate career path after ten years in the workforce. The study highlights how the interaction of affective, cognitive and conative factors can influence a student’s successful reengagement with a ‘hard’ Year 12 Mathematics subject. Each of the participants reported a positive attitude towards mathematics as a discipline. However, there were significant differences in work habits (Corno, 2004) and approaches to learning, of the students who did or did not persist in the subject. The data analysis suggests that one’s self-theory of intelligence may be influence one’s ability to study effectively (see Dweck, 1999). Experiential learning in the work place, and through extra-curricula activities, may also assist some older students to develop an incremental mindset and a strategic approach to learning. The outcomes of this study, while small scale, are important for a few reasons. The study contributes to the under-researched field of adults returning to study mathematics at senior secondary level. Students with a clear sense of agency, who have developed a strategic approach to learning, are able to overcome significant deficits of prior knowledge and successfully complete an academic year 12subject. Teachers in both secondary school and TAFE need to make the link between effort and learning explicit for students at all levels. The study also has implications for the recent punitive education policies of the Australian State and Commonwealth governments. Time is a critical factor in the development of an incremental mindset, and the associated sense of agency, needed to enable second chance learners to successfully reengage with school mathematics. For some adults this process may take years.