Graduates’ perspectives on effective continuing education and training: participation, access and engagement

ABSTRACT

There is a growing global concern about providing effective continuing education and training (CET) to support and sustain the employability of working-age populations. More than enhancing workplace viability and employability, CET also assists in achieving governments’ economic and social goals. Educational institutions organise CET provisions based on intended goals, resources, capacities, and institutional imperatives. However, working-age adults’ effective engagement and worthwhile outcomes are likely to be strongest when what is afforded them is aligned with their goals, needs and readiness to participate. Thus, what constitutes effective CET provisions can be best understood by appraising them through how they secure individuals’ engagement and meet their needs. Drawing on an investigation of CET provisions in Singapore, this paper seeks to illuminate and appraise what constitutes qualities of effective CET provisions in relation to addressing issues of relevance, accessibility and quality of engagement with educational experiences. Through analyses of interview and survey data, the motivations for informants’ CET participation, their preferences and requirements for effective engagement in CET including desirable qualities of teachers were identified and delineated. Given that adults elect to participate in CET to achieve personal and professional outcomes, the findings provide bases for designing, enacting and evaluating effective CET programmes.

KEYWORDS:

• Continuing education and training
• adult learning
• learner needs
• learner engagement
• purposes of adult education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG)’s Workforce Development Applied Research Fund [GA17-05].

Notes on contributors

Anthony Leow

Anthony Leow, PhD is the Assistant Director (Capability and Industry) at the Centre for Educational Development of Republic Polytechnic. He completed his PhD at the University of Queensland on an Australia Government International Postgraduate Research Scholarship researching on the interface between public health and education policies. During his undergraduate education, he won the prestigious Lee Kuan Yew Gold Medal and was also awarded the Singapore National Olympic Council Gold Medal. Anthony was a past recipient of the International Association for Physical Education in Higher Education Young Scholar Award and the Australian Association for Research in Education Postgraduate Student Research Award.

Stephen Billett

Stephen Billett, PhD is Professor of Adult and Vocational Education at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. Following an earlier career in garment manufacturing, he has subsequently worked as a vocational educator, educational administrator, teacher educator, professional development practitioner and policy developer in the Australian vocational education system and as a teacher and researcher at Griffith University. He has published widely in fields of workplace learning, adult learning and occupational learning. He has been Fulbright Scholar, National Teaching Fellow, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, and an elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia.

Ahn Hai Le

Anh Hai Le is a lecturer and senior research assistant at Griffith University, Australia. Her research interest focuses on workplace learning and curriculum development in tertiary education, with a specific emphasis on the process of building knowledge through scholarly engagement with industry and tertiary institutions. Much of her recent research has focused on lifelong and adult education.

Shuyi Chua

Shuyi Chua is a research associate with the Centre for Educational Development at Republic Polytechnic, Singapore. She completed her Master of Arts degree at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She has worked on lifelong learning, citizenship education, and collaborative online international learning projects.