This presentation will delve deeper into the characteristics of participants versus non-participants in adult learning with a specific focus on future learning intentions, motivations and barriers. Previous research has shown that participation in adult learning remains unequal (Boeren, 2016). Those with higher levels of qualifications, younger adults, and those in knowledge-intensive jobs are more likely to participate. But to what extent have participation patterns, including its drivers and barriers, among these groups remained static during the past 20 years? This contribution to the symposium will introduce the audience to an ongoing adult education project, funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC): A UK-Ireland investigation into the statistical evidence-base underpinning adult learning and education policy-making. We will present a brief methodological overview of the Learning & Work Institute’s Adult Participation in Learning (APiL) survey, a representative cross-sectional survey with near-annual rounds of around 5,000 adults each, totalling around 100,000 for the period 2002 - 2023. The Learning & Work Institute is the UK’s leading non-partisan body generating policy-influence in adult education. Having introduced the audience to the methodological aspects of our research, we will present trend analyses on who did and did not participate during the last 20 years, including the characteristics of adults who indicated a likelihood to participate in the near future. The data also allow us to unpack the motivations (Boeren & Holford, 2016; Boshier & Collins, 1985) of participating adults and which barriers (Cross, 1981; Kalenda, Vaculíková, & Kočvarová, 2022) prevented others. Given our access to representative data for the period 2002 to 2023, we will not only discuss determinants of participation but specifically zoom in to patterns over time. Preliminary analyses of the data confirm a stubborn trend towards higher participation chances for younger and highly educated adults, those in full-time employment, coming from higher social class backgrounds. Additionally, while these socio-economic and socio-demographic background characteristics remain important predictors of future participation, adults’ current or recent participation status appears as the most powerful determinant of learning intentions. Analyses on trends in relation to motivations to participate and barriers preventing participation are ongoing at the time of submission. These will be finalised before the ECER conference and thus represent novel insights to the conference audience. The presentation will end with recommendations for future research, including the need for specialised longitudinal adult education data.

Boeren, E. (2016). Lifelong learning participation in a changing policy context: an interdisciplinary theory. London: Palgrave-Macmillan. Boeren, E., & Holford, J. (2016). Vocationalism Varies (a Lot):A 12-Country Multivariate Analysis of Participation in Formal Adult Learning. Adult Education Quarterly, 66(2), 120-142. Boshier, R., & Collins, J. B. (1985). The Houle typology after twenty-two years: a large-scale empirical test. Adult Education Quarterly, 35(3), 113-130. doi:10.1177/0001848185035003001 Cross, K. P. (1981). Adults as learners: increasing participation and facilitating learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Kalenda, J., Vaculíková, J., & Kočvarová, I. (2022). Barriers to the participation of low-educated workers in non-formal education. Journal of Education and Work, 35(5), 455-469. doi:10.1080/13639080.2022.2091118 Project website: A UK-Ireland investigation into the statistical evidence-base underpinning adult learning and education policy-making. Online available at https://adultlearningpolicies.co.uk/