As lifelong learning is an important condition for employability, social inclusion and active citizenship, the European Council has been emphasizing the importance of adult learning for the last two decades (European Commission, 2001). Despite these predetermined goals, participation in adult learning remains highly unequal: those who are most in need of learning to improve knowledge and skills in a rapidly changing labor market are least likely to find their way into adult learning (Boeren, 2016; Desjardins, 2015). This participation behavior and its failure to be properly addressed by policies only increases the disparities between advantaged and disadvantaged adults. Research on causes of low participation rates among vulnerable adults points to the fact that much more than other groups of adults, disadvantaged adults face different types of barriers that prevent them from learning (e.g., Cross, 1981). Yet policies seeking to remove such barriers and thus aiming to minimize the threshold to adult education (e.g., reducing enrollment costs, organizing learning activities at alternative time points) seem to be failing in their purpose.

One major difficulty with policies focusing on raising participation is that it shifts the responsibility to individual adults taking or not taking the initiative to participate. While an individual’s agency is not to be ignored, the decision-making process, particularly for disadvantaged adults, is a complex and sensitive phenomenon to comprehend (Boeren, 2016). Vulnerable adults are more likely to have experienced a problematic schooling trajectory often resulting in early dropout. Due to previous negative school experiences, these adults are more likely to have adverse self-perceptions as learners, low expectations of what can be achieved, fear and distrust of educational systems, preventing them from taking the step to undertake learning activities again at an adult age (Boeren, 2011; Cross, 1981; Darkenwald & Merriam, 1982; Goto & Martin, 2009; Rubenson, 2010; Vannieuwenhove & De Wever, 2022). In addition, adults differ in what Bourdieu (1984) calls their various forms of capital. Family, friends, school, and the work environment shape an individual’s frame of reference (“habitus”). Within this frame of reference, values are pushed forward, helping to determine what is considered important and what is within an individual’s possibilities. Consequently, interactions within the social context implicitly set boundaries for what is worth aspiring. Lower learning intentions therefore are not so much a conscious individual choice but rather the inherent consequence of socialization processes (Boeren, 2011; Bourdieu, 1984; Cross, 1981).

Understanding sociopsychological hindering processes preventing disadvantaged adults from learning is crucial to gain a better insight in the participation gap between advantaged and disadvantaged adult learners. As research on this subject is challenging and scarce, the symposium aims to broadly illuminate the role of potentially obstructive sociopsychological (demand side of adult learning) and organizational factors (supply side) by bringing together recent empirical findings emerging from three diverse research projects, developing a European perspective on this topic. Specifically, Paper 1 by Ellen Boeren will examine long-term shifts in inequality patterns within the UK and Ireland. Paper 2, authored by Simon Broek, will investigate the relationship between learning culture and individual agency in the Netherlands. Finally, Bea Mertens' Paper 3 will delve into the dynamics of motivation and barriers affecting learning quality of disadvantaged adults in Belgium. Through the variety of theoretical lenses and methodological approaches used, the insights from the research projects represented in the symposium fuel an in-depth discussion on potential levers for participation necessary for both education providers and policy makers to be able to design appropriate interventions to enhance both supply and demand side of lifelong learning for disadvantaged adults.

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