Psychosocial barriers to participation among adult students at a university in the Western Cape: a Psychosocial Interactive Model

Abstract

The purpose of this research paper was to explore psychosocial barriers to participation from the perspectives of adult students in an academic programme at a higher education institution in the Western Cape, South Africa. The aim of the research paper was therefore to invite participant perception regarding the key research question: ‘What psychosocial barriers to participation do adult students experience at a higher education institution?’ The significance of this study was informed by my own experience as an adult student in a higher education context; I felt compelled to know more about the barriers to learning that I have also experienced at various stages as an adult student studying at a higher education institution. The rationale of the study was therefore an attempt to understand the meaning of participation difficulties that may have been similarly encountered by the study’s participant group of adult students, and to reflect on ways of addressing participation challenges as preemptively as possible for future adult students in similarly constituted higher education settings.