Qualitative Data Analysis Report
Analysis of the BeLL interviews in 10 countries: overall report
Author of the overall report
MA Irena Sgier, Swiss Federation for Adult Learning SVEB
(Leader of work package WP5: ‘Research Framework: Qualitative Part’)
Authors of the national reports, on which this overall report is based
Dr. Bettina Thöne-Geyer (German Institute for Adult Education DIE, project coordinator, Germany)
Dr. Hana Danihelková (Association for Education and Development of Women ATHENA, Czech Republic)
Dr. Samantha Duncan (University of London, Institute of Education, England)
Prof. Dr. Jyri Manninen, BA Anina Kornilow (University of Eastern Finland)
Paola Zappaterra (Associazione di donne Orlando AddO, Italy)
Prof. Dr. Simona Sava (Romanian Institute for Adult Education IREA, Romania)
Katarina Popovic & Edisa Kecap & Dubravka Mihajlović (Adult Education Society AES, Serbia)
MSc Estera Možina & Dr. Petra Javrh & Dr. Natalija Vrečer (Slovenian Institute for Adult Education SIAE,
Slovenia)
Dr. Javier Diez (University of Barcelona, CREA Research Centre, Spain)
MA Irena Sgier (Swiss Federation for Adult Learning SVEB, Switzerland)
The BeLL project (2011-2014) was funded by the European Commission as a part of the EU funding
stream “Studies and Comparative Research (KA 1)”.
BeLL website: www.bell-project.eu
April, 2014
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 1
Index
1. Introduction ........................................................................................... 3
2. Methodology .......................................................................................... 5
3. Benefits: Overview and Categories ........................................................ 12
3.1 Sense of purpose in life ............................................................... 14
3.2 Self-efficacy ................................................................................. 19
3.3 Locus of control ............................................................................ 23
3.4 Social network ............................................................................. 24
3.5 Changes in the educational experience ........................................ 27
3.6 Mental well-being ........................................................................ 31
3.7 Physical health / Health behaviour ............................................... 34
3.8 Work-related benefits ................................................................... 35
3.9 Tolerance .................................................................................... 38
3.10 Trust ............................................................................................. 40
3.11 Civic and social engagement ....................................................... 40
3.12 Civic competence ......................................................................... 41
3.13 Family-related benefits ................................................................. 43
3.14 Skills and competences ................................................................ 44
4. ‘Most Important Benefits’ ........................................................................... 45
5. External Criteria ........................................................................................ 46
6. Development of Benefits ........................................................................... 47
7. Relationship between Benefits .................................................................. 49
8. Conclusions .............................................................................................. 50
9. References ................................................................................................ 52
Appendix ........................................................................................................ 53
- Appendix 1: Interview Guidelines ......................................................... 54
- Appendix 2: Analysis Guidelines .......................................................... 57
- Appendix 3: Code List .......................................................................... 63
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 2
- Appendix 4: Coding Example (Interpretation workshop 2) .................... 68
- Appendix 5: National Case Schemes .................................................. 72
- Appendix 6: Additional Description of the Interview Sample ................. 83
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 3
Introduction
This report gives an overview of the qualitative analysis of 82 interviews that were conducted with
participants of liberal adult education in ten countries within the framework of the European BeLL study.
The interviews were analysed by the national research teams in the ten partner countries. This overall
report is based on those national qualitative reports. It follows the same structure as the national reports
and uses statements from all countries to exemplify the results.
The aim of the qualitative interview analysis is to illustrate and complement the results of the statistical
analyses. They are aimed to
• illustrate and complement the results of the statistical analyses with respect to the benefits and their
individual dimension (i.e. change of attitudes, self-concept, learning biography, behaviour) and social
dimension (i.e. family life, social networks);
• find out whether, and if so how, participants of liberal education courses reflect on their learning
experience, whether they are aware of any benefits and able to name them;
• explore possible connections between the benefits and find observable external benefit criteria;
• explore the extent to which the emergence and development of benefits depend on course-related
aspects such as the teacher (personality, expertise, and teaching approaches), the group, the teaching
methods, and so on, as expressed by interviewees based on their experiences;
• identify ways in which benefits of liberal adult education, according to leaners, emerge and develop in
real-life and biographical contexts, and ways in which they interrelate with them.
To answer these questions, we analysed what participants report about their participation in liberal adult
education courses, about their experiences in liberal adult education courses and about the impact that
participation has on their lives. We want to know how participation in liberal adult education affects and
changes participants’ attitudes, self-concepts, learning biographies, and their learning behaviour as well as
their everyday lives, and how participants do assess this. This approach allows us to find out if and how
participants of liberal adult education courses reflect on their learning experience, if they are aware of any
benefits and able to name them, how they explain or justify the efforts they undertake as learners and how
they define the role adult education plays in their real life contexts. Moreover, this approach allows for
drawing conclusions and hypotheses with regard to possible effects of personal benefits on social
environments based on participants’ reports.
Additionally, the researches paid attention to country-specific aspects that appear to have an impact on the
ways in which participants experience and report benefits of learning. Among the research questions that
have been formulated in the course of the research, this is not the core one since BeLL cannot aim at
comparing national education systems. However, awareness of national characteristics is needed to assure
an adequate interpretation of the results. These aspects are discussed in the national reports and in
likewise in the overall report and taken into consideration here where appropriate.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 4
In the context of the qualitative research report, as in the whole BeLL study, we operationalise ‘benefits’ as
effects and changes for the better in participants’ attitudes, self-concepts, learning biographies and learning
behaviour as well as their everyday lives AND, through this, their social environment (real-life contexts).
Below these domains we address the benefit categories that have been developed in the theoretical parts
of the study and applied in the quantitative part of the analysis. However, the qualitative part of the analysis
illustrates and differentiates the quantitative parts of the study, and it helps to identify ways in which
benefits of liberal adult education emerge and develop in real-life contexts, and ways in which they
interrelate with them. Through this, the qualitative part of the study also helps to identify hypotheses and
research questions for further research.
However, on the basis of the qualitative report, we do not attempt to identify different factors that impinge
on changes in real-life contexts apart from or accompanying participation. Moreover, we do not seek to
trace back the development of benefits in learning processes as such. Findings in this respect would be
very interesting but have to be reserved for further research. Nonetheless, we will present findings on
relevant factors for the development of benefits throughout reported experiences from adult education
courses, such as the learning relationships of participants with teachers and fellow learners as well as
personal, thematic learning interests. They also allow for interpretations on the relationships between single
benefits categories and for participants’ attitudes towards liberal adult education and participation.
Chapter 2 of this report gives a summary of the methodological approach used to analyse the interviews.
Chapter 3 presents the results for all benefit categories. The remaining chapters give insight into specific
issues in connection with the analysis of benefits: most important benefits (chap. 4), external, observable
criteria of benefits (chap. 5), development of benefits within the course context (chap. 6), and relationships
between benefits (chap. 7). Finally, chapter 8 presents some conclusions of the qualitative BeLL research.
The interview guidelines and the code list are available in the appendix, as well as the national case
schemes, which give more information about the national samples. All quotes in this report can be identified
by country and case. GER_A, for example, refers to case A from the German sample. The case scheme in
the appendix gives basic information on the respective interviewee.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 5
1. Methodology
This report presents the findings of the qualitative component of BeLL that consists of a series of semi-
structured interviews with women and men of various age groups and educational levels in all the partner
countries of the project, who attended adult learning courses in the recent past. They were asked to reflect
upon their learning experience, their reasons why they engage in adult learning activities, the benefits (if
any) they draw from these activities, and more generally on how they see the role of adult education in their
everyday life.
Research design
The qualitative component of BeLL is to be understood in the context of an overall sequential (quantitative
followed by qualitative) mixed-methods research design (Kelle 2006: 08) consisting of a large-scale survey
in each of the ten partner countries
1
of the project, and a subsequent series of 82 qualitative interviews
with selected respondents of the survey. The rationale behind the qualitative component of the study was to
provide more in-depth and more contextualised insights into how people perceive the outcomes and
benefits (effects and changes) of participating in adult learning courses. Whereas the survey provided
information about the degree to which adult learning courses are seen as beneficial and relevant by the
participating population, the qualitative interviews provide “rich” information about what such courses
actually mean to them, how the courses in which they participated fitted into their life history, what (precise
and specific) reasons led them to participating and how the benefits developed etc. In terms of research
strategy, the qualitative interviews aimed at complementing the survey data by rich and unstandardised
data and thereby obtaining an overall richer and more accurate picture of the participants in adult learning
courses
2
). Incidentally, the interviews also allowed to grasp culturally different understandings of adult
learning. This is particularly useful in the context of a comparative study that covers countries where adult
learning has very different histories and traditions.
The interview data are analytically treated as one single data body that is analysed transversally along a set
of common dimensions.
Data collection
The qualitative part of BeLL (Workpackage 5, WP 5) was carried out in all ten partner countries after the
survey. Besides a series of closed survey questions, the survey questionnaire also contained three open
questions, two of which asking to name outcomes and benefits (effects and changes) and one asking the
respondents to describe the outcomes and effects (immediate or long term) of their course participation.
The third open question asked the respondents to give examples to illustrate the development of their
benefits in relation to certain course related aspects like trainer, methods or group. The results were pre-
1
Czech Republic, England, Finland, Germany, Italy, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland.
2
In Hammersley's terminology, we can say that we applied a strategy of “triangulation as validity-checking” and
“triangulation as seeking complementary information” (Hammersley 2008).
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 6
analysed (themes and frequency tables). On this basis, we then developed the interview questions and,
subsequently, adapted the code system for the qualitative analysis of the interviews (cf. below).
3
The survey questionnaire included a question asking whether the respondent would be willing to be
contacted for a longer interview at some later point. Of the total 8’646 respondents to the national surveys,
27 per cent accepted to be contacted. Of these, 82 people were finally interviews some months after the
survey (8 respondents per country, except for Spain where 10 people were recruited for an interview). The
national research teams were given the instruction to purposefully select a group of respondents that
reflected the diversity of their national sample, namely in terms of gender, age, level of education and the
number of courses that the person had taken in the 12 months preceding the survey
4
. The different national
teams made slightly different choices, however the overall resulting sample of interviewees was overall
quite similar in structure to the national survey samples, especially in terms of gender (about two-thirds
women) and age (c.f. appendix). Compared to the survey sample, the qualitative sample had a higher
proportion of “active” learners (i.e. people who had attended more than one adult learning course over the
12 months preceding the survey) and a somewhat lower proportion of respondents with low professional
qualifications (see below for details).
The final composition of the group of interviewees was not completely under the control of the research
teams, as many of the respondents to the survey who had stated their readiness to be interviewed finally
did not make themselves available after all (some did not respond at all to the e-mail inviting them for an
interview, whereas others declined the invitation). In some countries (Germany for example), finding
enough interviewees was a real challenge. In other countries (Switzerland for example) finding a sufficient
number of respondents was not a problem, but certain categories of potential respondents were particularly
hard to mobilise
5
. Where a purposive sampling strategy was not entirely successful, the national teams
pragmatically resorted to a strategy of opportunistic sampling
6
The interviews were done in the months following the survey, either face-to-face or over the phone, and
lasted between 20 and 45 minutes. All interviews were audio-taped.
The topic guide for the thematic interviews was developed through a collaborative process under the
responsibility of the work package leader: the latter developed a first version of the interview guide, then
discussed it with selected partners first, before submitting a draft version to all national teams for feedback
(via google groups). On the basis of the feedback from all partners, the work package leader then finalised
the definitive topic guide, which each national team translated back to their national language(s). In parallel
with this consultative process, the leader of the qualitative work package also pre-tested a version of the
topic guide (two pilot interviews in Switzerland), which led to some minor adjustments of the guide.
3
The open survey questions, their purpose, and construction as well as the results of this part of the study are treated
in depth in the context of other parts of reports on the BeLL study.
4
Our overall sampling strategy could be described as a purposive sampling (Luborsky & Rubinstein 1995; see also
Elam et al. 2003).
5
In Switzerland for example, young people did not react to our mails.
6
Opportunistic in the sense of taking the opportunities that arise (e.g. interviewing the respondents willing to respond)
(see also Ritchie & Lewis & Elam 2003 and Luborsky & Rubinstein 1995).
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 7
The final topic guide had the following structure: a first introductory section in which the interviewee was
asked about his/her participation in adult learning courses over the 12 months preceding the interview
(what courses, why, in what professional context etc.). In the second section the respondents were asked
to elaborate on the benefits they thought they gained in participating in these courses (personal, but also
career related benefits, social networks etc.). In the third section the respondents were then invited to
speak about how these benefits “came about”, e.g. what elements contributed to making these courses
beneficial to them (such as: the quality of the trainer, the learning methods, the other participants, etc.). In
the final part of the interview, the respondents were asked to reflect more synthetically on their experiences
(their overall assessment of their learning experience etc.). The topic guide contained the complete set of
benefits from the survey - that is, the benefits mentioned in the survey questionnaire as well as additional
benefits that were found in the analysis of the open questions (see appendix for the full topic guide).
The interviews followed the logic of the semi-structured interview (Arksey & Knight 1999): the topic guide
served as a general guideline, but the question wording and sequence could be handled flexibly by the
interviewers. Additional questions could be asked as necessary. More generally, the interviewer had a
leeway to add or reformulate questions, or drop questions (if an answer had already been provided
spontaneously, for instance). Overall the interviewers mostly respected the general structure of the
interview guide.
All interviews were carried out and fully transcribed by the members of the national teams in the national
language(s) of each country
7
. Subsequently, selected extracts of the interview materials were translated
into English (see next section).
The resulting data body comprises approximately 1200 pages of interview transcripts (between 10 and 20
pages per interview).
Research ethics
All interviewees gave their explicit consent to being interviewed and to being audio-recorded. They were
informed of the context of the study and the use that would be made of their data.
The interview data were anonymised in such a way as to make sure neither the respondents themselves
nor other people they are referring to in the interview (such as trainers, adult learning institutions, etc.)
cannot be identified. The interview transcripts contain no information allowing to link back the interview data
to the survey responses of the interviewee.
To further preserve the anonymity of the interviewees, the list with the full demographic characteristics of
our interviewees (such as place of residence, name of course providers, employment status, etc.) is not
integrated to the present report. Only a simplified list is added to the report itself.
Data analysis
The interview data were analysed on the basis of a systematic coding, following the approach suggested by
Saldaña (2012). This type of analysis consists of a systematic coding (breaking down) of data according to
7
In Switzerland, interviews were done in German.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 8
a code list (or code system
8
), in such a way as to identify (practically and theoretically) relevant patterns.
The coded segments are then grouped and synthesised ‘up’ into (more general) categories, which in turn
get linked to more general themes and (theoretical) concepts.
Code system and test coding
The analysis was carried out stage-wise, using a combination of deductive and inductive coding (also called
"hybrid" coding, cf. Fereday & Muir-Cochrane 2006). The code system (and the categories and themes that
were developed on the basis of the coding process) was developed gradually and collaboratively. The
concepts (the benefit categories named above that were used, operationalised and expaned in the BeLL
study)
9
to which the codes, categories and themes finally were linked were given from the start and
developed on theoretical grounds (cf. overall final report).
The final code system had the following (main) categories (cf. Appendix 2 for the full code system):
• Benefits
• Development of benefits
• Relationships between benefits
• Reasons for participation
• External criteria.
Each of these categories had a number of subcategories and codes
10
. The most important categories were
"benefits", “development of benefits” and “relationship between benefits”. The categories "reasons for
participation" and "external criteria" were less central and served the purpose of collection additional
information that could help interpreting the information coded under the main three categories.
This code system was taken from the qualitative analysis of open survey questions and further developed
in a stage-wise collaborative process, in the form of various (virtual or real) workshops whose aims were to
test for the applicability, common understanding and adequacy of the code system.
The starting points were the set of concepts that had been developed earlier for the BeLL survey and the
set of codes that had been developed through qualitative content analysis of the open questions in the
survey (cf. Survey Report and Overall Research Report). The leader of WP5 first instructed all national
teams to run a first test coding (with the initial code system) on an interview by the British team. She
collected all test codings, discussed the outcome in a small working group
11
that identified a series of
8
Codes, in Saldaña's terminology, are short words or phrases ("tags") that are more general than the coded text
segment itself, but that remain close to the original text
9
Key concepts are for example: Locus of control, self-efficacy, tolerance, trust, social network, sense of purpose in life,
civic competence, etc. (see Glossary in the appendix).
10
The category "benefits" for example had 17 subcategories and 80 codes, of which 11 inductive codes.
11
The leader of WP5 and two members of the German and Finnish teams.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 9
issues to submit to all national teams for discussion
12
(disagreements over the interpretation of certain
codes or categories, for instance, or suggestions for the inclusion of new codes, or for the renaming of
codes). On this basis, the code system was adjusted and complemented
13
, and guidelines for a second test
coding elaborated.
The second test coding was done by all national teams on a second interview done by the British team,
plus on two national interviews (in original language)
14
. Like for the first test, the coded materials (in
English) were collected, issues to be discussed identified by a sub-working group, and then submitted to
collective discussion to all national teams. On this basis, the coding system was again adapted
15
, and
actually more or less "stabilised"
16
. It was also decided that the national teams could add additional codes,
meant for use on their national data only, in cases where the common code system did not allow to capture
some significant specificity of their data
17
.
