An agentic approach to investigating barriers to access and participation on the pathways of mature adult students in Namibia

Various shifts in the educational landscape of Namibia have made educational access and participation, particularly for mature adult students aiming to enter the teaching profession, difficult. While research on this phenomenon in Namibia is limited, the purpose of the current study is to investigate the barriers to access and participation for mature adult students aiming to live their lifelong dream of becoming teachers. As a result, this study is also necessary, as it can provide valuable knowledge regarding the teaching profession in Namibia which has experienced a crisis over the past few years. Using a qualitative research approach and an interpretivist framework, I aimed to answer the main research question: “What are the barriers to access and participation among mature adult students at a Higher Education Institution in Namibia?” I used structure and agency as a theoretical framework, highlighting how the students use their agency to approach the barriers they face on their learning pathways. The study shows how mature adult students demonstrated agentic capacities in the face of hardship, which allowed them to overcome both situational and institutional barriers to access and participation in teacher education. Recommendations are made around these barriers to support teacher education in the hope of solving some of the challenges facing this profession in Namibia

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of the Western Cape

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Bassonn, Bronwin Valerie

• Mature adult students
• Barriers
• Access
• Participation
• Agency

Licence

• https://uwcscholar.uwc.ac.za/bitstreams/9577bdc4-0ce8-4751-8a11-15a95b8905dd/download