Students who unenroll from traditional high school often seek a nontraditional pathway to earn a high school credential. Maine adult education programming provides a nontraditional pathway to a high school credential for high school non-completers. This qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of former students who obtained their high school credential through a Maine adult education program. Through one-on-one semi-structured interviews, eight participants shared their lived experiences working with Maine adult education programming to obtain their high school credential. Two themes emerged in this study: The significance of self-motivation and the importance of support. The significance of self-motivation was echoed throughout all eight interviews. Motivation was described as both intrinsic and extrinsic. All eight participants also described the importance of support in influencing their ability to succeed with Maine adult education programming. All eight participants described their experiences and what they believed aided in their success in obtaining a high school credential.
","abstract_html":"<p>Students who unenroll from traditional high school often seek a nontraditional pathway to earn a high school credential. Maine adult education programming provides a nontraditional pathway to a high school credential for high school non-completers. This qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of former students who obtained their high school credential through a Maine adult education program. Through one-on-one semi-structured interviews, eight participants shared their lived experiences working with Maine adult education programming to obtain their high school credential. Two themes emerged in this study: The significance of self-motivation and the importance of support. The significance of self-motivation was echoed throughout all eight interviews. Motivation was described as both intrinsic and extrinsic. All eight participants also described the importance of support in influencing their ability to succeed with Maine adult education programming. All eight participants described their experiences and what they believed aided in their success in obtaining a high school credential.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sikora, Kayla"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education (EdD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Andrea Disque","Jennifer A. Galipeau"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":null,"date_issued":"","date_published":null,"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:21:34Z","subjects":["adult learning","adult education","high school credential","motivation","self-directed learning","support","Adult and Continuing Education","Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dune.une.edu/edu_diss/14","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Andrea Disque","Jennifer A. Galipeau"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sikora, Kayla"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["adult learning","adult education","high school credential","motivation","self-directed learning","support","Adult and Continuing Education","Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dune.une.edu/edu_diss/14"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Students who unenroll from traditional high school often seek a nontraditional pathway to earn a high school credential. Maine adult education programming provides a nontraditional pathway to a high school credential for high school non-completers. This qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of former students who obtained their high school credential through a Maine adult education program. Through one-on-one semi-structured interviews, eight participants shared their lived experiences working with Maine adult education programming to obtain their high school credential. Two themes emerged in this study: The significance of self-motivation and the importance of support. The significance of self-motivation was echoed throughout all eight interviews. Motivation was described as both intrinsic and extrinsic. All eight participants also described the importance of support in influencing their ability to succeed with Maine adult education programming. All eight participants described their experiences and what they believed aided in their success in obtaining a high school credential.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Qualitative Phenomenological Study Of Former Maine Adult Education Students Who Successfully Earned A High School Credential"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Andrea Disque","Jennifer A. Galipeau"],"dc:creator":["Sikora, Kayla"],"dc:description.abstract":["Students who unenroll from traditional high school often seek a nontraditional pathway to earn a high school credential. Maine adult education programming provides a nontraditional pathway to a high school credential for high school non-completers. This qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of former students who obtained their high school credential through a Maine adult education program. Through one-on-one semi-structured interviews, eight participants shared their lived experiences working with Maine adult education programming to obtain their high school credential. Two themes emerged in this study: The significance of self-motivation and the importance of support. The significance of self-motivation was echoed throughout all eight interviews. Motivation was described as both intrinsic and extrinsic. All eight participants also described the importance of support in influencing their ability to succeed with Maine adult education programming. All eight participants described their experiences and what they believed aided in their success in obtaining a high school credential.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dune.une.edu/edu_diss/14"],"dc:subject":["adult learning","adult education","high school credential","motivation","self-directed learning","support","Adult and Continuing Education","Education"],"dc:title":["A Qualitative Phenomenological Study Of Former Maine Adult Education Students Who Successfully Earned A High School Credential"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:21:34Z"}