Full coding
On the basis of this second test coding, the guidelines for analysis were again revised (see Appendix). On
these grounds, all national teams were then instructed to code all their national interviews (in original
language). At least two people per national team were involved in this coding: a main coder, and a second
coder who systematically counter-checked the coding
18
. Disagreements over the coding were discussed
between the main and the second coder, and where necessary, submitted to all national teams for
collective discussion (via google groups). Where major difficulties arose in the application of the code
system, the national teams were asked to translate the "problematic" passages into English and submit
them to a collective discussion
19
.
Throughout the coding phase (starting with the first test coding), analytic memos and google groups
discussions were used to discuss coding divergences and open questions and keep track of assumptions
or hints for the interpretation of the data. In each national research team, all codings were carried out by
one researcher and counter-checked by a second researcher to assure the robustness and internal validity
of the coding. Apart from two research teams who used coding software (Maxqda and Atlas.ti), all other
research teams coded their data manually (see coding example in the Appendix).
12
Many of these discussions took place over google groups; some in person.
13
The main changes concerned the codes; the main categories and subcategories remained unchanged.
14
Interpretation workshop 1, see Appendix xx.
15
As at the previous stage, the changes concerned the level of codes only; the main categories and subcategories
remained unchanged.
16
Only very minor changes were made to the code system after that.
17
The elements coded with country-specific codes only are not reported in this report, but only in the national
qualitative reports.
18
The data were not double-coded.
19
Most issues could be resolved without modifying the code system as such.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 10
Throughout the process, the team leader of the qualitative workpackage (in co-operation with the project
leader) of the project provided the national teams with standardised supporting materials, namely (see
attachment):
- Analysis guidelines for each of the three interpretation workshops
- An each time updated code list (final version s. appendix)
- A glossary with definitions of the pre-defined benefit categories and codes (developed for the
survey)
- A template for the selection and translation of interview statements
- A template for the case schemes
- A structure for the qualitative reports on the interview analysis (this overall report adopts the same
structure as the national reports).
An external expert was consulted in the process of data analysis, who advised on the staging, management
and documentation of the process, and on quality criteria to be kept in mind
20
.
Reporting of results
The results of the complete analysis of the interview material were reported first in qualitative country
reports written by the national teams (in English) that were transmitted to the leader of WP5. On the basis
of these reports, the key findings were synthesised into the present overall qualitative report. The national
reports and the overall report on the interview analysis are structured according to the coding categories.
To make the national data accessible to all team members and to the leader of WP5, each national team
was requested to translate parts of their data into English. In parallel with the full coding of the national
interviews, each team selected approximately 25% of their qualitative data for translation, based on
guidelines given by the leader of WP5
21
. The quotes in the present report and in the country reports in
English are all drawn from these translated segments materials
22
. The interview segments that are quoted
in this report (and in the preceding national reports) were only slightly edited and “cleaned up”.
Validity, reliability and generalisability
20
Dr Lea Sgier, professor of qualitative research methodology, Central European University, Budapest.
21
The national teams were instructed to choose segments of the interviews that contained particularly meaningful
statements. For the main category "benefits", they were asked to select all segments that gave a particularly interesting
picture of the benefits that were key to the respondent; that illustrated changes in the participant's life particularly well;
and that showed a perceivable connection between the benefits and the courses that the participant attended. For the
categories "development of benefits" and "relationship among benefits", the instruction was to translate all relevant
segments of the interviews.
22
However the analysis as such is the result of the analysis of the full data material.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 11
Various procedures were implemented in the course of this qualitative part of BeLL to ensure the validity
and reliability (replicability) of our findings and, more generally, the transparency of the whole research
process.
Validity (accuracy of observation) was ensured by:
• Providing detailed guidelines to all national teams at all stages of data collection and analysis (topic
guide, successive versions of the code system), and writing up;
• Implementing an elaborate collaborative process throughout the research (as described above),
and namely at the stage of data analysis. The aim of this process was to ensure that all
researchers involved in data analysis would gradually reach a shared understanding of the codes
and categories; that diverging interpretations would be explicitly discussed and common solutions
sought; and that a common frame would be respected at all times;
• A systematic counter-checking of all (final) codings of the interview data by a second researcher.
• A systematic quality check of the work of the national teams by the leader of WP5
23
.
These four procedures have ensured a high degree of consensus over the code system, and a high degree
of "stability" and consistency in its application. The fact of having translated one quarter of all interview
materials into English further adds to the possibility of checking for the quality of the analysis.
To the extent that reliability (replicability) can be assured in a qualitative research
24
, it is assured by
providing extensive insights into the process of data collection and analysis (cf. appendices). The
collaborative process put into place to guarantee the validity of our analyses incidentally also support their
reliability: our extensive discussions and formal decisions (guidelines etc.) regarding the analysis assures a
high degree of "plausibility" and "understandability" of our coding logic not only within the research teams,
but also beyond.
When it comes to the generalisability of your findings, we can assume that our qualitative findings – namely
our typology of benefits that people typically draw from participating in adult learning courses – are most
likely valid beyond our sample. Our relatively high overall number of interviews (N=82) allowed for the
identification of recurrent patterns that are theoretically grounded and that "resonate" with the quantitative
survey. We have no theoretical reason to assume that the people who accepted to respond to our
interviews had qualitatively dramatically different views of the benefits of adult learning. Hence we assume
that our results are potentially valid for a wider population of participants in adult learning courses. This
remains an assumption though, as findings based on a non representative small-N sample by definition do
not allow for inferences.
23
The request that national teams translate 25% of their interview materials into English also allowed the leader of
WP5 to keep a close eye on the outcomes of the analysis of each national team.
24
The fact of working with small-N non-random samples inevitably sets strong limitations on reliability in its "classic"
sense of full replicability of results. In qualitative research, the requirement of reliability is therefore to be understood in
the softer sense of process transparency (cf. Lewis & Ritchie 2003).
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 12
2. Benefits: Overview and Categories
The interview analysis is based on a hybrid approach, combining deductive and inductive coding. Although
some codes were added or modified, the benefit categories which were developed in the theoretical part of
the study and used in the qualitative part of the survey remained unchanged (see also chapter methodology
above). See also the code system in the appendix.
Overview and summary of the results
In all countries, the majority of the subcategories were found in the interviews, albeit some categories were
found very frequently – like, for instance, mental health or sense of purpose in life -, while others – like civic
competences - were found rarely in most countries.
The following overview considers the whole sample of the 10 countries. National results are pointed out
only occasionally, that is when they differ from the whole sample or highlight specific aspects. For more
information on country specific aspects see the national sections in the final research report.
Predominant benefits
The following benefit subcategories are the dominant benefits in the international sample:
- Social network
- Mental well-being
- Self-efficacy
- Sense of purpose in life
- Changes in educational experiences
- Work-related benefits
- Skills and competences
25
“Social network” is clearly a predominant category in all countries and for the majority of the interviewees.
The analysis shows different aspects of this benefit, including social contact inside and outside the
classroom, socialisation and social integration, making new friends and so on.
‘Mental well-being’ and ‘Physical health’ are often interconnected and hard to distinguish (for instance
when relaxation is mentioned, or work-life balance, coping with illness etc.). In many cases, these two
benefits were analysed together, since the connection proved to be strong.
25
The code list and analysis guidelines for the interviews labelled this category as ‘Competences’. The category was
renamed in the course of the analysis because ‘Skills and competences’ turned out to be more adequate in both the
survey and the interview analysis.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 13
The same is true of ‘Sense of purpose in life’ and ‘Self-efficacy’. Although defined as two distinct
concepts, these categories appear as closely interconnected benefit categories in several national interview
analyses.
‘Changes in educational experience’ is a crucial benefit category as well, especially the codes ‘Joy of
learning’, ‘Motivation to learn’ and ‘Sense of achievement’.
In the case of the benefit category ‘Skills and competences’, the situation is more complex, since the list
of potential skills to be acquired in adult education is virtually endless. It was not the aim of BeLL to define a
comprehensive, definite list of all the skills to be acquired in adult education, but the analysis nevertheless
gives insights into the range of skills pointed out by the course participants. Some of the skills reported by
the interviewees are closely related to the course topic, whereas others do not have such an obvious
connection with the course topic and are mentioned as a result of individual reflection and interpretation of
learning experiences.
Categories that play a minor role in the interviews:
- Locus of control
- Trust
- Physical health / health behaviour
- Tolerance
- Civic and social engagement / civic competence
- Family-related benefits
‘Locus of control’ and ‘Trust’ turned out to be the rarest categories. In the case of the other benefit
categories playing a minor role, there are some indications that these benefits might be more closely
related to the course topics than the benefits that were mentioned more frequently.
Some national reports suggest that these benefits occur predominantly through courses that are explicitly
aimed to promote these competences. But there are also examples of interviewees that make connections
between other topics and these competences, for example ‘Civic engagement’: A person might acquire
transferable competences - like languages, ICT, communication or the like – for personal or professional
purposes and later on find these competences useful in the context of their community engagement. The
connection between transversal competences and civic engagement is not necessarily based on past or
current experience, it can also be mentioned merely as a future possibility.
The same connection can be found with the other categories – ‘Health’, ‘Tolerance’ and ‘Family-related
benefits’ – where we find direct connections with the course topic – sports, cooking, culture, parenting
courses etc. – as well as benefits that do not seem to be directly connected with the topic, like an ICT
course that enables a person to find information about health or baby care.
Expansion of benefit categories
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 14
As agreed in the consortium, the national research teams were allowed to define additional codes for their
national interview analysis, but any new benefit categories that might emerge from national analyses were
supposed to be discussed and developed in the international consortium.
One potentially new benefit category was discussed in the consortium early in the research process: Self-
development. Since it was decided during the survey development to subsume this benefit under the code
‘Self-discovery’ (category ‘Self-efficacy’), it was not defined as a separate benefit category for the interview
analysis either. However, some national qualitative analyses suggest to reconsider this decision since the
researchers found it difficult to subsume self-development under ‘Self-discovery’.
Apart from the issue mentioned above, no new benefit categories were developed, but the national
analyses led to some suggestions for new codes within the benefit categories. These codes are discussed
in the national reports but not included here, since they were used in the national analysis only.
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 15
Benefit categories
The following synthesis and interpretation of the national analysis is based on the national qualitative
reports and the statements’ templates provided by the 10 research teams.
3.1 Sense of purpose in life
Codes:
- New inspiration
- Structure in daily life
- Sense of belonging to a community
- Self fulfilment & joy of doing
- Wider life circles
- (New) hobbies
- Respect
‘Sense of purpose in life’ is one the central categories found in the interviews. All codes were found, but
‘Structure in daily life’, ‘Sense of belonging to a community’, and ‘Respect’ are mentioned less frequently by
interviewees than the other codes in this benefit category.
New inspiration
Participants mention new inspiration quite often and in different contexts, including professional activities or
daily life. New inspiration is described either in a concrete, instrumental way or as a general feeling.
Participants connect inspiration with the idea of opening up their minds, discovering new ideas and
possibilities, stimulation and enrichment, depth, quality of life, or mental challenge. Inspiration is linked to
cognitive, emotional, social and practical experiences.
Among other effects, liberal adult learning is reported to be helpful as a source of inspiration for
professional activities in a general way, described as a sense of increased creativity that has an impact
on one’s working life, or in a specific way when leading to concrete ideas about how to solve professional
problems. In some cases, this is to do with work-life balance. New inspiration with regard to work overlaps
with the benefits category work-related benefits in cases where inspiration is perceived as improving job
performance.
Examples:
Also, I found the topic for my paper for the professional exam in a training course. (SLO_C)
Swedish plays an important role in my life. Apart from really having an interest in starting to learn this
language, it’s a good replacement or supplement to what I do in my day job, working on very boring
and technical topics. (SWI_D)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 16
I just think it’s nice if you have somewhere else to go for intellectual input other than work. I use my
brain a lot, write a lot of designs, so it’s a bit of a break if I can do something else but still use my head.
Something to give the brain some fresh air. Sometimes that can help you take a step back. (SWI_C)
Another inspirational context described in the interviews is daily life. Inspiration is for instance viewed as
something that became possible because of specific skills acquired in courses, as for example language
skills or ICT skills widen access to the internet or other information sources. Inspiration here means either
new ideas or fresh perspectives on old ones.
“We are very pleased about all the things we can discover, and we can find so much information on
the Internet, and not only from Romanian sites, since we can understand English too.” (ROM_NV)
“Since I’ve been photographing, well, been on this course, I look at the newspapers, magazines,
images, differently.” (SWI_B)
Other participants point at new inspiration as a general enrichment of their lives or as a challenge to
routine, without connecting this inspiration with specific skills. This idea is often connected with enrichment
and quality of life and based on an attitude of progress and discovery.
Examples:
It’s enabling me to delve into other areas of knowledge. […] and to gain experiences. And it’s helping
me to develop and enrich my life. (GER_C)
So it has actually expanded my horizon. (SWI_A)
Feeling progression towards something positive. (ENG_V)
You think differently, some kind of directions open up, that you want to discover. (SLO_F)
I think that you remain mentally capable or able in other ways to open yourself up to something new or
to occupy yourself with different things other than those which you mainly encounter in your working
life. Because, at the end of the day, your everyday life is characterised by your job […]. It’s a way of
coming face to face with new things for which I otherwise wouldn’t have the time. (GER_B)
When new inspiration is described as a generalised experience, it seems to be part of the participants’
identity as learners. This seems less the case where inspiration is explicitly connected with the skills that
were acquired in a course. But in all the cases reported above, new inspiration appears to have a
connection with personal development as an on-going process.
Structure in daily life
Adult learning courses can help learners create or maintain a structure when work or family routine is no
longer provides a framework for daily life, as several interviewees pointed out. This benefit was found
predominantly with learners who are not on the labour market due to retirement, unemployment, illness or
parenting.
The function and importance learners attach to this benefit in their lives differ in many ways. Some typical
meanings could be distinguished: The structure that course participation provides can help preventing
chaos, emptiness, boredom or exclusion in the very pragmatic sense of keeping people busy and part of
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 17
a social context. And it can go beyond the practical issue of structuring days and weeks towards a more
identity-related purpose in the sense of assuring the regular availability of learning when ‘being a learner’
is essential to a participant’s identity. A third meaning found in the interviews is the connection of external
and internal structure, when structuring daily life enables the person to recognize and handle their own
goals and interests by structuring them alongside the courses.
Examples:
On Mondays I go to a painting class which lasts all day. On Tuesday evenings I have Romanian. On
Wednesdays I go walking. On Thursdays I attend a breathing exercise and fitness class and then in
the evening I currently go to a painting class at the adult education centre. (GER_A)
Now and then I have to fit in what I do around them. Sometimes I have to say, ‘No, I’m not free then
because I’ve got a seminar.’ They’re definitely a priority. Saying that, my motorbike is my number one
priority. [pause] But after my motorbike, the seminars are an immediate second. (GER_A)
Yoga encouraged me to wake up at a really early hour, to have an organised day and to set different,
measurable goals. I can relate this to this personal coaching, which was also about finding
measurable goals and inner inspiration. (SLO_G)
Sense of belonging to a community
The benefit of belonging to a community shows strong overlaps with benefits coded as ‘Social network’.
Community-related experiences were rarely coded in the category ‘Sense belonging to a community’. The
few cases that were coded here point at communities of people with a specific interest in the course
topic, like writing courses and networks, local communities, clubs or – in a broader sense – culture and
tradition.
Examples:
..but I never really knew that I always wanted to be in a writing community, in which I can belong to
and feel to be a part of it. (FIN_D)
Then I think it is related into that social thing, but in a wider sense, belonging into something I don’t
know whether it is tradition or group or what ever. If you think about weaving carpets so then
belonging and connecting on that tradition, so that you understand and can potentially pass it on
through your own products. But but this is more related on that specific topic. (FIN_G)
I felt the need to belong to something. ... We do have a club where we play rummy and so on, but it’s
very important to be active at this age. If you’re not active it’s a tragedy – you might as well go straight
to the hospital. (ROM_V)
In single cases, providers can be viewed as communities too, especially by learners who choose the
same provider for all their learning activities, seeing this provider as a community of teaches and learners
that is essential to one’s own learning experiences. Example (originally coded in the ‘Social network’
category).
Examples:
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Through the college I’ve [...] got more involved in what’s happening. It’s an agricultural college and
they’ve got a charity event coming up in June which I’ve been involved with. (ENG_V)
Plus being part of Leeds Met is great, having the student card, being able to use the union. That
has been nice too. (ENG_R)
Self fulfilment and joy of doing
This benefit category was rarely found, which might have to do with the fact that self-fulfilment is named by
the participants less explicitly than other aspects of personal development. The few examples of explicit
notions draw a direct line from a specific activity to joy of doing and the perception of development:
This change in my thinking brings great results. My flat is very beautifully decorated with flowers
and with decorations from dry plants and fruits. I can also bring together such colours which fit to
my flat – it means if it is bright or dark – and with the furniture. I can recognise the style of the
equipment in a flat and in each room. (CZE_A)
Firstly, it’s the joy of being able to learn the language in itself and secondly, it’s the fact that I’m
fulfilling a wish. It’s something I always wanted to do but I’d never got around to finding the time for
it until now. (GER_D)
It is worth mentioning, however, that this benefit shares several connotations with other codes under the
categories ‘Sense of purpose in life’ and ‘Self-efficacy’. Aspects of self-fulfilment can be found in the
participants’ accounts in statements that point at personal growth and personal development.
