The Motivation Of Adults To Participate In Educational Research

With the development of learning society and adult education, the motivation for adult education is being paid more and more attention to. Adult education is usually voluntary so participants choose from among an array of offerings. Thus it is important for adult educators to know what "motivates" people to attend and why some persist and others drop out. In order to draw some conclusions, and apply in the practice of education, this thesis tries to study the motivation of participants in education in the way of literature research, investigation and the analysis of data.The first chapter of the thesis analyzes the background and meaning of study on the subject and thinks it is meaningful and valuable in modern society for the need of either society or the research of theory.Modern study must be based on the historic harvest. The second chapter of thesis discusses the historic harvest on the subject from abroad and home. There are two branches to the motives for participation research tradition. The first concerns the structure of motives (or motivation orientations); the second concerns functional relationships between motives and their antecedents.The third chapter describes the project of the research and the process of being put into practice, including the hypothetic, the tools, the spectrum of the object of study and the process of collecting and analyzing of data.The result of analyzing of data proves the aim of the study. Participants are deemed to enroll because of a need for: social contact; social stimulation; professional advancement; community service; external expectations and cognitive interest. And adult education participants are motivated by reasons that bear some relationship to socioeconomic and life-circle variables. In general, more is known about what motivates adults to continue learning than what impels them to enroll.Based on the conclusions of the study, the thesis makes many suggestions on the programming of adult education, the setting of courses, the organizing form, motives and the manner of teaching in order to meet the need of construction of learning society and the development of adult education. Despite the longstanding study in motivation, the thesis confronts many unanswered questions. There is a need for research concerning relationships between motives that impel people into adult education and forces that foster persistence in adult education.