Corrections_Today_Fall_2025_Vol.87_No.3

T here are various motivators and barriers that can help promote or hinder adult involvement in educational programs, including those within correctional contexts. Flynn and colleagues discuss such barriers and motivators in their framework on adult education (45). Adults may be motivated to participate in adult educational programs due to personal, economic and familial reasons (Comings 29; Flynn et al. 45; Korzh 645). Personal motivators include meeting personal needs, meeting the expectations of others and enhancing one’s self-esteem (Faradova 12; Flynn et al. 46; Korzh 637; Raghupathi and Raghupathi 3). A considerable motivator economically is to improve one’s job prospects (Flynn et al. 47; Korzh 637). Familial motivators focus on the possible gains for one’s family (Faradova 5; Flynn et al. 52; Korzh 637; Raghupathi & Raghupathi 2). The various barriers to adult education occur on numerous levels including institutional, situational, dispositional and individual

(Flynn et al. 44). Institutional barriers include the quality of education received at an institution such as poor teaching quality (including training and attitudes), irrelevant curriculum, didactic teaching instruction and outdated teaching materials (Cabus et al. 173; Felix 48; Ioannidou and Parma 93). Situational barriers regard a person’s context of living, including poverty, violence, living situation and familial nonsupport (Cabus et al. 174; Comings 26; Faradova 3; Felix 2; Smith and Gillespie 209). Dispositional barriers are an adult’s past experiences with education, their community’s perceptions of education and their families non-support towards pursuing education (Cabus et al. 174; Comings 34; Faradova 3; Korzh 644). There are also individual barriers to adult education such as a person’s gender, race, education level, SES (Flynn et al. 44). These motivators and barriers work together, or against one another, to help adults decide whether they want to engage in educational programming. →

Adobe Stock/Who is Danny

Fall 2025 | Corrections Today

41