Another benefit category that has a definite similarity with self-fulfilment is ‘Changes in learning
experiences’, because benefits that might be coded as ‘Self-fulfilment’ are mostly reported as experiences
that changed over time and are directed towards a desirable future.
‘Joy of doing’, finally, could in some cases also be coded under the category of ‘Skills and competences’,
especially when ‘Joy of doing’ is not mentioned explicitly but expressed indirectly in the way participants
talk about the skills they acquired.
Wider life circles
This benefit was not coded often either. But some participants explicitly mentioned wider life circles in the
sense of having new things to do or finding alternative ways of spending spare time. Mostly, they speak of
activities linked to specific skills – especially languages –, which is seen as widening opportunities in a
personal or professional context.
Examples:
This way I met other cultures, their history, the way of life of other nations, met various people, but the
complete cultural shock I experienced in Japan and it was in the positive sense. This experience
enriched my life in a way I can’t describe. I learned a lot about alimentation in those countries, and
about habits and customs. (SRB_J).
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 19
In one word I can say that learning a language has opened up many opportunities for jobs, traveling,
various life opportunities and points of view, a whole new world opened up for me because a second
language gives you completely new opportunities, and you discover new interests. (SRB_Ž)
For the film course – I’ve started looking at movies differently and watch films I wouldn’t have touched
before. (SWI_A)
Other experiences were reported which could be understood as ‘Wider life circles’ but were described (and
coded) in the other categories – especially ‘Social networks’, ‘Participation in society’ and ‘New hobbies’ –
and were coded in those categories.
(New) hobbies
What was said above for wider life circles is also true for the ‘(New) hobbies’ category. Participants report
many new activities they took up in connection with new courses, activities that are mostly related to the
course content, but they do not typically call these activities hobbies. In some cases, however, they do:
I will never become a professional dancer, but for me personally, as a hobby, this will always be an
option. (ROM_T)
For example, sewing, it’s just a hobby and I always gladly made my own clothes and now I’ve learnt to
do it from scratch using a pattern. And, well, it’s very rewarding. And it’s great fun. (SWI_F)
Most participants who talk about new activities do not specify the status of these new activities in their
personal life contexts. These cases are likely to be found in the ‘Skills and competences’ or ‘Sense of
purpose in life’ categories, if described mainly under the aspect of new inspiration. An example:
InDesign – I was a journalist by profession and then thought about retirement. Now I write my own
stories from my life, or I wanted to write our family history, so the children had something to keep. I
wrote them down then thought, what now? Publishers wouldn’t be interested in family history. I
thought I’d like to make my own book. So I did the course and learnt how to do it. (SWI_F)
Other participants give the impression of seeing activities they took up in connection with a course and kept
doing on a regular basis not as hobbies but as something that might become of vocational use or
develop into a profession altogether, a sideline activity or ‘Civic engagement’. Examples (the first one is
from a former doctor who quit her profession to become a novelist after taking up writing as a hobby):
I didn’t know before if I could do it, write like this, or if it would be any fun for that length of time, and
actually – almost every day I sit at the computer for about 5 or 6 hours and write something. (SWI_A)
Basically I have always been a bit interested in studying more in that direction of programming in
knowing the tool, that I could later use for private or work purposes. (SLO_D)
Yes, I got to an idea, that I later discussed it in detail in my paper, and that is the foundation of a book
club within the patient society I work at. That would be a club for reintegration into society for people
who were cut away from society during medical treatment, maybe because they lost their job, maybe
because they isolated themselves, because they were maybe ashamed to admit their sickness in
society. (SLO_E)
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None of the three participants cited above would call their activity a hobby, and the examples could also be
assigned to ‘Wider life circles’. They are nevertheless put here in the context of ‘New hobbies’, since they
might exemplify a substantial aspect of adult learning: a tendency to use courses for personal
development without separating personal, professional and social goals. In the BeLL interviews, this
can be observed especially with very active learners, that is, participants who engage in more than one
course at a time.
Respect
Very few participants describe their own being more respected by others as resulting from participation
and new skills, but in some cases this benefit seems to be implicitly reported in connection with ‘Self-
confidence’ and social benefits. Some participants describe positive reactions of their social network or of
other course participants, which can be interpreted as respect in the above-mentioned sense.
When respect is reported in connection within the course context, it is mostly to do with improved
competences. In other cases respect is about being underrated as a learner and being able to prove
one’s will and ability to achieve one’s learning goals. The latter was reported for instance by an older
woman whom the teacher and the group tried to dissuade from taking an ICT course together with young
people. As she enrolled anyway and managed to keep up with the group, she reports the other participants
and the teacher as being impressed and paying respect to her courage and learning skills:
Examples:
People perceive me now as a person with a wide horizon. (CZE_F)
With support, maybe. Or with support and maybe also encouragement, or also admiration, because I
had very definite results, not everyone has had such definite results... You know, people travel, but I
had so many problems with that, even though I could go, but I thought I couldn’t or was not allowed to.
I don’t know what I thought, it is like this now. (SLO_A)
Ah, yes the class, they were somewhat sceptical at the beginning, until they realised that I really was
working on a book and that something was coming from it, and that made an impression. (SWI_F)
Several participants speak about respect not in the way this benefit was defined here, but in terms of their
own increased respect for other people, which is mentioned in connection with language and humanities
courses, creative arts and competencies like communication. These benefits belong to the categories of
tolerance and trust.
3.2 Self-efficacy
Codes:
- Self-confidence
- Confidence in own skills
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 21
- Self-discovery
- Self-motivating
- Self-control
In some countries, the researchers felt the need to add a code named self-development, personal growth,
personal development or personality-development.
Since it was decided not to add a new code during the interpretation workshop (see. chap. Methodology),
the statements that were assigned to the new code/category self-development (or similarly named codes)
in the national analysis are attributed here to the code of ‘Self-discovery’.
All the codes included in the category ‘Self-efficacy’ play a prominent role in connection with the benefits
reported by the participants. Only one code – ‘Self-control’ – appears to be less relevant for the inter-
viewees.
Self-confidence
Not surprisingly, ‘Self-confidence’ is reported as a core benefit in all countries. As the term has become
common in everyday language, many interviewees mention self-confidence or related terms like self-
esteem without explaining their understanding of the term. But, as the following examples show, the term
self-confidence typically appears in connection with other benefits (bundles of benefits), which allows for
understanding in what contexts learners situate self-confidence.
The following examples are only a few out or a large number of similar statements collected in BeLL. They
suggest that ‘Self-confidence’ is mainly seen either as the result of positive learning experiences or as a
consequence of the skills and competences acquired in the courses.
In the cases where self-confidence is seen as caused by positive learning experiences, the interviewees
emphasize aspects like: to learn new things, experience or develop the ability to learn and achieve specific
goals, to experience the support of teachers and groups, to get energized.
When interviewees report self-confidence as a consequence of the skills they acquired in the courses,
self-confidence is very close to, but not identical with ‘Confidence in own skills’.
I feel better in the group and have more self-confidence. (CZE_B)
I strengthened my self-confidence because I learn something new again. I was proud of myself that I
made such an improvement. I became more responsive and confident when communicating in
Spanish. (CZE_B)
I have got better self-confidence, I value myself for my thoughts and I respect my environment.
(CZE_A)
My self esteem got better, I saw that I can also do this and I have more courage. I had to dance
perfectly. … Well you had to be careful, very careful. (RO_T)
Self-confidence definitely increases, you are in a better mood, have more energy and than you
basically develop everything. You get a sort of energy there, that you might lose it elsewhere, and
then you finish other things with it. (SLO_C)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 22
The interviewees link self-confidence with a variety of psychological aspects like courage, pride, self-
esteem, spontaneity, which points to the relevance of liberal adult education in the context of personal
identity.
As can be seen in the examples above, self-confidence often appears in a sequence with other benefits.
Linguistically, the benefits are linked either by ‘and’/comma, or by ‘because’. While the latter draw a causal
relationship, the former do not explicitly define the type of relationship between self-confidence and other
benefits.
Confidence in own skills
Statements that refer to specific skills instead of the person as a whole are coded as ‘Confidence in own
skills’. A variety of examples highlight the significance interviewees assign to the term confidence when
applied to skills and competences. The dominant meaning of confidence here is: being able to do new
things or being able to do things better than before. We find here the whole range of skills and
competences acquired in courses as possible sources of self-confidence. In the (very frequent) case of
language courses, confidence in own skills is mostly exemplified by the ability to communicate, in relation
with other course topics the learners mention specific activities - like writing, dancing, handling a computer
– or products they are able to create, which may be photographs, food, flower arrangements and so on.
In some cases, confidence in own skills means mainly confidence in one’s learning skills.
Examples:
I was able to better understand Spanish texts, I became more active and self-confident in
communication. Indeed, my listening improved too. So, if I should sum it up, the course met my
expectations – improvement in all language aspects. (CZE_B)
(…) the difference between before and after the course... is that now, when I see cases like this,
where someone asks me for support, or psycho-pedagogical support... I didn’t know how to handle
that kind of things, but now... I might still need some support myself because I do not know
everything yet, but I feel that I will be able to identify a few things, to know when to diagnose...It
makes you feel more secure... (ESP_J)
And when you realise ‘I can learn that, I can learn something new", then that's satisfying and you
think: ‘So I could do this, too, or even this.’ (SWI_F)
I didn't know before if I could do it, write like this, or if it would be any fun for that length of time, and
actually - almost every day I sit at the computer for about 5 or 6 hours and write something. (SWI_A)
Self-discovery
The interviewees report changes and achievements in their personal development, which on one hand is to
do with self-discovery in the sense of acquiring insight, new knowledge or new views of one’s own
personality, on the other hand with the discovery of new interests, talents or possible activities that
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
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This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 23
were not considered before. Moreover, some interviewees describe a general sense of opening up one’s
mind and widening future opportunities for personal development.
Examples
it’s like, it’s arrived, it’s like you have the inner will to want to do more, it gives you this joy that if you
achieve this, you can do more, you can achieve more. (ENG_T)
Definitely the changes were just positive and I am very glad that they happened. I feel the
development especially in being more open, tolerant, having higher self-esteem, pleasant feelings
coming from reaching a set goal. I also feel very motivated to continue studying Spanish. But this is
probably a natural reaction to the positive experience. (CZE_B)
... where I could reinvent my self-image as a student, get the courage to try something, and also to
recognise and eliminate a subconscious, deep-seated fear. And for your sense of well-being that’s a
massive enrichment and relief. (SWI_H)
As mentioned above, in some national analyses new codes were defined to cover personal development
in a broader and more identity-related way than was suggested by the code ‘Self-discovery’. Here
participants do not focus on the discovery of specific features or talents but speak of their development as a
whole person, suggesting that their discoveries affect their identity as a whole.
These statements are assigned here to the ‘Self-discovery’ category, but it should be kept in mind that
some partners assigned a new code to cover self-development. Examples:
Yes, I see here on the one hand my personal growth... (SLO_E)
… but maybe the most important thing was the fact that my self esteem increased and I got to know
my limits and to rediscover myself… develop my ear for music, so to say, on different dance rhythms....
I discovered that I can also succeed in this field, now being a bit modest, no? I managed the music,
the moves that weren’t easy and I learned them in a rather short period of time. I had some big moves
and not everyone could have reached this level. Now, to be honest, we had to be at the same level
with the event, which was pretty big. (RO_T)
Firstly I had the opportunity to write poetry and songs and see those great writers and great musicians.
Secondly, I became more spontaneous in expressing emotions through artistic creativity. Yes, there
were many role models for me... and I also had the opportunity to become friends with people who
were older than me. (ROM_AS)
Self-motivating
Self-motivation here means the ability to do what needs to be done, without the influence from other people
or situations. This was not coded very often in the interviews, which does, however, not necessarily mean
that the interviewees do not experience self-motivation. Many participants report experiences like ‘I feel
motivated to …’, which simply does not allow to draw clear conclusions about the origin of the
motivation. Two typical statements for these cases is:
I am experiencing this very intensively, because I have been doing this for two years, and this is the
third one... and I am very motivated... and I want to learn it... I really like it... (ESP_J)
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 24
And when you realise ‘I can learn that, I can learn something new’, then that’s satisfying and you think:
‘So I could do this, too, or even this’ . (SWI_F)
Several statements with similar content suggest that course participation reinforces learners’ existing
motivation to learn. The fact that statements like the ones quoted above lack any reference with the
course context – the teacher, topic or group – can be seen as possible indicators of self-motivation.
Another important aspect to consider here is the fact that liberal adult education is usually attended
voluntarily, which might cause participants to “hide” or forget to mention their self-motivation in the
interview because it is to some degree a precondition to liberal adult learning. This cannot be clearly
evidenced through single statements, but if interpreted in the case context at least some interviews inspire
this suggestion. The following statement gives an impression of this line of thought:
It began after I finished studying. At first I needed a [pause] bit of a break and thought to myself,
‘Finally, I don’t have to study anymore.’ That mindset lasted for around a year until I started thinking,
‘No, that’s somehow not right.’ And then, somehow, I felt totally motivated again to do something other
than work. Just like that, something predominantly for me. So I began to learn Swedish. (GER_F)
What I find is, unlike school, you're doing what you're really interested in. Or I'm quite interested in it
so that's why I'll do it. It's just motivating. You learn better and you enjoy it more. (SWI_C)
Self-control
‘Self-control’ was reported by relatively few interviewees. In some cases, however, this benefit played a role,
especially in connection with courses that were aimed at improving communication and social skills.
Examples:
I’ve become much more confident in my ability to respond. I mean, restraining spontaneous anger –
and thinking: “How can I do this differently?” I knew how to respond but this course encouraged me
and, because the focus is on my reaction, I could change and it was more constructive for my way of
thinking. (SWI_H)
Yes, there were benefits. Because of mastering these techniques, I developed self-control in dealing
with a conflict when it appears, self-control in dealing with my emotions when I have to plan a big
activity, and it was very useful for me to resort to this course and remember it as a reference point,
even in my daily activities. (ROM_SN)
I mean I thought that sickness drags you down. But this can’t happen unless you admit it. (ROM_Sl)
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 25
3.3 Locus of control
There were no pre-defined codes for this subcategory. Overall, the interviews confirm the results of the
open questions of the survey in the fact that locus of control does not play a significant role as benefit
of adult learning in the learners’ spontaneous reports. But it is worth mentioning that we found some
statements that match the locus concept. These statements were mostly coded (or double coded)
under the category of sense of purpose in life.
The few statements that match the category locus of control include the following examples. One case
focuses on a sense of self-responsibility and the experience of control over the daily life
activities – including self-organised learning, participation in two courses and the autonomous
structuring of daily life – as opposed to the other-directed situation of employees (the interviewee is
unemployed and engages in a one-year continuing education period). The second case is an older
woman who describes her gradually taking control over her life over the past years using the
rather unusual expression of “…given me solidity”. In contrast to the first example, where a new, on-
going development towards more control in daily life is described, the second example is described in
retrospect as a process that affected the learner’s identity in its integrity as well as her connection with
society. Finally, the third example mentions control over the participant’s illness.
And I now (...) have another form of pressure, which I largely put on myself, but always with an eye on
the future, on my own future – because I’m much more flexible at the moment. If I see that I’m getting
in my own way, because I somehow feel like I need to do something for this course or this seminar
and I neglect two other things in order to do that, then I am actually responsible for myself and can – I
have a better chance of changing things or moving things around. Because I can’t take on so much
that it all falls apart. (SWI_D)
The word I would use is solidity. [...] they have given me solidity in terms of fixing my own intellectual
potential, they have given me solidity in terms of honing skills, they have given me solidity in more firm
friendships and a wider range of acquaintances, um, they have given me fun, um, they have given me
fulfilment I suppose and they have put me firmly in the part of society which is older and still with it and
wanting to be with it. (ENG_D)
With relation to what the situation was back in 2001, 2002 - compared to that, the situation has
changed. I have taken control over this illness of mine as well. (FIN_E)
Due to the very low number of statements, no codes were defined for the category locus of control. On
the basis of the quoted examples, two tentative, in-vivo codes could be suggested for eventual
further analysis: ‘Getting in my own way’ and ‘Solidity’.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 26
3.4 Social network
Codes:
- New networks
- Social interaction
- New friends
Social benefits are one of the most important and most frequently reported benefits. For several
participants, ‘Social network’ is the primary benefit. However, there are also participants who attach little
importance to social benefits.
Participants report social benefits occurring in the courses - mostly related to social interaction - as well as
social benefits going beyond the course context widening the circle of friends or the range of wider social
contacts. The three codes are often closely connected and reported as a bundle of benefits in connection
with the social aspects of courses.
New networks
Many participants mention new contacts they found in adult learning courses. Some mention networks
that include regular meetings, mutual support or common activities, others speak of people they got to
know and stay loosely in contact with for a certain time after the course. In both cases, networks seem to
be valued as essential benefits of course participation.
Participants frequently mention the opportunity to meet new people as a benefit in itself, whether or not it
may result in them finding new networks or even new friends.
