Measuring Success in Adult Education - Recognising Diverse Outcomes From a Diverse Sector

Oct 15, 2026

Measuring success in adult education requires going beyond standard metrics that often privilege credential attainment. This article examines women’s experiences after achieving educational and professional success and returning to adult learning at a lower NFQ level. Using a creative methodological approach, participants articulate motivations to return and describe outcomes typically left unmeasured, including alternative meanings of success, advantages of diverse learning groups, personal growth, bias, and the role of connections and friendship. It concludes that adult education must recognize varied experiences, use multiple methods of measuring success, and ensure learner stories are heard.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Back to Education – A Contextual Examination

Targeting and eligibility in BTEI courses

Measuring Success in Adult Education: Recognising Diverse Outcomes From a Diverse Sector sarah coss Abstract This article explores the experiences of a group of women who having achieved success in education and returned to the adult learning environment again. A creative methodological approach allows the women to describe in their own words experiences of educational success and motivations to return to learning. Discussion points predominantly focus on outcomes that fall outside those typically measured. These include alternative interpretations of success; benefits of diverse learning groups; personal growth and bias, and connections and friendship. Questions of success and outcomes in later life are also explored. Conclusions identify the importance of recognising the diversity of experience in adult education, the varying methods of measuring success and the need to ensure learner stories are heard. Keywords: Measuring Educational Success; Diverse Learning Environments; Measuring ‘Soft Skills’; Educational Outcomes and Ageism; Learner Stories Introduction In my work as a Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) Level 5 Applied Social Studies tutor, I am tasked with encouraging my learners to employ their sociological imagination (Mills,1959) . Often, the role of the social researcher involves the ability to do just this-to see the extraordinary within the ordinary. Through my working relationship with the women who are the focus of this article it became apparent that their experiences within adult education were noteworthy and that others could benefit from listening to these learner voices. The AONTAS Adult Learner Journal theme of ‘success’ brought these women to mind for the reason that they had all achieved significant success, both educationally and professionally, before they returned to the learning environment again at a lower level on the NFQ (National Framework of Qualifications) than they had previously experienced. SOLAS, an agency of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, reported that 15,212 (17.9%) of all 2019 Lifelong Learning enrolments had a third level degree (Dulee-Kingsolving and Guerin, 2020) . The women atthe centre of this article have all studied at third level, including post-graduate study. More significantly, their own descriptions of learning experiences across their lifespan fit closely with what was termed by Cyril O. Houle in 1961 as‘Learning-orientated learners’ (cited in Knowles, Holton and Swanson, 2011, p.55). These learning-orientated learners ‘seek learning for its own sake’, have been engrossed in learning ‘as long as they can remember’, choose ‘serious programs on TV and radio’, and are ‘avid readers’. Learners in this category‘join groups, classes and organisations for educational reasons’ (Knowles, Holton and Swanson, 2011, p.55). While much research focusses on the educationally disadvantaged, this article explores the experiences of a group who are not defined as educationally disadvantaged. The research seeks to qualitatively consider the experiences of these learners to uncover and explore how their experiences of progression and success align with the value placed upon learning using a hierarchical framework such asthe NFQ. Back to Education–AContextual Examination The women at the centre of this article met while participating on a Back to Education Initiative (BTEI) course at QQI Level 5 on the NFQ. BTEI courses lead to a range of accreditation at levels 1-6 on the NFQ. This particular course, co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Social Fund (ESF) was part of the ESF Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning 2014- 2020 (Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, 2020) . The BTEI typically targets individuals and groups that experience particular and acute barriers to participation and are more difficult to engage in the formal learning process. In Irel

FAQs

What approach does the article use to explore educational success?

It uses a creative methodological approach that lets the women describe educational success and motivations to return to learning in their own words.

Why does the article focus on outcomes beyond typical educational measurement?

Because it highlights outcomes not usually captured in standard metrics, including alternative interpretations of success, personal growth, bias, and the value of connections and friendship.

How does the BTEI course framework relate to the participants’ learning context?

The women participated in a Back to Education Initiative course at QQI Level 5, which provides part-time accredited learning leading to awards on the NFQ, alongside eligibility rules targeting adults with lower educational attainment.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Nguyễn Văn Học