The purpose of this study is to understand the identity formation of female adult learners who are participating in various lifelong educational programs in view of their past and present educational experiences. Adult female learners were asked what...
The purpose of this study is to understand the identity formation of female adult learners who are participating in various lifelong educational programs in view of their past and present educational experiences. Adult female learners were asked what their motives to participate in educational programs were, what they gained from their experiencing process and how their identity transformation happened.
Nine female adults ranging in age from thirty to fifty who were full-time housekeepers and were participating in adult education programs participated in this study. Through in-depth interviews with each participant by taking about learning experiences through their life history and their identity transformation through the educational programs they were participating, their experiences were analyzed holistically.
The analysis identifies several results as follows:
First, the adult female learners' participating motives in lifelong education programs are 'reflection-oriented', 'goal-oriented' and 'relation-oriented'. Especially, discriminating experiences on their educational chances effect on the participating motives and their choice and future educational experiences.
Second, the adult female learners discover the meaning of education and self through their educational experiences. According to the types of the educational programs, they discover various selves.
Third, the adult female learners transform their identities by changing their individual, family, social relations through lifelong education experiences. Their individual identity transformation evokes 'self-reflection', 'self-realization', and 'thinking-transformation' and recovers self-confidence. The individual changes effect on the family's identity transformation by mutual concern and understanding. The social relation experiences make them form new identies as a 'community volunteer', 'civil worker', and 'lifelong learner'.