Examples:
At every training you meet new people. Every participation means new acquaintances. (SLO_C)
It’s ok to chat on the street if someone you know from there passes you by. (FIN_C)
In the case of non-committal networks developing through course participation, social contact seems to
be limited to the course period. Although many participants do not disclose any detailed information on their
networks, there is some evidence suggesting that networks are often temporary. However, some
participants describe the temporary nature of their new networks in a positive light, which can be interpreted
in the sense that they enjoy making social contacts without looking for or expecting long-lasting contacts
and friendships.
In cases where contact after the course period is limited to saying hello when seeing each other on the
street, the courses have clearly not widened the social network permanently, but they may still have
widened the circle of ‘friendly strangers’, which can also have an effect on the way participants feel at home
in their surroundings.
In many cases, new social networks are reported as implying a certain commitment. Interviewees
describe new networks by highlighting specific activities, some of them suggesting that temporary
networks could lead to lasting friendships.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 27
Examples:
Yes it happened to me with courses. In all the courses that I took I always met people and I made
friends, new people. In this case, two colleagues with the same age as me, well, more or less, and
another one who is a little older than us. We met all together to study so if one of us does not come to
class, the rest of us share with him our notes. I also added more people, some young people, well... in
general... I added them to my Facebook. (ESP_N)
We also celebrate birthdays, or holidays, and everyone brings something to share and we brunch all
together, in the morning... We share food because it is expensive and there are people who cannot
afford this because of the current situation... (ESP_N)
I’ve been able to make new contacts. My circle of friends and acquaintances has grown. Information is
transmitted better as a result. I get important information and hear about what’s going on in society.
(GER_A)
Some participants mention their involvement in social media networks. This was not mentioned often,
which however does not allow for drawing any conclusions regarding the importance of social media, since
the interview guidelines did not explicitly include this sort of networks.
Example:
We had our private group and we wrote there the meeting hours and even in the night of the ball after
thousand of photos were taken you can think that they were posted on Facebook. .. I am still in touch
with some of them, but with others it’s been a while since we spoke. I have their Facebook and the
phone numbers. (ROM_T)
Although the courses were generally not work-related, a number of participants mention that social
networks that came out of liberal adult education courses were occasionally useful in their professional
contexts. Example:
The network made outside class, from talks you have with the colleagues you might find out information
about other people with whom you might collaborate or with whom you can develop a partnership as
well as a general view of the job and the field. (ROM_IM)
Another aspect of new social networks is social or cultural integration. Apart from migrants who are able
to settle with the help of their new networks, a number of interviewees mention social integration in
connection with being out of the labour market and using adult education courses to stay connected with
society. In some cases, integration takes the meaning of mutual support and self-help for people who
share a specific problem or a difficult situation.
Examples:
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 28
It did have a big impact – I think that also thanks to the courses I was able to settle better in Zurich
and integrate in my Brazilian/Swiss circle of friends. (SWI_G)
Socialising is important, because at this age... I don’t have the need yet, I have to say, because I still
have enough acquaintances, but I do know a few colleagues who went mainly to socialise. They
exchange opinions for a bit, and change their everyday environment. (SLO_F)
[...] we were all unemployed and we had time to socialize. Also, we were socializing with our teacher,
she would sometimes drink coffee with us. I made very nice friendships there. (SRB_Ž).
We became a good group of people and we have been meeting regularly until now, event if each of us
has their projects […] [Participating in the course] was very supportive and gave us the chance to
share ideas with others people. It’s very important – putting aside from learning things – it’s important
to become a group, maybe from the group can come off a new idea, it’s important women support
each other. They are in different situation but they can help each other. (ITA_D)
Finally, it is worth mentioning that there is also some ambiguity in the interviewees’ reports about social
networks. Some participants seem to enjoy the new social networks while emphasizing that they do not
have great importance. Example of a participant who sees a specific network as simultaneously important
and irrelevant:
The realisation that we’re just a group who have been on the same journey for a while now. They’re
important to me. On the other hand it’s irrelevant because I don’t go to that class to get to know people
but to educate myself. When I get to know someone it’s a nice bonus but it’s neither relevant nor
central. (SWI_E)
Participation in adult education courses do not only enable people to build new networks, it can also cause
a shift or reduction of existing social contacts, especially in cases where participants loose interest in
previous activities when discovering new topics. An example:
I’ve got a lot more acquaintances now who are also somehow engaged in writing. And I’ve actually
lost interest in people I used to socialise with, like doctors. And now, you know, I used to hang out
more with people from the medical profession and I’m bored of them now so your circle of friends can
change. They’re different people. (SWI_A)
Social interaction
Social interaction is frequently mentioned as a benefit both with regard to the interaction occurring in the
course and that occurring within the new social networks. Whereas some participants just enjoy
contacts, mutual exchange, or the group atmosphere, others mention mutual support as essential to their
learning success. Another aspect is the role of social interaction as a kind of laboratory supporting the
transfer of new competences into other contexts such as work.
Examples:
Other members of our group behaved friendly, too, and all of us helped and encouraged each other.
(CZE_A)
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 29
How can I work on something with a group. Interaction with other people. I think if you do that again
and again it stays with you and you can apply it in your job too. I can now read something or create
something at work from another perspective. (SWI_C)
It was more because of the socialising that I’d regret something, because for me, Tuesday mornings
were always course mornings and, well, we know each other well by now, and you know a lot about
each other and you have a lot of fun together. (SWI_F)
A number of participants point at the specific benefit of social interaction in the course as a way to relax,
switch off or take a step back from work. In this sense, social interaction can have work-related benefits in
the wider sense of influencing work-life balance.
Example:
It takes a long time for me to unwind after a stressful day. However, joining in with a group of people
practising yoga or jazz dance allows me to switch off completely. (GER-C)
New friends
Not surprisingly, lasting friendships are less often mentioned than social networks and social interaction.
The distinction between acquaintances and friends is in some cases difficult to make, but new friendships
seem in any case to be an important benefit for many interviewees.
Examples:
I’ve been able to make new contacts. My circle of friends and acquaintances has grown. Information is
transmitted better as a result. I get important information and hear about what’s going on in society.
(GER_A)
’The long term benefits are the emotional relationships established with those women... (ROM_Sl)
So I think that the most important benefit is the fact that I’ve developed new friendships, and through
these I’ve got to know myself better. (ROM_AS)
it’s nice- at my stage of life- to be close to somebody, it’s nice to make friends, it’s interesting to make
friends with people who are younger than you and who are treating you as an equal. (ENG_R)
I’ve met some good friends through it [...] lifelong friends (ENG_V)
3.5 Changes in the educational experiences
Codes:
- Joy of learning
- Motivation to learn
- Learning skills
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 30
- Motivating others to learn
- Sense of achievement
Interview results for this benefit category show that changes in their educational experience play a crucial
role for many participants. ‘Joy of learning’, ‘Motivation to learn’, and ‘Sense of achievement’ often seem to
be intertwined so that these benefits are often difficult to distinguish. The way of speaking about changes
illustrates the fact that benefits are typically reported in bundles, like in the following example:
So for us these courses are a way to feel useful and to gain self-confidence, because we see that we
can do it. Some of us learn faster, others slowly; we struggle, but the joy is immense when we see that
we were able to press the button and make something happen that we understand.... and we are
making important steps. (ROM_NV)
In some cases, changes in educational experience are reported as the experience of becoming aware of
one’s own learning ability, in other cases participants describe an on-going personal development which
consists of having new experiences through learning.
A noticeable aspect of this category is the frequent connection between the benefits of ‘Changes in the
educational experience’ and the voluntary nature of participation in learning activities.
Some interviewees report increased informal learning as the result of participation in courses. This
interesting aspect was not explicitly asked in the interviews, so that we cannot analyse it in depth here, but
it might be worth keeping in mind for further research.
Joy of learning
Many statements provide explicit or implicit evidence of joy of learning when participants describe the
learning process in a positive light. These descriptions focus partly on the learning process –
emphasizing the diversity of methods or interesting topics -, and partly on the skills and competences or
activities participants acquire or perform in the courses.
Examples:
..they taught us in such way that we felt good, we had fun, we laughed, we made jokes but at the
same time we learned so much in such a short period of time so the way in which they taught us was
very efficient and I really enjoyed it. (ROM_T)
I learnt nice new things because of some repetition and some tricks. An example is the arranging of
dry plants using a space – you can do it for example on a piece of a dry wood from a tree or on a
piece of a log. I actually create ‘my nature’ in my home in this way. I enjoy the shapes and colours of
my models. (CZE_A)
Firstly, it’s the joy of being able to learn the language in itself and secondly, it’s the fact that I’m
fulfilling a wish. It’s something I always wanted to do but I’d never got around to finding the time for it
until now. (GER_A)
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 31
In some cases, participants explain their joy as being the result of voluntary participation in liberal adult
learning as opposed to previous school experiences.
Example:
But I’m not saying that it’s like being in school when you don’t like doing something. Instead, I’ve
voluntarily signed up to do this course and I enjoy doing it. […]… Having fun while learning. Yes.
(GER_C).
Motivation to learn; Motivating others to learn
‘Motivation to learn’ seems to play a crucial role for almost all participants, although they do not always
mention their motivation explicitly. Often, motivation is described when participants emphasize the fact that
their course participation is voluntary and that they would not take the course if they did not want to learn
or if the course did not suit their needs.
Several participants explain how one course led them to the next one because a positive course
experience triggered their motivation to continue learning. Of course, that learning does not necessarily
have to continue in the form of taking another course, it could also be informal learning in cases where
participants do not specify their further plans.
Another observation we can make is that some participants speak of their motivation in a generalized
way, suggesting it has become a personal feature, while others make a connection with specific
competences.
Examples:
What is very important at our age is that we want to learn – we’re not forced to do it like a child who
doesn’t want to go to school but has to (....) But you must know that we take it very seriously and really
do learn. (RO_V)
I am experiencing this very intensively, because I have been doing this for two years, and this is the
third one... and I am very motivated... and I want to learn it... I like it really... (ESP_J)
It had been a number of years since I’d done any courses [...] once I got through the first year, and
looked at the second year, I thought ‘yeah I can do that’ [...] and I wouldn’t hesitate to do another.
(ENG_L)
Yes, it increased my desire to learn foreign languages so I can know what I sing about... (SRB_J).
Well... the motivation that you may have is like... for example, I learned how to handle computers here,
a little bit, then I knew that one thing brings you to another thing... and so you take a course and then
you take another one... and you are learning and you feel very happy, otherwise... next time you will
not [take a course]. (ESP_R)
It is an effort to be perfect, I take learning as an opportunity to train my brainpower to be able to be
active and not to get old. It becomes more and more important when a person is getting old. At the
same time it is a pleasant way to spend your leisure time. I like learning new things. (CZE_A)
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 32
I now motivate myself, so to speak, I want to do it on my own. I don’t really care but there is a bit of
pressure because you want to make progress as a group. You like to be good at what you’re doing
and that definitely helps. (SWI_C)
When participants talk about motivating others to learn, they typically seem to draw connections between
their own motivation and their willingness to motivate others to learn. In some cases, motivating others
to learn is embedded in social or civic activities.
Examples:
Then I have a large number of opportunities to talk about such questions in the trade union sector
where I volunteer as an official. […] And I pass on what I experience there or use it to motivate other
people to attend such courses. […]. That’s definitely one of my intentions. […]. ‘This is what I
experienced and learnt by attending. Isn’t that something you want to learn as well?’ (GER_B)
In that manner I motivated others a little bit and they feel similar, very good... (SLO_A)
Several participants mention positive learning experiences in the voluntary setting of liberal adult learning
as opposed to previous school experiences. They describe these positive learning experiences as the
source of their enhanced motivation to learn. In some cases, new learning experiences made as an adult
seems to cause a fundamental shift in the way participants approach learning – which can include a re-
definition of the personal biography as learners.
Examples:
I decided to take the course because I found out from somewhere that it’s a course [pause] where
you’re allowed to lose track of the rhythm. You see, I have a problem in this area which came from my
mother once saying to me, ‘You’re as stiff as a board and there’s nothing you can do about it.’ And my
headmaster also once said, ‘You’ve got no ear for music! I’m giving you a D!’ That’s made me feel so
unsure of myself for my entire life. And then I read that it’s okay or even a good thing to lose track of
the rhythm here. Since joining the course, I’ve lost the rhythm an awful lot but I’ve found it just as often
again as well. And that’s given me a great deal of confidence. Definitely [pause] in [pause] my life as a
whole as well. I’ve learnt that you can fall out of step but that it’s also possible to keep dealing with it.
(GER_A)
It’s just that ..... studying as an adult – it’s slightly different because you’re with like-minded people.
When you do Yoga you’re basically with a group of people who have the same goals. There are no
rebels like you may have had at school, or even in your working life. You’re a group of like-minded
people who may not be of the same abilities but want to achieve the same thing. And that’s to learn
something and have fun doing it. That makes for a pleasant atmosphere. And creates a very positive
experience. Isn’t that right? I don’t have to be perfect because I’m here of my own accord – but
basically there are also people out there who have a set ambition, applying it to their everyday, and to
a certain extent have the same passion. Or who want to achieve the same as you do. (SWI_C)
Learning skills
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 33
Learning skills are not often mentioned as a benefit, but a number of interviewees describe hom important
learning skills are in their opinion. Some interview examples suggest a close connection between
motivation and learning skills that works both ways: motivation helps people develop learning skills, and
the experience of being able to learn enhances their motivation.
Examples:
...we’re trying to learn, we’re like sponges trying to soak everything in, even though it’s harder at this
age. Some of us learn faster, others slowly; we struggle ... In the same way, some of us learn words
in the English language faster, others slowly, maybe we forget them faster than we learned them....
(RO_NV)
It makes you more motivated. You could say. Because you approach something new tentatively, not
quite sure if it’s a good idea or not. And when you realise ‘I can learn that, I can learn something new’,
then that’s satisfying and you think: ‘So I could do this, too, or even this’. (SWI_F)
Sense of achievement
Many interviewees mention a sense of achievement, either as a general feeling or in the pragmatic sense
of experiencing learning progress, which can in turn enhance further learning motivation, joy of learning,
inspiration or self-confidence regarding one’s own learning skills.
Learners report a sense of achievement in various contexts: for example as an aspect of their personal
development, as evidence that ageing does not mean losing one’s learning skills, or as proof that the
person stands out from the crowd. In the latter case (third example below), learning something unusual can
for instance make a difference in an environment where everybody has similar professional competences.
Examples:
The most important aspect for me is that I’m working to improve myself and my abilities, [pause] that I
have a sense of achievement and that I feel motivated, that is to say that I feel motivated in my
general life. (GER_F)
Kind of like inspiration when you notice that you succeed in something that you thought was difficult or
almost impossible. (laughing) (FIN_D)
It’s the personal, you know, sense of achievement, like ‘now I can, I know stuff, almost one hundred
Japanese characters. Wow!’ That’s a bigger success than delivering my 27
th
draft on ‘European
payment transactions’, which is of course very important in my job, but doesn’t really do it for me
personally. (SWI_C)
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 34
3.6 Mental well-being
Codes
- Well-being in daily life
- Well-being at work
- Good spirits
- Coping
- Quality of life
- Sense of purpose
- Staying active
Most interviewees report benefits that belong to the category of ‘Mental well-being’. One participant
formulated this benefit in a radical way:
At my age I believe that learning is health. (SLO_F)
The others identify a wide range of specific contexts where adult learning courses have an impact on their
well-being.
Apart from the code ‘Sense of purpose’, all codes were used in the analyses, but ‘Well-being at work’ and
‘Good spirit’ appear very rarely in the analyses. The predominant codings in this benefit category are clearly
in ‘Well-being in daily life’ and ‘Coping’.
‘Quality of life’ and ‘Keeping the mind active’ also seem rather important, but may not be coded in some
cases because of being of the overlap with ‘Well-being in daily life’.
Well-being in daily life
‘Well-being in daily life’ is often related to a general feeling of satisfaction or happiness. Specific
characteristics used in the interviews are for instance relaxation, concentration on a specific task or topic,
stimulation and activity. Some participants also mention changes in their daily awareness and aesthetic
perception, which they value as a benefit improving the quality of their life.
‘Well-being in daily life’ seems to have three points of focus: sense of balance or harmony, animation and
stimulation, and (aesthetic) enrichment.
Examples of ‘Well-being’ in the sense of balance:
I find this quite astonishing when I’m painting, for example. Painting simply makes everything else
vanish from my mind. I’d say that this is because I feel completely relaxed. Because when I’m painting,
all my problems somehow, I don’t know, they somehow disappear. I’m concentrating on painting and
that’s it. (GER_A)
Yes, it is quite possible that courses can have an impact on your health. In any case, it distracts me. I
am, you could say I’m suffering, and have a certain disability – it’s my health, and this is a complete
escape. (SWI_F)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 35
I find it easier to switch off completely than when I’m doing something else. The question is what do
you get out of sitting around doing nothing, drinking beer or lazing in front of the TV? […] Somehow it
seems to work better now that I’m attending these courses. (GER_B)
Examples of the animating or stimulating aspects of this benefit:
They’ve helped me to feel alive, useful, to feel as I did in my youth. (ROM_V)
I just feel very stimulated. And it makes me feel good when I – because otherwise I’m at home too
much, just lying around – it makes me feel good and I think there’s still something there, or when
there’s something new, I meet new people, my life is active, you know? And that’s good for me.
