Participants demonstrating ‘reluctance’ to learn

In this category I present four participants: 32-year-old John, 36-year-old Owen, 38-year-old Eleanor, and 43-year-38-year-old Liam. Before we look more closely at why these four participants were somewhat unenthusiastic about learning, first I present their educational backgrounds. By the age of 16 all four, except Owen²⁸, had left school with no qualifications. Eleanor had no choice but to leave school early because of an unplanned pregnancy, while John and Owen both left school at the earliest possible opportunity to step into low paid, unskilled employment. Liam, on the other hand, signed up to a YTS apprenticeship working, in his words, for ‘a backstreet garage’, and later achieved a Level 2 qualification in car mechanics.

While this group of participants talked about the benefits of learning, on analysing the narratives they each staged a defence for not learning (Hollway and Jefferson 2001).

Moreover, they put lack of achievement down to factors outside of their control, citing family separation, negative experiences at school, and lack of support as the main reasons for failing to reach their potential. Arguably, their reasons are valid ones: John attended a school that was later closed due to falling standards; Owen had problems with literacy that were not addressed by the school or his parents, while Liam and Eleanor both had issues to contend with at home. The experiences outlined give an insight into their struggles, and how they saw themselves as learners. As, John explained, his time at secondary school had not been productive in any sense of the word:

I didn’t like [secondary school] that much. I mitched²⁹ a lot... because I didn’t learn a lot from the previous [primary] school... I didn’t understand a lot of it. I was struggling a lot so the friends that I got involved with were the same, like...

the same mind set and, I dunno we just used to get together, and we'd just enjoy going down the tree swing. Instead of going to lessons we were always down the tree swing. (John, 36-year-old)

Likewise, Owen, hated school.

28Owen said he achieved a vocational certificate in gardening.

29Here the word ‘mitched’ refers to playing truant from school.

Ah some of the teachers, well they’ve gone now obviously, they were dragons like. Some of them would make you look a bit stupid as well like. You know you felt like they’d make you look stupid. I don’t know if they did, perhaps it’s just me, innit. I wouldn’t put my hand up. (Owen, 36-year-old)

On the other hand, Eleanor and Liam were more concerned about home life rather than thinking about learning.

[A]lthough I was going through the motions of being in secondary school, I wasn't really, concentrating… I wasn't interested because I was angry… I walked around with a chip on my shoulder 'cause, obviously, I felt angry with my mum and dad [who] were breaking up, but at the time I didn't know that. It was just mad. (Eleanor, 37-year-old)

I was coming to my exams and my parents got divorced... at that time, at that age, you think your parents are the best things since sliced bread but when they drop that bombshell on you, and you’ve got these crucial exams going on. It just messes your head and I think that’s the reason why I, kind of, had poor grades.

(Liam, 43-year-old)

Negative experiences at school and difficulties at home can interrupt children’s concentration and ability to focus at school, which in turn, impedes learning. What is noticeable here is that within these four statements all have one thing in common. They all contain a degree of suffering, negativity and negative emotion: their circumstances portrayed in words like ‘didn’t learn a lot’, ‘struggling’, ‘stupid’, ‘angry’, and ‘poor’.

Nevertheless, most individuals at some point during the life course have a window of opportunity to engage in ACL; whether offered through ACL courses, Continuing Professional Development, ‘on the job’ training, volunteering, or through other interests or hobbies. Despite the false start in childhood all four had several opportunities to access education and training while working and raising their children.

Owen, for example, had participated in a few low-level courses since leaving school.

Mainly this was due to a growth in funding for ACL, initiated by the newly appointed Labour Government in 1997. South Wales also received an injection of European Objective One funding of just over £1579 million in 2000 (European Commission 2016), which generated thousands of jobs and training opportunities across west Wales, and the Valleys’ region. Under this initiative, Owen secured a job working as a leisure centre assistant³⁰. As part of staff development, Owen was put forward to study a Sports Instructor qualification (imposed learning). However, learning at the higher level (Level 3) ends in disaster. Owen explained:

30At school Owen excelled at sport, and later in the interview mentioned he was the head coach for the local children’s rugby team.

I'd done all the practical, and I hit all marks, top marks. I come to the theory then and I struggled. Well the first time I tried it I missed out on 1 percent on it, and that hit me back miles then because I didn’t tell them when I done that, that I think I’m dyslexic or anything. I just tried to see if I could pass it like but that was gutting then ‘cause it was just like I didn’t want to go again for it. (Owen, 36-year-old) Unable to admit that he needed help with writing, Owen struggled through the course.

Indeed, failure to pass the course severely undermined Owen’s confidence and self-efficacy; so much so that Owen was resigned to thinking, ‘anything with the pen scares me’. As Bandura et al. (2001, p. 81) note, “Successes raise mastery expectations;

repeated failures lower them”; a situation from which Owen may never recover (McGivney 2004). Consequently, when funding for the job came to an end, Owen reverted to what he knew best: manual work, and later finds work as ‘handyman’ working for a local authority. Therefore, considering Owen’s experience, it is understandable why he avoided the academic side of learning. Similarly, encouraged by a friend to ‘get out of the house’, Eleanor had participated in a few low-level ACL courses since leaving school, while bringing up her family and working part-time, doing cleaning and bar work.