(SWI_B)
Yes, yes, I need something like that. I need to do different things. Then I feel complete. I enjoy being
able to change from one topic to another. Focusing on just one topic wouldn’t do me any good at all.
You see, it’s all about this sense of mental well-being that comes from being stimulated in lots of ways
and satisfying your curiosity. (GER_C)
Keeping mind active (ENG_R)
Examples of aesthetic enrichment:
I was always in a rush. Now I take time to look at the beauty that surrounds me and I have the
impression that some of the girls noticed these things at a younger age than I did, and I appreciate this
and there’s a joy in my soul because they see what I saw at 40 sooner and that is because I think they
are wiser than I was at their age, they value more the things in life. (RO_SI)
Well-being at work
The code ‘Well-being at work’ was used very rarely. Work was in fact mentioned by some participants, but
they mostly focused on work-life balance, which was assigned either to ‘Well-being in daily life’, ‘Qality of
life’ or to ‘Work-related benefits’.
Work-life balance seems to play a role for a number of participants, even if they rarely use this term. More
often, they speak of ‘switching off’, relaxing or coping with work-related stress, which could also be coded
as “well-being in daily life. One example, where it is mentioned explicitly:
It was a complete change from what I do in my day job. So it was a form of relaxation and trying to
redress the work-live balance in my life. (ENG_L)
Good spirit
This code was hardly used in the analyses, which may partly have to do with its being very similar to ‘Well-
being in daily life’. One of the few examples:
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 36
The fact that I know that I’ll meet nice people there. You leave, you go home in good spirits. And, of
course, these good spirits help me in my daily life. (GER_F)
Coping
Liberal adult learning can obviously help people cope with stress, personal difficulties, illness, isolation,
or other challenging conditions. Participants mention coping benefits in connection with activities and
competences they trained in courses (like yoga, handling conflicts or identifying priorities), and with social
contacts or exchanges they had (e.g. giving mutual support, sharing specific information and knowledge,
or comparing yourself with other people, thereby putting your own difficulties into perspective).
Examples of coping with daily stress:
Yes, the ability to identify priorities and to think about whether any problems or things that make me
angry are going to matter in ten thousand years. […] Yes. And when I think about that, I have to laugh
about it to myself and when I decide that the answer is ‘no’, I feel a bit calmer. (GER_A).
I can say that I felt calmness, it is like attending yoga, after choir I felt satisfaction, that I am fill with
that, happier and in better mood. After a hard day I enjoy it, I release stress and negative energy.
(SRB_J)
Examples of coping with physical illness:
… it is really nice, it really helped me to overcome different times, because with this illness you go
through many stages and, of course each has his problems, but when you see that the other solves
them, because inevitable you hear everyone’s problems because we talk amongst ourselves and are
open, you think that maybe my problem isn’t as big as others. (ROM_SI)
I started sewing when I had cancer surgery. And ever since I haven’t been right so I thought I’ll make
myself some clothes to cover up my disability, you know. That’s how I started. It was a wonderful
distraction from the real problem. (SWI_F)
Examples of coping with burn-out or mental difficulties:
Yes, I feel happier. Because if I did not come to the literature circle, I would be sitting on the sofa,
doing nothing. But now since I have to come, I put on make-up, I take a shower, and I come... and you
feel happier... You do not have time to be depressed or things like that... (ESP_S)
I was just so exhausted. It’s probably no longer an option to go back into my old profession. But it’s got
to be doing me some good, hasn’t it? Just for my health as it is at the moment. (SWI_B)
Examples of coping with age:
Well... in one way or another, yes... because in the beginning of the course, you learn... then... then an
important fact to me is that you develop your mind... that is... you are not just a retired person who just
watches TV and goes for a walk... You make your brain work, and this really helps you... (ESP_J)
Because... I think that... and especially when you are old like me... You need to keep your brain
working... because there is the risk... to suffer from Alzheimer... and maybe even this way I can get it
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 37
as well... but it is very important to keep your brain active, I have heard this many times... it is very
important... (ESP_D)
Quality of life
Only a few codings were identified in this category. However, there are many examples of codings in the
other aspects of the benefit ‘Mental-well-being’ which have a close connection to quality of life.
Examples:
I naturally take a more active interest in the subject. Like how I look at a magazine or how I act at a
concert or an exhibition, I’m much, much more active, much more aware of the technical side of it all. I
feel that before I was, not superficial as such, but it is a depth issue I think, do you know what I mean?
(SWI_B)
Well, if I had to read only technical literature, for example, just that, then I’d probably feel worse, and
because we always do something a bit new, I just find it exciting all the time. (SWI_C)
Staying active
This side of ‘Mental well-being’ was mentioned especially by participants who are not on the labour
market as a benefit on its own.
Examples:
“Attending seminars like these means that you’re constantly being confronted with new people, new
ways of working and new topics. And I believe that it goes some way towards helping me to keep on
the ball. (GER_E).
Also, it means that you’re always involved and you don’t feel as if you’ve been left in the dark, you feel
in the thick of things and not as if you’re lagging behind. (GER_E).
‘Staying active’ is an inductive code which was added in the course of the interview analysis. It comes close
to the code ‘Well-being in daily life’ but emphasises the specific aspect of stimulation.
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Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 38
3. 7 Physical health and health behaviour
Codes:
- physical well-being
Physical health and health behaviour do not belong to the predominant benefits reported by the
interviewees. Some of them mention physical health mainly, but not exclusively in connection with health-
related, sports or yoga courses. The benefits reported here mostly concern general physical well-being,
fitness, and coping with pain or tension.
In any case, I think that the breathing exercises are relaxing and that they and the walking provide me
with a bit of endurance training. All in all, I’ve become a little more composed. (GER_A)
Of I come back to the issue of health, certainly this is a great gain for us. As I already mentioned, we
have theoretical courses with the doctor but we also have practical courses where we do daily
exercise. ... However, we do exercises adapted to our age; we’re developing muscle tone, and we
sweat. (RO_NV)
The practice of yoga gave me specially health benefits, by now I couldn’t give up with yoga practice, it
helps me to prevent different aches. Therefore is a very positive experience, I can recommend it to
other people, I keep me young and healthy. (ITA_G)
A number of participants emphasize the relationship between physical and mental well-being. Examples:
I lose pain of my back and both my physical and mental form has improved. (CZE_E)
I feel good in my body and, I mean this subjectively of course, I feel good in my mind. So, it’s a state of
[pause] satisfaction. No pain, feeling healthy and capable of fulfilling my potential. Thanks to the
courses. (GER_C)
… it is a way of relaxing, I relaxed physically as well as mentally, it helped me with my posture, this
was very important. … And I felt very good, not only about my health, any kind of sport is helpful.
(ROM_T)
Health behaviour
This category had the codes: ‘Health consciousness’, ‘Health skills’, ‘Health benefits’, and ‘Medical
prevention and rehabilitation’. All these codes were rarely assigned.
Examples:
Another course we attend now and I think it is very important that we are informed about medical
issues: how to eat, what medicines we should avoid, how to avoid medical excesses, how to live and
eat naturally. (RO_V)
Each of us also does exercises every morning at home, as we learned at the course, to lose stiffness.
(RO_NV)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 39
When I enrolled in yoga, I started to take care of my diet. It’s not a drastic difference, but I realized of
how little things one needs to give up and at the other side gets a lot. (SRB_M).
And someone told me about Matrix too. It is a form of self-healing, that’s quite quick to take effect and
anything that’s quick is always good, and relaxing. It’s a simple technique that you can pass on to
others so they can use it themselves. (SWI_E).
Oh my health, yes. Because I bake my own pastry at home and they are freshly baked, so I don’t need
to buy a pastry that has been, maybe mixed with, um, donkey pee (laughs). I make them and I know
the ingredients. (ENG_T)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 40
3.8 Work-related benefits
Codes:
- Further education
- Instrumental outcomes
- Career options
- Job related skills
- Job hunting
- Efficiency & increase in job-performance
- Appreciation & recognition of skills
- Sideline activities
Although very few participants attended liberal adult learning courses explicitly for work-related reasons,
many of them identified work-related benefits of their courses, often but not exclusively referring to
transferable competences such as languages, ICT, communication or social skills.
Most of the economically active participants do at least consider possible effects of liberal adult learning
on their working life, even if they do not expect a direct impact. But some, on the contrary, emphasize that
the courses they attend in their leisure time have nothing to do with work. The not-work-relatedness can
even be seen as a precious aspect of liberal adult learning, like in the following example:
Well, I don't always have to follow pure utilitarianism - just doing useful things all the time - it's so
boring and, I don't know, just turns me off somehow. Isn't that right? Well, if I had to read only
technical literature, for example, just that, then I'd probably feel worse, and because we always do
something a bit new, I just find it exciting all the time. (SWI_C)
But even participants like the one quoted above seem able and willing to identify indirect effects of liberal
adult learning on their professional life, like enhanced intellectual flexibility.
The participants that can clearly see relationships between the courses they attended and their working life
point especially at job-related skills, career options or job hunting, efficiency and an increase in job-
performance.
Further education, instrumental outcome and appreciation & recognition of skills appear to be less
important benefits for the interviewees.
Sideline activities are mentioned by both employed and retired people.
Further education
Very few interviewees mentioned that the courses they attended encouraged them to strive for a formal
degree, which is not surprising since the course topics were generally non-vocational. But there are
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 41
examples of participants who used courses for this purpose, typically attending courses that teach general
or transversal skills, which can be applied in several contexts, both work-related or personal. Example:
I found the project management class useful because that was what I was doing at the time and I
wanted to know more about how to do my job as well as I could (…) The initial idea was to learn as
much information as possible and to do my job better. I don’t know how relevant it is that I received a
diploma at the end. (RO_IM)
Instrumental outcomes
This code was rarely used. However, some participants mention instrumental outcomes such as
certificates or new products they were able to create due to their course participation. But many of these
outcomes seem either not to be work-related or to have been coded as ‘External criteria’. One of the rare
examples coded as instrumental outcomes:
[…] after the evaluation we received a certificate which confirmed the course... So I transferred it a
little into doing something which would bring me material benefits. (ROM_SN)
Career options and job hunting
While some participants hope for a better job or take courses with the aim of improving their options,
others describe the connection with work the other way round: Having acquired competences without any
work-related aims – like foreign languages, for instance – some participants think about the possibility of
using these in their professional context. Another important aspect is more general, when participants
assume that training their learning skills or proving their willingness and motivation to learn might
eventually widen their career options. Examples:
I have got a possibility to have a better job. I can apply for a better job. (CZE_C)
In my case the focus was that I already had the competences and I just wanted to get a certificate to
prove them. (ESP_J)
In any case, I can definitely say that I’m more open and that my future plans include spending some
time abroad. (GER_G)
I consider I am at the age where I assimilate information in a more open way and in a bigger quantity
and I am eager to learn as much as possible so I think that is he motivation I have for learning and in
fields that will help me build the career I want. (ROM_IM)
Job-related skills
Most statements describing how participants could apply new skills at work seem to refer to transferable
competences such as working methods or languages. Some participants also mention more job-specific
skills, which are mostly related to the course topic.
Examples:
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In the long run I learned new things, interesting things for my job, or for my personality... (ESP_M)
Firstly I managed to structure my work better, to apply the theoretical part that I learned in University
and to give it a more practical meaning than what it has had so far... (ROM_IM)
During the course I participated in various interactive methods related to adult education that were
really special. I learned a great deal from that and I apply them now. (ROM_AA)
The positive side of these trainings was, now I just concentrated on one, that I actually could use the
technique we mastered in the courses in my work right away. (SLO_C)
Efficiency and increase in job performance
These benefit codes are described partly in connection with competencies and experiences that come
out of liberal adult learning.
Examples:
This happened in 2009-2012 so there are three years in which I saw the evolution and the fact that
yes, these principles I care about are seen differently by my students. I implemented this after a
certain fashion with the civics teacher and with the French teacher and we became more disciplined
because we all came together on the object of this education for democracy. (RO_AA)
It meant in a professional way, some new ideas for working with a large number of participants
appeared. (SRB_V)
Another aspect proves to be quite important: Participants who are able to establish or keep a good work-
life balance or to improve their mental well-being in general through liberal adult education often report
indirect benefits in their working life.
Example:
Yes, of course. Because feeling a sense of well-being is essential for feeling well throughout the day,
for being able to do a good job at work. (GER_C)
Apart from specific skills, work-life balance and well-being, social contacts are another benefit from liberal
adult education courses that can have an impact on participants’ efficiency and job-performance. This is the
case for instance when a participant meets people with similar interests or professionals from their own
sector in a leisure course.
Examples:
I met people with similar interests in a very stimulating context, which supported me in focusing what I
really want from my life and helped me to find solutions also for my professional plans. (ITA_H)
With the Portuguese course - my motivation was for private reasons, but it has had an impact because
I've met people through it. I am an engineer myself and got to know other, older Swiss engineers, and
I could talk to them about various issues, like, how Swiss companies work or why they behave like
they do now and not otherwise. And they were able to help me in certain situations or they'd give me
the odd tip; ‘Why don't you try this, or this?’ (SWI_G)
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Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 43
Appreciation and recognition of skills
This code was rarely used in the analyses. One of the few examples where a participant feels that her skills
were appreciated:
For instance, recently I’ve had a bit, I’ve achieved a bit of a coup, I’ve had a double-page spread in a
really reputable magazines about my trip to Patagonia last year, complete with pictures I took myself,
and I’m not a photographer really, and it’s been well received apparently, so that’s kind of pleasing.
(ENG_D)
Sideline activities
Sideline activities as an additional income option or as an opportunity for retired persons. In some
cases, sideline activities are undertaken for pleasure but without ruling out the possibility that they may
eventually evolve into a job option, freelance activity or independent business. Liberal adult education can
in this sense widen individual long-term professional opportunities without having an explicit work-
related focus.
Examples:
Yes, based on this course I introduced an optional course of rhetoric and speech at the institution,
which is still happening, every Saturday afternoon... So I transferred it a little into doing something
which would bring me material benefits. (ROM_SN)
I guess longer term, I could quite see myself going off and starting my own business, freelance or
whatever. I could see me taking it further certainly. (ENG_L),
If I wanted to do a money-making opportunities, I could do that as well, I could do some business,
you know? (ENG_T).
Similarly, sideline activities can be seen as options that could lead to civic voluntary engagement.
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 44
3.9 Tolerance
Codes:
- Cultural knowledge
- Tolerance
The only pre-defined code here is ‘Cultural knowledge’. But a series of statements were assigned to the
category ‘Tolerance’ without being coded more in detail. On the basis of national qualitative analyses these
statements can be attributed to the code ‘Cultural diversity’, which was located in the template under the
category ‘Development of benefits/other participants’. This code designs tolerance as a benefit that results
from social interaction in a heterogeneous group (i.e. a multicultural, mixed age group of learners with very
different backgrounds).
Cultural knowledge
Cultural knowledge is often, but not exclusively, mentioned in connection with culture-related course
topics, such as languages, humanities, and arts, or with political education. Additionally, some participants
mention cultural knowledge that is acquired as a side-product of other topics.
The benefit of tolerance has a strong connection to notions like difference and otherness. While some
participants keep their descriptions of this issue general, others describe specific differences that mirror
regional or national aspects of culture and multiculturalism.
Examples of tolerance as a result of cultural knowledge:
Well, doing something like this definitely promotes or confirms your respect of others … of other
opinions, of other cultures, of other people. (GER_B)
I am more flexible, and I go beyond “positive discrimination”. This term was at some point really bad
in my mind and I learned how to overcome it. I developed a certain flexibility, a different way of
communicating, the part about democracy which also leads to accepting new cultural values because
democracy is different for the Muslims and the Romanians; it’s the same principles but different
actions”.[...] “They emphasized the values of the Roma, setting aside all the debates and going
beyond the controversy of their situation. The Roma have their good parts. (ROM_AA)
There is time to talk about culture and what’s acceptable and what things will appear rude to
someone who isn’t Finnish but not to a Finn- it broadens your mind as well. (ENG_R)
Well because it’s not just the dancing. Well. At the same time you learn about the culture and the
Arabic music, it’s so very different in comparison to western music. (FIN_C)
Some participants describe tolerance as sort of generalised competence they acquired in connection
with liberal adult learning. I some cases, participants relate this benefit to the workplace context,
although there is no direct connection between the course topic and work.
Example (referring to a course in Japanese):
We have a lot to do with international companies, and the course helps me there because I am more
aware that different cultures work differently. And you're more aware that when you're in an
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 45
international environment you have to know that what's right for one person isn't necessarily right for
the next. (SWI_C)
Apart from the cases mentioned above, ‘Cultural knowledge’ is also mentioned as a benefit that includes
the connotation of tolerance without explicitly mentioning it.
Tolerance
Some participants mention tolerance as related to the experience of social interaction in a
heterogeneous group.
Examples:
Even though we got along well with the other participants, still they were foreign people to me. I had
to work with them intensively so I became more open and tolerant. (CZE_B)
Because one’s mixing with a random group of people- because Slough has a very mixed population
and the course represents a good cross section of that- so we’ve got a Hindu, a Muslim, a couple of
old folks like me, a few young ones, men and women, different ages [...] to listen carefully to what
other people have done [...] so I think it hones one’s people’s skills. (ENG_D)
The class was attended by at least the 20 per cent non-native Italians, but the confrontation never
became a clash, it was very interesting to see. I liked the foreigner’s approach to our language.”
(ITA_B)
This way of speaking about cultural knowledge points at participants’ awareness that heterogeneous
learning groups can challenge their sense of tolerance and that it requires efforts to understand each
other.
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 46
3.10 Trust
No codes defined.
This benefit was hardly ever mentioned in the interviews. The very few participants who do describe an
increase in trust refer to the course context, i.e. the teachers’ competence or the competences of other
group participants.
Example:
And I think I realized that there were a lot of competent people. I gained faith in the competence of
other people. (SRB_T)
3.11 Civic and social engagement
Codes:
- Participation in society
- Interest and knowledge of politics
This benefit category is among the less frequently mentioned. Moreover, the results suggest that civic
benefits might be more closely related either to the course topics or to specific providers than most of
the other benefit categories. The interviewees that emphasize civic benefits typically refer to courses in
political education or to courses offered by trade unions or other socially and politically engaged
organizations. This also allows us to assume a connection between civic benefits and individual attitudes
towards society.
Participation in society
Some participants talk about participation in society in connection with liberal adult education. Those who
do so especially point to voluntary activities, moral duties or a sense of responsibility for their
community. Examples:
Amongst other things, you know that our group of intergenerational members work with the schools,
and I go with them. We go and we exchange information; we help them in various activities, and
they help us, so it’s an amazing thing. What impresses me is the fact that we are active. (ROM_V)
I go together with the members of the association to help these seniors in their housework or in
collecting and editing their books and manuscripts, or helping them do their shopping. (ROM_AS)
And other things have come out of them. For instance, out of the writing classes and the Welsh class,
some of whose members coincide, I’ve set up a quiz team and we do charity events. (ENG_D)
We are trying to bring back into the collective memory all the history of Timisoara, its architecture, the
beautiful symbol of the rose – you know the books we edited, and this is how we believe we can
transmit the memories of Timisoara to the next generations. For us it’s a debt of conscience, a moral
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 47
debt to keep the goods and acquisitions which were around in our grandparents’ time alive, and to
maintain their continuity: these things that we inherited ourselves and must pass on. (ROM_NV)
Interest and knowledge in politics
One of the rarest benefits reported in the interviews is interest and knowledge in politics.
One example:
You see how active they are at all the debates and how they really try to understand thoroughly what
is happening, what our politicians tell us. (ROM_NV)
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 48
3.12 Civic competence
Codes:
- Change of attitudes
- Shared expertise
- Sense of responsibility
- Advocacy for political convictions
- Sense of community
The national reports contain only a few examples of ‘Civic competence’. One benefit code was not used at
all: ‘Sense of community’.
Change of attitudes
This benefit was reported in a few cases, referring, in the first example, to democracy, and in the second to
the development of a more critical attitude to consumer goods that were produced under exploitatory
conditions, and in the third to a critical attitude to consumerism.
I am more flexible, that I go beyond “positive discrimination”. This term was at some point really bad
in my mind and I learned how to overcome it. I developed certain flexibility, a different way of
communicating, the part about democracy which also leads to accepting new cultural values because
democracy is different for the Muslims and the Romanians; it’s the same principles but different
actions. And professionally, there were the methods and the way of looking differently at an individual.
(RO_AA)
How can I put it? ... That it brought about a change for me? I may have raised my standards, too.
Because to a certain extent I can do things exactly how I want and how I think is right, and that's
made me a bit more critical, especially with clothes. I'm really critical when it comes to shopping, I
can no longer bring myself to buy cheaply made stuff. (SWI_F)
Daoism and things like that make you think. We in the West are terribly consumerist and so back to
nature [...]it gives you another perspective. (ENG_H)
Shared expertise
This code was rare as well. The very few examples from this code refer to either specific activities or the
experience of being with people who have something in common.
Examples:
It is a book in which each of us found herself and we underlined paragraphs and said look this is me
and it was nice to see that all of us talked about the book and each of us found a piece of herself or a
familiar situation here. (RO_SI)
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 49
You know that our group of intergenerational members work with the schools, and I go with them.
We go and we exchange information; we help them in various activities, and they help us, so it’s an
amazing thing. (RO_V)
Sense of responsibility
Some interviewees describe their willingness to engage in their community, in other social contexts or in
society in general. They seem to show an interest not only in politics, but also in the political meaning of
societal issues.
Examples:
Well, when I see that something needs to be done, I’m happy to help out so my answer would be
‘yes’. I’m actually developing my own seminars for the trade union. […]. At the moment, I’m doing
something for (provider), which is an organization for the older generation. (GER_B).
Of course, it’s always quite good to be able to see yourself from a distance, isn’t it? […] What would
you have done? Or what do you think of that? Or how would you proceed with that? A society is
always changing. And there I’m a part of society and want to move with it. (GER_B).
We are trying to bring all the history of Timisoara back into collective memory … , and this is how we
believe we can transmit the memories of Timisoara to the next generations. For us it’s a debt of
conscience, a moral debt to keep the goods and acquisitions that were around in our grandparents’
time alive, and to maintain their continuity: these things we inherited and must pass on. (ROM_NV)
I had never done volunteer work before. But when I came to (Project for young adults), when I
noticed, how everything works, I became an active volunteer in many things. I repaired computers for
the project to help all Slovenians that can’t afford a computer to get one. I teach others, not only at
PLYA, but also my acquaintances and friends at the village. (SLO_H)
Yes, when I think about myself, I think that I have become more responsible due to the course. I am
more responsible towards my duties. (SRB_D)
Advocacy for political convictions
Advocacy appears for instance in the context of courses that are aimed at promoting democracy and
tolerance. An example:
Well, first of all, you never stop learning how to give a reasoned argument. The benefits are being
able to speak freely, never forgetting how to do that, being able to exert yourself in a group, learning
how to take the lead and how to introduce a topic into such a group […], And in our socio-cultural
centre, we have open youth work and an office for the Bündnis für Demokratie und Toleranz (Alliance
for Democracy and Tolerance). I have of course been able to give a lot of impetus to the work carried
out here. As I’ve already said, ‘It’s a topic where I can [incomprehensible] for the first time.’ (GER_E)
3.13 Family-related benefits
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Codes:
- Coping with parental role
- Providing information for family
Family-related benefits were mentioned only by a few participants in the international sample.
Coping with parental role
The interviewees who did report this sort of benefit referred mostly to the coping aspect, albeit often in a
wider sense than the term ‘Coping with parental role’ suggests. Some interviewees report a development
and improvement of the mutual relationships within families, encompassing all generations.
Examples:
I can talk with my sons more than before... because they got their university degrees, and now I can
talk about more things... (ESP_S)
I... my job... I retired last year, so now my son has a company and I help him... Tuesday and
Wednesday I go to help him a little bit... (ESP_R)
Yes, I feel more prepared to help my daughter... and I do not know... a little rejuvenation... not
physically, but mentally... (ESP_N)
I have tried to use these ‘word manipulations’ with my family and my child, so we can understand
each other, get along and be on the same page in problems which need resolving. (ROM_SN)
Improvement of family life. Yoga really calms a person down and when he or she is calm, it is easier
to accept behavioural disorders of others. (SLO_G)
Another sort of family-related benefits stems from specific competences enabling parents (or, like
in the second example, grandparents) to support families in different ways:
Because my children, they love home-baked cake, because since then, it’s like, we bake cakes every
week now. It’s good to have fresh pasty at home. (ENG_T)
But it is very important for my grandchildren that I can do something and also have the time to use it.
For little Lea I sew Princess skirts, Cinderella and Snow White dresses and I make dance skirts for
her and her two friends, etc. I also filmed my three grandsons in their various stages of growth, and
gave them edited videos with sound as confirmation presents. I made each of my daughters photo
books of our Christmas holidays. They all really enjoy getting things like that. These things take a lot
of time, which a grandmother has plenty of. (SWI_F)
Providing information
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 51
Very few examples mention the benefit of providing information to the family. In these cases, there
is a connection with health behaviour.
Examples:
I’ve already told my daughter: ‘Don’t give the children salami, hot-dogs or sandwich meat’ – because
that’s what we’ve been taught. And there are many other things I consider very important. (RO_V)
And it is not only good for me, my family benefits from it too, especially my children. I have learned
something that will keep their health too, and also I have more time to devote to them and of course
to myself. (SRB_M).
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 52
3.14 Skills and competences
26
The benefit category ‘Skills and competences’ was deliberately kept open, which caused one researcher
to name it an ‘omnibus. Indeed, this metaphor aptly captures the openness and diversity of this category.
The interviewees do in fact report all sorts of skills, many of which are obviously related to the course topic -
ICT and language skills, yoga, dancing, sewing, photography, creative writing and so on - while others do
not have any explicit connection to the topic. Given the variety of skills, it is not possible to give an overview
that would cover all the skills mentioned in the interviews.
Interestingly, most participants do not just enumerate the skills they acquired but they tend to
contextualise them, explaining why a specific skill is a benefit or how they transfer and use the skills in
their lives. Some examples:
I am able to understand Spanish so I believe that this fact can help me in various moments.
(CZE_B)
I took Catalan because it is important to... your own language and to understand that it is
important to speak and to know how to explain yourself in a correct way... and then I took it
because I had the level C and I thought that it would be interesting to have a higher level...
(ESP_M)
My IT knowledge has improved. Today it is a very desirable qualification. (CZE_D)
Furthermore, I began to read news on foreign websites, newspapers and some interesting things.
When I watch TV shows and movies I understand much more without looking at the subtitles, the
song also, I even took the lyrics and translated them. (SRB_Ž).
Yes, certain techniques of negotiation helped me at my present job. (ROM_SN)
Apart from skills that relate directly to the course topic, there is a range of skills that are – in the participants’
opinion – topic-related but in a less obvious way. These skills seem to be essential for many participants,
even if they are not likely to appear in any course announcement.
26
The code list and analysis guidelines for the interviews labelled this category as „competences“. The
category was renamed in the course of the analysis to “skills and competences”.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 53
Examples:
Dancing changes you, your respect for others - and you learn how to respect others, because
otherwise you can't dance together ... and how to talk to one another - so dancing indirectly teaches
you a whole load of things. Because it's just that dancing is not just about learning steps, but it also
teaches you a whole host of social skills. As well as rhythm and coordination. (SWI_G)
Actually, the only impact the rhetoric course had on me was actually these two images of self-
perception and perception by others. And the main impact I felt was seeing how others perceived me.
(SWI_G)
Finally, participants report skills that have no evident connection to the course topic. These seem to be
mostly generic skills that can easily be acquired in a wide range of courses and transferred to different
contexts. These skills include especially social skills, communication skills, learning skills – skills that at
least some participants seem to consider a key to their personal or professional development.
Examples:
I think I got the insight for the first time into how study circles function in Slovenia, in what way, with
what methods. I got the idea, how I could get involved as well. And the other thing, I got a lot of
knowledge about learning methods, I found that very good. (SLO_E)
And generally, I am gaining some knowledge, general knowledge. (SRB_D)
I think it [working in culturally mixed group] hones one’s people skills. (ENG_D)
So the real impact is actually not letting yourself lose the art of learning and developing content. And
that's what I like best about it. Doing something challenging, be it physical or mental, outside my
professional life. (SWI_C)
The fact that most participants do not only describe the skills but contextualize, explain and interpret them
in the perspective of their own lives indicates a willingness and ability to reflect on the way adult
education influences their lives.
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 54
4 ‘Most important benefits’
When asked which of the benefits they have described was the most important one, almost all interviewees
named benefits that belong to more than one benefit category (see case schemes in the appendix),
which is another indicator that they perceive bundles of benefits.
Examples:
I would sum up two things: that it developed my knowledge regarding dancing and also created an
image a social position for me in society. I learned new things on the emotional as well as the
educational level and it opened, it showed me opportunities or other things that can be done because
we were many involved in organizing this ball and after lots of work appeared the result. (ROM_A)
If I were to make a list, the first benefit concerns the social network and socialising .... . The fact that
we, as pensioners of various ages, with different life experiences and specialisations, from different
jobs and different areas of expertise, the fact that we are together and can help each other is an
incredible thing. (ROM_B)
In a word, yoga has encouraged me to change my lifestyle and improve the quality of life. (SRB_M)
And it’s important not to take it home with me because doing that over the last ten years was terribly
stressful. And, how can I put it, [pause] it has made me find it a lot easier to deal with my daily life.
[…] I’ve learnt to let go and not to latch on to things and [pause] I get on better with my [pause]
friends and my daughter. (GER_A).
I have understood things of myself that I’ve never before (…). We went deep into women’s reactions
to the world around, to things which happen during our lives… (ITA_B)
I really think it's a depth that exists in our lives. It gives you a whole new level of perception. That's
the most important thing for me. But, you know, I'm not doing it for that reason - I just think it's an
impact that I'm becoming more and more aware of. Your survey has made me think about what
these courses are doing to me. And they're really giving me a whole new level of perception.
(SWI_B)
The greatest benefit was that it helped me integrate into the Swiss way of life. Yes, I think that's by
far the biggest effect. (SWI_G)
I’ve had the opportunity to be guided by someone who is better at doing it than I am, in what to do to
improve my own practice a life drawing. You accelerate more when you’ve got someone else to say
‘ah, that’s where you’re going wrong, I used to do that, don’t do that, do this instead, try that’, it’s
much faster. (ENG_C)
Since the question is asked towards the end of the interview, most interviewees went back to one or more
benefits they mentioned before, focusing and condensing them to what they saw as the very essence of
their learning adventure. From a constructivist point of view, these answers can be seen as the result of a
construction process that the participants undertake to explain to a stranger why the courses they took
were worth the trouble, the time and money they invested. In some cases, the core message that comes
out of this process is very clear and simple – an insight, a fact – in others it looks more like an on-going
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 55
search or even a sort of vision quest, giving the impression that the participant is convinced of being
engaged in personal development without being able to name a precise goal.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 56
5 External criteria
The interviews show a wide range of external criteria for the benefits. External criteria were defined as
external, observable activities or products that provide verifiable evidence of the benefits reported by
the participants. The purpose of identifying such criteria was to make sure that the analysis captures
concrete, real effects as opposed to mere abstract ideas about the potential of adult learning.
The codes found in the interviews are:
- Participation in events and social or political activities
- Organising events (cultural, social, sports’ events, journeys etc.)
- Social recognition/appreciation
- Adherence to organisational frameworks (e.g. membership in organisations or networks)
- Carrying out specific new activities (e.g. creative activities, writing etc.)
- Sideline activities (e.g. publishing books)
- Transfer into everyday life (e.g. ICT skills, languages, handicrafts)
This catalogue of possible external criteria is not comprehensive. The purpose of identifying these criteria
was not to define the range of existing criteria but to provide a good basis for interpreting of the benefits
reported by the participants. Moreover, asking for examples of (observable) activities that would illustrate
the benefits participants mentioned helped to check the plausibility of participants’ statements to recognize
socially desirable answers or clichés about lifelong learning.
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6 Development of benefits
All participants could identify course related aspects that contributed to the process of gaining benefits from
course participation. This category was built through the qualitative analysis of an open question from the
survey questionnaire (see. Chap. 2 Methodology and, for the codes, the code list in the appendix)
The preliminary categories are:
- Trainer
- Teaching methods
- Course in itself (incl. content/topic)
- Group/other participants
- Institutional/organisational framework
- Learner’s internal resources
The national analyses show that all of these aspects play a significant role in the emergence and
development of benefits. All statements regarding the role of course-related aspects for the development of
benefits were collected, translated into English and analysed on the national level like the benefit categories.
An additional, more detailed comparative analysis will be done after the project has ended, since this
research topic was not scheduled within the project framework.
Preliminary results
Nevertheless, some results could already be developed from the first analysis:
The categories generally worked well, but their codes need further development. Moreover, a number of
new categories were suggested, such as ‘Learning environment’.
In the overall sample, the interviewees identify teachers/trainers as the dominant factor influencing the
development of benefits within the course context. The participants emphasize different aspects of the
teacher’s personality – like charisma, authenticity, passion, empathy etc. – as well as the teacher’s
approach, that is the way teachers present the content, the type of exercises they suggest or their ability to
create a good atmosphere etc.
Teaching methods were not mentioned very often as a distinct influence on the development of benefits.
But it is noteworthy that many interviewees describe the teachers’ skills in a way that comprises teaching
methods, for example when highlighting the teacher’s ability to keep the learning process interesting, to
motivate learners by providing a wide range of exercises or to create a good atmosphere. In this sense, we
can say that the majority of the interviewees do not typically distinguish between teacher and teaching
methods, which does not mean that methods are irrelevant for the emergence of benefits.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
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Almost equally important from their point of view is the impact of the group/other participants. The
aspects mentioned here are mainly social interaction, mutual support in the learning process, exchange
and sharing experiences. Moreover, some interviewees mention specific aspects of the group such as
solidarity, common goals, peer support, the fact that all group members participate voluntarily and are
motivated to learn, or the group’s structuring function, which keeps the learning process active and makes
progress visible.