However, during the interview Eleanor appeared fed up with life, and moaned:

I wanna have a job where I go, and I like don't come out of it feeling like dirty, and, you know, I don't wanna go home and do my own housework. Do you know what I mean? Or like I'm working in a nightclub, so I'm working all night so I'm tired in the day when my kids come back from the sitter. I wanna do something 9 to 5. I wanna pick my kids up and do tea, and that's the end of my evening til I wake up next... do you know what I mean? I find that the jobs that I've had to have, are those sorts of jobs. It's like that long slog where I'm just dragging myself. (Eleanor, 37-year-old)

Here we see the dissatisfaction in Eleanor’s life expressed in words like ‘dirty’, ‘tired’,

‘long slog’, and ‘dragging’. However, later in the interview there appeared to be a glimmer of hope that Eleanor’s circumstances were about to change since she was planning to go to college to study a course in Beauty Therapy in the new academic year.

Despite her best intentions however here she gives an insight into her real intentions.

I've still got to think about a career and making money, and if I make this move and come off, come from this place and go to that place, is it going affect...? So, it's difficult… You can't just look up and say, ‘Right I'm going to do this now’, 'cause it might not work.

Here there is an inconsistency in the narrative. As a single mother of three children³¹, Eleanor was clearly worried about studying full-time since this would affect her social

31At time of interview, Eleanor’s eldest son had left home.

security benefits. Indeed, after making a few enquiries some months later, I learned that Eleanor had not started the course. Although the reasons why are unknown, the fact that Eleanor pulled out of the course further emphasises the difficulty in making personal life changing decisions that might affect the family. Likewise, John had not participated in ACL since leaving school, other than ‘on the job’ training and participating in one day health and safety courses: a necessary part of his job working for the council. Despite this, John has had opportunities to learn. During the interview, he commented:

I was gonna be a union steward… 'cause like I’m close with the union, not through loads of trouble, just 'cause we deal with them through a lot of contacts and they really want me to do it as well but because of work commitments, I can’t really commit myself to that. (John, 36-year-old)

Here, John backs out of learning citing work commitments as a priority. Indeed, throughout the interview I got the impression that John spent a significant amount of time in work; so much so that when I asked if he ever took time off work to go on holiday, he nodded, but then added:

But we’re afraid as well. I've never been on a plane. I've always been afraid of 'em but I am, well I’m not ready but I’m willing to do it for my children so they can go away.

Here, John’s words are telling: although he is ‘not ready’ to fly on a plane, he is willing to take the plunge for the sake of his children. Thus, if I focus for a moment on education perhaps it is the fear of the unknown that prevents John from learning. Later in the interview I asked John if he had ever considered becoming a school governor, to which he replied:

I’d love to but for a minute I always think my age will go against me. It's like if I volunteered for school governor and then someone like, I'd say late 40s, 50s who've got a bit of education behind them and you know qualifications, I'd always just assumed they’d be, I don’t know… Do you know, 'cause I’ve got nothing under my belt, I never feel like I can achieve anything.

Indeed, the thought of ‘nothing under my belt’ undermines John’s confidence and self-efficacy, and he is resigned to thinking he can never achieve anything. Thus, in educational terms, it is perhaps understandable why people like John and Owen show reluctance to learn. Likewise, Eleanor had similar confidence issues.

I mean I've had jobs where people have said to me, Eleanor, you could do this job with your hands tied behind your back, but I think because of the lack of confidence that I've got, I'm too scared... So, you just stick to what you know.

(Eleanor, 36-year-old)

Much like John and Owen, so too was Eleanor scared of learning. This aspect cropped up in the narrative from time to time, which may explain why this group of participants appeared reluctant to learn; preferring instead, to stay within the comfort zone of settling with what they knew best. On the other hand, Liam reported passing a few exams at school but when I tried to find out what examinations they were, he skirted the question.

Nevertheless, unlike the others in the group, Liam continued in education by following a YTS apprenticeship in car mechanics. Here, Liam found college life different and far more supportive. He said:

If you struggled, they would take you back and say what are you struggling with?

Why are you struggling? Let's show you how to do it. Let’s show you what it does. And I think that’s the reason why I become better off from college than I did in school. (Liam, 43-year-old)

However, since completing the course Liam has not participated in any form of self-directed learning apart from ‘on the job training’, possibly because over the years he has been heavily involved in youth volunteer work. To sum up, while participants in this group had clearly struggled in school, failure to later address worries and concerns about learning in the formal sense, was problematic. As we learn in Chapter 6, this situation has direct repercussions in terms of the ways in which Owen, John, Eleanor and Liam school their children.