Compared to the categories mentioned above, the course subject - content and topic - seems to play a
less prominent role in interviewees’ understanding of the emergence of benefits in courses. Many
participants did not mention the course content at all when asked how the benefits they mentioned
emerged within a specific course. But there are exceptions: In three national samples (England, Germany,
Switzerland), content/topic were identified as the dominant factor. However, the analysis shows that content
does usually play an important role in the context of motivation and reasons for participation. If interviewees
do not mention the content when asked about the development of benefits, this does not mean that content
and topic are irrelevant but that many participants do not explicitly and consciously connect the emergence
of benefits with the course topic.
The remaining two categories – organisational framework and learner’s internal resources – are
mentioned less frequently. The persons who do mention these aspects, however, seem to see them as
important factors in the development of their benefits. Moreover, learner’s internal resources might be
mentioned implicitly by participants who emphasize content and topic, especially when they show a
tendency to self-directed or self-organised learning.
Conclusions
The first analysis of the course-related factors influencing the emergence and development of benefits
confirms the conclusion that was drawn from the analysis of the benefit categories: Course participants
perceive bundles of benefits and multiple interrelations between the various benefits. In the analysis of
the development issue, an additional aspect becomes visible: Participants often see specific benefits
simultaneously both as the cause and the result of their learning - and as the cause of other
benefits. This is the case for instance when participants describe social interaction as both resulting from
and causing their learning progress, as well as causing the emergence of other benefits, such as tolerance
or self-confidence. Social interaction frequently occurs as a mediating factor for the emergence of the
benefits.
A first, explorative comparison between interview accounts that emphasise the teacher, group or content
and others that do not mention these categories at all, suggests that participants interpret the learning
process differently: While some tend to perceive learning as a transmission of content – which requires
teachers as suppliers but not necessarily as mediators -, others tend to perceive learning as the result of a
teacher-learner relationship – which requires skilled, engaged teachers - or as a an act of individual
appropriation of content, which in turn makes teachers or their methods rather insignificant. This different
way of interpreting the learning process can also point at different learning styles or reasons for
participation.
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 59
These initial conclusions indicate that course-related aspects play a significant and complex role in the
emergence of benefits. Although many interview statements suggest causal relationships between specific
course-related aspects and benefits, the interpretation of these statements in their context does not allow
for drawing any general, linear causal conclusions. A deeper analysis, however, will certainly reveal
patterns of interconnections between course-related aspects and learning benefits, which could be useful
for practitioners (for more information see final research report).
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 60
7 Relationship between benefits
The interviews show that participants typically report bundles of benefits and establish various relationships
among the benefits when describing their experiences. This finding opens up new research questions that
were not envisaged in the initial research framework. The statements evidencing relationships among
benefits were collected for later analysis.
Some relationships, however, were discussed with respect to the different benefit categories as well as the
development of benefits (chap. 7). One of the most obvious relationships is the connection between mental
well-being and physical health. And those two benefits can be seem as supporting the emergence of
other benefits, like social interaction, tolerance or self-control.
Another relationship that could be discovered without deeper analysis is between skills and other benefit
categories or between social network and sense of purpose in life or new inspiration.
Interviewees that explicitly establish relationships between different benefits most often do this using ‘and’
to link the benefits. Some interviewees also establish causal connections.
Some examples:
I thought I'd like to make my own book. So I did the course and learnt how to do it. And it was a
success - I really enjoyed it and the whole family's happy that I've made a book. (SWI_F)
It makes my everyday life exciting, entertaining and interesting. Yes, and in several areas - like in
gaining knowledge and in human relationships, because my network of friends has really been
enriched as a result of meeting so many different people. (SWI_F)
Only a few connections are reported in the way cited above. To analyse relationships between benefits
more in-depth, an interpretive approach is needed, considering not only isolated statements but the whole
interview context of each case as well as the broader context of adult education.
A comprehensive, interpretive analysis of relationships among benefits could not be done in the framework
of BeLL, since it was not part of the research questions, but the BeLL analysis and the statements that
were coded as “relationships” provide a number of hints for future research.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 61
8 Conclusions
BeLL adopts a mixed-methods research. As the qualitative analysis shows, the interview results validate
the survey results in terms of the benefit categories: The benefit categories (concepts) that were used in the
survey proved to a high degree adequate for the analysis of the interviews, since they covered all benefit
aspects mentioned by the interviewees.
The interviews were based on one general research question: How does liberal adult education influence
the participants’ lives? The analysis shows that the interviewees do indeed perceive a high influence, albeit
we have to keep in mind that half of the interview sample are active learners (attending several courses)
and the majority of them have medium or high qualifications.
On the basis of the qualitative interview analysis we can draw a number of conclusions:
- Participants are usually spontaneously aware of more than one benefit category, although there are
also benefits they only become aware of when asked to discuss their experience.
- Participants are able to recognise and reflect on their learning and articulate direct as well as wider
benefits and long-term effects of their learning.
- Participants generally report bundles of benefits rather than single benefits.
- The benefits are related to specific contexts, whose significance can be perceived very differently.
- Participants make connections between the benefits of learning and their individual life contexts.
Benefits and life contexts
Apart from confirming the survey results and validating the benefit concepts, one of the most valuable
results of the qualitative analysis is that it gives insight into the diversity and context-relatedness of benefits,
as well as the fact that all participants see liberal adult education in connection with their individual life
contexts. This is an aspect that could not be seen in the statistical analysis. The interviewees emphasise
their personal interest in the topics they study, and they interpret learning in the context of personal
strategies to achieve diverse goals. This is true even in cases where learning is undertaken for pleasure
and without any explicit goal in mind apart from the joy or challenge of learning.
With these findings, the qualitative BeLL analysis confirms and illustrates what Illeris (2004) says on the
basis of his research on the process of adult learning processes:
‘...adult learning has the character that:
- adults learn what they want to learn when it is meaningful for them to learn
- adults, when learning, draw on the resources they have
- adults assume the responsibility for their learning they are interested in taking (provided that they
have the opportunity).(…)
We might reverse these formulations. Then the key message would be that adults have very little inclination
to learn something that makes no sense or has no meaning on the basis of their own perspective. ‘ (Illeris
2004, p. 125).
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 62
Another result of the interview analysis is that the interviewees report bundles of benefits rather than
isolated effects. Although they are generally able to distinguish clearly between the wider benefits of
different specific courses, they tend to see all benefits as interconnected aspects of their biographical
situation, especially when taking a more long-term perspective. In other words, the interviewees tend to
present their participation in liberal adult education not as a single, isolated activity but as part of a more or
less coherent, but not necessarily rational strategy for their individual development. They seem to address
what Illeris calls ‘strategic life projects’:
‘From the point of view of learning, “adulthood” is typically dominated by having some strategic life projects
that spawn a multitude of things to do and attitudes that fill up the individual’s life, and at the same time
provide the benchmark for what one learns and does not learn. (Illeris 2004, p. 124)
Life projects are not necessarily based on clear and conscious decisions, as Illeris points out, they may also
be driven ‘by the “automatic pilot’” without much reflection, while the individuals nonetheless continue to
choose and reject the various options that offer themselves’ (ibid., p. 124). Life projects can be concerned
with family life or working life, but also with leisure activities, politics, religion, or any other area of interest.
‘Strategic life projects’ appear in several BeLL interviews, most clearly – but not exclusively - in interviews
with participants who report several courses in one year. These interviewees may have more than one
project going on in their lives, but in most cases their narration about learning experiences seems to orbit
around a dominant life project, for the achievement of which they find adult education useful. Examples of
life projects found in the BeLL interviews are: keeping fit in later life; making up for learning opportunities
missed out at a younger age; processing traumas experienced in childhood; ensuring a high level of perfor-
mance at work; advocating for social justice; being a good mother, and so on.
The BeLL results suggest that individual life contexts and life projects are not only important benchmarks in
the learning process but that they also influence decisions to participate in specific adult education courses.
To sum up: The qualitative analysis gives insight into some individual experiences of and perspectives on
the wider benefits of adult learning. The interview analysis cannot answer the question of how many people
experience wider benefits in the way the interviewees do or how many people use liberal adult education
for a specific life project. But as part of the mixed-methods approach adopted in the BeLL project, the
interviews help understand and illustrate learning benefits in their specific individual contexts. The
interviews thus complement thus the statistical analysis, which in turn can give a picture of the frequency,
relevance, and complexity of benefits but is not able to show the relationship between specific benefits and
individual life projects or biographical contexts.
Future research
The national analyses lead to a series of hints for future research. Some of the most promising questions
that emerge from the qualitative BeLL research are:
- What role of course-related aspects (like trainer, learning environment, didactical methods etc.)
play in the development of benefits?
- How are the different benefits connected with each other?
- Can trends be distinguished across age groups, educational backgrounds and gender in in the way
participants experience benefits of liberal adult learning?
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 63
- What role do learning benefits play in the participants’ biographical context and identity (life projects,
learning strategies)?
- How do participants construct benefits of learning?
- How does society benefit from individual benefits?
These aspects could partly be analysed on the basis of the existing BeLL results. For a deeper analysis of
the benefits in the individual, biographical context as well as the national context additional interviews would
be necessary.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 64
References
Arksey, Hilary & Peter Knight (1999). Interviews for Social Scientists. London: Sage .
Fereday, Jennifer & Eimear Muir-Cochrane (2006): Demonstrating Rigor Using Thematic Analysis: A Hybrid
Approach of Inductive ad Deductive Coding and Theme Development. International Journal of
Qualitative Methods 2006, 5(1), pp. 80-92
Hammersley, Martyn (2008): Troubles with Triangulation. In: Bergman, Manfred Max. (Ed.): Advances in
Mixed Methods Research. London: Sage, pp. 22-36
Illeris, Knud (2004): Adult Education and Adult Learning. Malabar: Krieger.
Kelle, Udo (2006). Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Research Practice: Purposes and
Advantages. Qualitative Research in Psychology 3(4): 293-311.
Lewis, Jane & Jane Ritchie (2003): Generalising from Qualitative Research. In: Lewis, Jane and Jane
Ritchie (eds). Qualitative Research Practice. A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers
(1
st
ed.). London: Sage, pp. 263-286.
Luborsky, Mark R. & Robert L. Rubinstein (1995). Sampling in Qualitative Research: Rationale, Issues and
Methods. Research on Aging 17: 89-113.
Miles, Matthew B. & A. Michael Huberman & Saldaña, Johnny (2014). Qualitative Data Analysis. A Methods
Sourcebook. Thousand Oak: Sage.
Ritchie, Jane & Jane Lewis & Gillian Elam (2003). Designing and Selecting Samples, in Ritchie, Jane &
Jane Lewis (eds), Qualitative Research Practice, London: Sage, pp. 77-108.
Saldaña, Johnny (2012): The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers (Second Ed.). London: Sage
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 65
APPENDIX
- Appendix 1: Interview guidelines
- Appendix 2: Analysis guidelines
- Appendix 3: Code list
- Appendix 4: Coding example (Interpretation workshop 2)
- Appendix 5: National case schemes
- Appendix 6: Additional description of the interview sample
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 66
APPENDIX 1: Interview guidelines (topic guide for the thematic interview)
A. Introduction:
Thank you for taking part in the interview. During the interview the focus is on the outcomes and benefits
due to your attendance in liberal adult education courses (please provide definition of liberal AE). We want
to find out what experiences you have made during such courses.
The interview refers to the last 12 months.
1. How many liberal adult education courses did you attend in this period? If you attended more than
one course, please indicate on which course you refer when answering a question.
2. What was the topic of the course(s)? (Name and type of the AE organisations)
3. Why did you attend the course(s)?
4. How did you experience the course(s)?
5. What job(s) did you have the last 12 months?
B. Main part: Benefits of liberal adult education courses
Focus on activities, experiences and attitudes.
6. When you think back of the course(s), what (immediate) outcomes have you noticed from your
participation in learning?
Let the person tell his/her experiences and ask further questions, when the person talks about the
outcomes and benefits of the course towards her/his life. Ask the person to describe each single benefit as
concretely as possible. E.g.: How do you recognise these benefits? Which external signs exist concerning
the benefits? What did explicitly change? How do you feel the benefits/changes?
Referring to the previous answers, please check which of the following 6 topic areas have been mentioned.
Please ask explicitly after those topic areas, that haven’t been mentioned yet. If it makes sense, you can
explain that also negative effects are allowed to mention. Please formulate the questions according to the
language style of the interviewee and try to ask questions that don’t stimulate a certain direction of answer.
Have you recognised changes in..
6.1. ..personality: self-confidence, tolerance, confidence (E.g.: Have you noticed any
changes in you as a person? Did the course participation have any impact on your
perception of yourself?)
6.2. ..vocational situation (E.g.: Did the course(s) have influence on your vocational
situation? If yes, how? If not, why not? Did the course(s) influence your vocational plans?
Did you come up with new ideas/perspectives?)
6.3. ..motivation to learn/learning experiences (E.g.: Did anything change in your attitude
to learning due to the course(s)?)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 67
6.4. ..social network (including family/children, if existent) (E.g.: You surely met new people
during the course(s). Do you still have contact to course participants?)
6.5. ..health: psychological (E.g.: Coping with stress), physiological (E.g.: Do you have the
feeling the course(s) had an impact on your health?)
6.6. ..commitment: voluntary work in a community, club etc. (E.g.: Are you voluntarily active
in a community, club or something else? If yes: Did the course(s) have an influence on
your voluntary work?)
6.7. Other benefits (E.g.: Did you notice any other benefits or changes due to your course
participation?)
7. What other outcomes, long term effects or changes have you noticed?
Please refer to the same topic areas as in question 6 above. Use the topics 6.1 - 6.6 again as a checklist
and proceed in the same way as for question 6: check explicitly with the topics that have not been
mentioned yet etc.
C. Reasons for the mentioned benefits
Ask further questions, if the reasons for benefits are missing in part B.
8. You have now mentioned plenty of benefits. Could you please tell me the main reasons for those
benefits? What is the reason that the course(s) had those benefits you mentioned before?
(Reference to question 2.4. of the questionnaire: Trainer, learning methods, other participants, group
activities, content and topic, opportunity to make something with your own hands, support and counseling,
learning something new, being an active member of a group).
These aspects should not been asked consecutively and not directly. Depending on the narration of the
interviewee, please check individually. E.g.: You have described the benefit xy. What influence had the
trainer/ learning methods etc. on that benefit?
D. Conclusion: Any other benefits
Ask then further questions, when you expect to obtain further relevant information.
9. You now have mentioned plenty of benefits that relate to your course attention in liberal adult
education. Are you aware of any other benefits that might be related albeit only slightly to the
course(s)?
10. Could you please sum-up your most important benefits due to the course(s)?
11. If you would now register for a course what course would you choose?
12. End and thank you for the interview.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 68
E. Statistical and demographic data:
Information concerning the interview:
Date of the interview:
Time and duration of the interview:
Setting: telephone / face to face, location:
Distractions:
Name of the interviewer:
Country:
Information concerning the interviewee:
Sex:
Age:
Highest educational level:
Occupational status:
Mother tongue:
Nationality:
Further remarks concerning the interview:
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 69
APPENDIX 2: Analysis guidelines (V3)
27
Version for the coding of national interviews (Task C)
1. Preliminary work to finalise the code list (A: June 26 – Juli 3 / B: July 8 – 29)
A Coding test with the 1
st
UK interview
Aim: testing of the coding procedure, see document «Interpretation workshop 1»: All partners code
the same portions of 1 interview provided by Sam, UK (we’ve worked on it already in Bologna).
Done.
B Coding test with a second UK interview and 1-2 national interviews (July 8-
29)
In this phase we do a more extensive test and refine the coding procedure that was tested in task
A . and ensure a common understanding. In the same time we develop new codes and categories.
Done
2. Coding and analysing all national interviews (C: 5 August – 15 Sept.)
C All partners code their national interviews along the revised code list which is provided by
DIE/SVEB after the coding tests in the preliminary phase. The code list remains a work in progress
and can still be modified during the analysis. During this process all partners can make suggestions
for new codes or the modification of existing codes and categories. The process of developing and
refining the code system is led by SVEB/DIE.
Open questions, interpretations and national particularities are discussed with all partners in google
groups. The discussion is led by SIAE.
Coding procedure:
27
Versions 1 and 2 of theses guidelines contained detailed instructions for the first two phases of the
analysis (tasks A and B). The three versions were elaborated subsequently in the course of the research
process so that specific issues and questions which emerged during the partners’ coding and analysis
process could be reflected and taken into consideration.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 70
We proceed in the same way as proposed in the previous test phases, with some slight
adjustments.
A practical tip for the interview templates: To put the interview into a Word table, it is best to mark
the whole text and then choose “insert table” (this is less time-consuming than beginning with the
table and copy/pasting the text statement by statement into the table). And please number the
sections (se overview workshop 2) and use the colours proposed in the code list V3.
1. Step: Coding the benefits (first cycle coding)
Code the benefits according to code list provided by SVEB/DIE (which is based on the Template
two open questions) and insert new codes/categories into the code list.
Please note:
If you want to create new (sub-)categories or codes, discuss this with the partners on google
groups.
What should (not) be coded?
We code only benefits the interviewees have experienced personally. That means: If
interviewees talk of benefits that other people have experienced (i.e. friends, or other course
participants) we do not code these. The same for general reflections on the benefits of lifelong
learning (like «it is good to learn new things»). But if interviewees make interesting remarks about
other people’s benefits or about general issues regarding AE, please take notes/memos if you thing
they might give hints for the later interpretation of the results.
If interviewees report benefits that are not directly linked with the courses they attended, we
code them only if they seem relevant, which to some degree is a subjective decision. See for
instance the text example in the second UK interview (interpretation workshop 2): The interviewee
had taken a course in Chinese Art, which led indirectly to a journey to India. In the course of his
narration, he draws a connection between these two activities. Such cases can be coded and if
they are, they should be accompanied by an analytic memo saying that the benefits were seen as
related to the course (or the things learned in the course) although they were not a direct
consequence of the course. In case of ambiguity: discuss the question with the partners.
2. Step: coding the 3 dimensions (second cycle coding)
We continue developing codes and categories for 3 dimensions of the benefits. The first step or
first cycle was about identifying benefits, the second cycle is about finding qualities (observable
criteria), processes (development) and patterns (relations) of the already identified and coded
benefits.
This means that we have many or even mostly double or overlapping codings here. However, we
will also find statements to code as dimensional codes that were not coded as benefits.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 71
a) External criteria for the benefits (external means basically observable: we look for actions
or verifiable evidence – like “meet course participants at home” - as opposed to attitudes or
abstract statements like “have more social contact” or “feel more confident”).
Observable or «external criteria» might be benefits themselves, so that coding «external
criteria» might look like unnecessary work. We should do it anyway because we will need
statements to illustrate observable criteria of the benefits in the reports. This makes our
interpretation more robust in the end.
b) development of the benefits (here we ask: how did the benefits develop, what are the
reasons that make the benefit “happen”, see also interview question nr. 8 and question 2.4 of
the questionnaire). Please use the code list and propose new codes if needed. See also the
document «Analysis of the dimension ‘development of benefits’» by Bettina.
c) relationship between benefits (this dimension deals with the way benefits are connected;
different benefits may influence each other i.e. in a causal, reinforcing way, but might also be
perceived as autonomous – the codes have not been developed yet)
How to proceed? Please mark every statement that shows any sort of relation among different
benefits and assign the general category «relation». You do not need to develop codes for this
category. Just collect the statements, translate them into English, write a memo, and send them
to Irena, Bettina, and Jyri who will analyse all statements and suggest codes and subcategories.
Subsequently, the codes will be put up for discussion on google groups.
One example from the UK interview that was coded by most partners as relationship between
benefits is:
«I suppose one thing leads to another. You know. It takes you to areas that you would never
have considered otherwise. I would never have thought that I would have gotten.»
Please do not forget to comment the statements where necessary to clarify the context (memos).
Working group (Bettina, Irena, Jyri – and others if interested):
A working group will collect the statements, analyse them and suggest codes. We plan to use
pattern coding for this purpose. This means:
«Pattern codes are explanatory or inferential codes, ones that identify an emergent theme,
configuration, or explanation. They pull together a lot of material into a more meaningful and
parsimonious unit of analysis. They are a sort of meta-code. Pattern Coding is a way of
grouping those summaries into a smaller number of sets, themes, or constructs.» (Miles &
Huberman 1994, cited in: Saldana 2013, p. 210).
It often helps to use In Vivo codes in a first step: To choose a word or a whole sentence from
the text and use it as a code, like «one thing leads to another». After coding several statements,
we can go back to the In Vivo codes, look for similarities among them and then hopefully find a
more general code. In the case of «one thing leads to another» (quoted above) we might for
instance choose something like «sequential relation» or, more metaphorically, «relay» (the
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 72
group sport where each group member runs a stretch of the distance) or «torch relay» (like 1
benefit enlightens another benefit). When we reach this stage, we drop the In Vivo codes and
re-code their statements with the new pattern code.
Sometimes creativity is required to name pattern codes: «Many codes – especially pattern
codes – are captured in form of metaphors (…), where they can synthesize large blocks of data
in a single trope» (Miles & Hubermann 1994. Cited in: Saldana 2013, p. 212)
You can leave the pattern coding to the working group, but of course you are free to participate
in this process and suggest codes if you like.
During this process we should also turn our attention to cultural differences that might show up in
the interviews as well as in our different ways of coding and analysing them. Please keep this in
mind, take notes and write memos on possible cultural differences and discuss on google groups
and use for your national research report.
3. General methodological aspects
How to assign and create codes and categories:
1. Select and mark «key» words, sentences, paragraphs which seem to be important to you
when answering to the questions on the benefits and their dimensions. Use colours and (1)
numbers to mark the text segments (please use the colours according to the coding list V3).
2. Assign a code/category using the code list V3. Add new codes and/or modifications. A code
«is most often a word or a short phrase that symbolically assigns a summative, salient,
essence capturing, and/or evocative attribute for a portion of language-based or visual data»
(Saldana 2011, p.3). The coding is the «transitional process between data collection and more
extensive data analysis» (ibd. p. 4) and it’s always a «cyclical act», which means that codes
can be modified and data can be recoded several times.
3. Formulate preliminary assumptions/hypotheses on possible categories, themes, contexts,
or interpretations of the results if needed (analytic memos, see Saldana).
4. Build a new category, if needed, which means to group similar
coded data into a category. Look for patterns and write analytic
memos about possible connections between the benefits.
(Saldana: «I advocate that qualitative codes are essence-capturing and essential elements
of the research story that, when clustered together according to similarity and regularity - a
pattern – they actively facilitate the development of categories and thus analysis of their
connections.» (Saldana 2011, p. 8)
Writing analytic memos
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 73
Memos should be written during the whole coding process. «The purpose of analytic memos is to
document and reflect on: your coding process and code choices; how the process of inquiry is
taking shape; and the emergent patterns, categories and subcategories, themes, and concepts in
your data. (…) Analytic memos are somewhat comparable to researcher journal entries or blogs – a
place to ’dump your brain’ about the participants, phenomenon, or process under investigation».
(Saldana 2011 p. 31, see attachment «Saldana memos»).
As a sort of researcher journal, memos are a mix of scientific and personal reflection. You can write
them in your own language and translate only the ones you would like to share with the partners
into English.
Interpretation of the codings
The interpretation process is still to be discussed and agreed upon. But for now we would suggest
the following:
- We do not quantify the benefits.
- And we do not plan to describe each interview case separately.
We suggest instead that each partner retrieves the coded statements from all his/her interviews
and describes the results. So you retrieve i.e. all statements that were assigned to the
subcategory «mental well-being», read them, describe the results, and choose statements that
might be appropriate for quoting or translating. And so on for all subcategories. Of course you
do not need to analyse every category separately but can also retrieve several categories at
once and analyse them together (i.e. mental well-being and physical health).
- The interpretation should include:
- What benefits did the interviews show? Not only the most important or frequently
mentioned benefits, but also new, interesting or surprising aspects of benefits that were
mentioned by few or even only one single person.
- Description of the results of the dimensional coding: What external criteria were
mentioned, what did you find out about the development of benefits, what relationships
between benefits could be identified?
- As mentioned above, we do not analyse each interview case separately. But this does not
mean that we should forget the individual person and the circumstances of their learning
experience. On the contrary, it is important that we consider the individual as well as
societal, systemic (AE system) and cultural contexts when analysing the results. We can
do this by moving back and forth from original data to interpretation. Analytic memos help
to keep in touch with relevant contextual aspects.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 74
Additional documents you need for the test phase (task C)
• Code list version V3, containing the benefits and suggestions for the dimensional
categories/codes, which have to be elaborated and completed during the coding and interpretation
process. This list contains also codes which were suggested by partners during the second test
(codes in Italics).
• BeLL template «Analyses two open questions» V4.1
• Transcripts of your national interviews
• 2 Texts by Johnny Saldana (2011, second edition 2013, sent to you for the previous
workshops):
o An Introduction to Codes and Coding
o Writing analytic memos
From: The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. London: SAGE, p. 1-31 and p. 32-44).
This text is proposed by SVEB/DIE as a basis for the discussion and a common understanding
of the coding process (see pdf attached).
• Texts by: Saldana, Hattie, Darkenwald, Valentine (see separate e-mail).
3. Interpretation, report, translation (until 30 Sept., overall report SVEB 31 Oct.)
D Translating 25% of the interview material into English
SVEB provides guidelines that suggest criteria for the selection of the 25% as well as a template to
fill in the text portions.
E Interpretation of the results and writing of the national report on the qualitative interviews.
Every partner analyses and interprets their own national results and writes a report (about 5 pages
per country). SVEB provides suggestions for the structure and content of the national reports.
All reports are sent to SVEB for the overall evaluation. The national reports are also uploaded on
google groups, so that all partners can have a look at each others’ results.
F Writing the overall Qualitative Data Analyses Report (SVEB)
SVEB writes the qualitative data analysis report on the basis of the national reports. Portions of the
translated statements are integrated into the overall report.
Partners are asked to read the report and give a short feed-back to SVEB.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 75
APPENDIX 3 : BeLL interviews - code list (V3)
Main categories
Subcategories (= cat. of the
open questions + dimensional
categories)
Codes
New Codes/subcategories = in
Italics (has to be discussed, some are
double, some are quite similar…)
benefits = blue
Reasons for participation = green
Development of benefits = red
Relation among benefits = pink
External criteria = brown
In Italics: codes that were
suggested in workshop 2 (to
discuss as needed)
Benefits
Locus of control
Self-efficacy
Self-confidence
Confidence in own skills
Self-discovery
Self motivating
Self-control
Tolerance
Cultural knowledge
Tolerance
Trust
Trust in competence of others
Social network
New networks
Social interaction
New friends
Sense of purpose in life
New inspiration
Structure in daily life
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 76
Sense of belonging to a community
Self fulfillment & joy of doing
Wider life circles
(new) hobbies
Respect
General learning interest
Activating (new) actions
New perspective
Civic and social engagement
Participation in society
Interest and knowledge of politics
Civic competence
Change of attitudes
Shared expertise
Sense of responsibility
Advocacy for political convictions
Sense of community
Mental well-being
Mental well-being
Well-being in daily life
Well-being at work
Good spirits
Coping
Quality of life
Sense of purpose
Staying active
Work-related benefits
Further education
Instrumental outcomes
Career options
Job related skills
Job hunting
Efficiency & increase in job-
performance
Appreciation & recognition of skills
Sideline activities
Physical health
Physical well-being
physically active
Health behaviour
Health consciousness
Health skills
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
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Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 77
Health benefits
medical prevention and rehabilitation
Family
Coping with parental role
Proving information for family
Shift/changes in the educational
experiences
Joy of learning
Motivation to learn
Learning skills
Motivating others to learn
Sense of achievement
Sense of learning
Competencies
28
Skills (not specified)
Physical skills
ICT skills
Skills in handcraft & arts
Language skills
General or new knowledge
Self-expression and creativity
Information seeking skills
Better reading skills
Increased reading practices
Numerical skills
Writing skills
Increased writing practices
Social skills
Staying updated
Communication skills
Environmental awareness
Musical skills
Information seeking skills
No outcomes
28
This category was renamed „skills“ in the course of the analysis, see footnot in section 3.2.12
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and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 78
Most important benefits
(conclusion, see interview question
10)
(use the same codes as above)
Reasons for participation
(see note below)**
goal orientied
activity oriented
learning oriented
Development of benefits (see
quest. 2.4, reasons)
Trainer
Trainer's competencies
Trainer's knowledge
trainer's approach
teacher's expertise
teacher's person/ trainer's
personality/Trainer's personal
background
teacher's resources
trainer's instructional skills
status of the trainer
tutoring skills; pedagogical/didactical
skills
Quality of teaching
Learning methods
Other participants
Behaviour
Randomly mixed group
Cultural diversity
Interesting people
Lack of experience
Group activities
Content and topic
Make something with your
hands
Support and counselling
Learning something new
Being an active member of a
group
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 79
Relationship between
benefits
Interdependence
External criteria
Participation in events and
social activities
Social recognition/ appreciation
«eggheads»
«friends have been quite
interested»
Provider
quality control
organise events
Sideline activities
Chat/ travelling/organizing events
Institutional framework
condition
membership
Basic information (facts)
The basic information about the person and the courses they attended are not part of the code system.
This information should be put down in a separate note. If you use MaxQda: i.e. in a document memo (see
template).
Additionally, some parts of this note should be included in the case scheme at the end of the analysis (see
template).
*** Houle's reasons for participation (the orientations may overlap):
Goal Oriented learners use education as a means of achieving some other goal
Activity Oriented learners participate for the sake of the activity itself and the social interaction it provides.
Learning Oriented learners seek knowledge for its own sake.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 80
APPENDIX 4: Coding example (interpretation workshop 2)
Apart from two countries, where Maxqda and Atlas.ti software were use to code the interviews, the
interviews were coded manually using a template and pre-defined coding guidelines. The following example
gives a picture of the coding method as well as the use of analytic memos to support the interpretation
process and the discussion within and among the research teams.
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 81
Coding example, taken from the second interpretation workshop
BeLL interviews: Interpretation workshop 2 (Task B: Coding procedure) - Template for the coding of the benefits (blue) and the development of dimensional codes/categories
(red)
Interview segment
Subcategories
Codes
Analytic memos / questions to discuss
14 H: Well, partly because the first course, the history from the 12
th
century to
the 19
th
, to the last emperor-1. that was so interesting that 2 I thought I
want to find out more- yes, I’m interested in current affairs but you get fed
up with reading the papers, 3.you want to get more background to it, and
more long term or considered views, and 4. to keep the old mind active
really.
1.sense of purpose in
life
2. shift/changes in
educational
experiences
3. civic competence
4.Mental well-being
Content and topic
1. new inspiration
2. motivation to learn
3. interest and
knowledge of politics
(and historical
background?)
4. Mental well-being
3. This seems to be about a merging of
historical knowledge and the development of a
new understanding of current politics. The
overall meaning/drive of his interview seems to
be about how his study of history/cultural
history gives him a new, better,
understanding/perspective on current
events/politics- which makes me think this
benefit is indeed about civic competence- but
would be grateful to talk this through with
someone!
4. The idea of ‘keeping my mind active’ or
‘exercising my brain’ came up a lot in the
qualitative bits of the questionnaire- and I think
this isn’t really mental well-being- in that it’s not
primarily about mental health (which is usually
understood to be more about an emotional
state than cognitive fluidity- isn’t it?)- so
perhaps we need a new code for this?
15 S: Thinking about the courses you’ve done over the past 12 months, what
do you think are the benefits for you of doing those courses?
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 82
16
H: Um, well, it’s, 1. it’s just made me more interested in finding out about
these places and the other thing it’s done- I had a friend who works in a
school in Stroud and they had a school trip to India for three weeks and
they were a bit short and they said ‘do you want to go?’ and I thought, I’ve
never travelled much_ I’ve been to obviously Europe a few times- and I
thought oh, 2. and anyway I went.
1. Shift/changes in
the education
experiences
2. Sense of purpose
in life
Content and topic
(‘these places’)
1. Motivation to learn
2. New
inspiration/new
hobbies (both?
Which?)
I would probably have seen 1. and 2. as the
same benefit (but whether motivation to learn
or new inspiration would have been a tough
one- perhaps new inspiration because it’s
about a motivation to learn, but not necessarily
through formal or nonformal learning situations,
but rather through travel etc), but he has
explicitly identified them as two different
benefits (‘and the other thing it’s done’) so I
have gone with that.
17
S: Is this where you’ve just been?
18 H: Yes, it’s where I’ve just been for three weeks and it was – oh I’m really
glad I went. Well, it’s just, it’s more of a continent. And you see, you begin
to see you know, it’s a different culture- and you realized, I suppose you
just realize, you know the world is a different place from how it is portrayed
through the normal channels, it’s just fascinating- you just think- oh I just
find it fascinating. It’s made me more interested.
I decided not to code these benefits as this is
about the benefits of the trip rather than –
directly- of the courses. Though he is clear on
the link- so perhaps these should be coded?
19 S: So the courses you did, which were focused around China, those led
you to be interested in going on this trip to India?
20 H: 1. Yes, yes, because, yes because um, obviously the Moghul invasion
of North India was about the same time as the Mongol invasion of China.
China has never itself invaded another country- it has just responded to
the invasions of others. The Mongols very quickly got assimilated into the
Chinese ways and became very civilized, weren’t barbarians and so on,
and then I just wondered how- because the Mongols used to stretch all the
way along to Western Europe, didn’t they? and so I wondered how they
1. Sense of purpose
in life
2. Competencies (or
is this civic
competence or
engagement?) OR
he is also arguing
1.new inspiration
3. New or general
knowledge
I’ve uncertain about 2. for two reasons, firstly, it
is not direct – he seems to be arguing that the
course led him to the travel (though possibly
also the course- it is ambiguous) and the travel
has had the benefit of making him more
informed which would allow him- he is
imagining- to be more active in the
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 83
affected India. But the Moghul’s were different- they were from Samarkand
or Afghanistan, they were Muslim and so on. So that was interesting. And I
wanted to see the architecture. It’s world history really. Being a teacher,
and you know there’s all this stuff recently about oh, education needs
tightening up, it’s got to be more rigorous, and they were having a go at
history teaching and I know it’s all a load of tosh and, well, it seems that it’s
all going in the wrong direction, and I thought 2. if I’m more informed about
things, then if there is ever an opportunity, because I’m still involved in the
union, they have people who go onto exam boards and they have views
and there are consultations and I thought, you need to have a wider
perspective- that’s my view. So, it’s useful from that point of view, in a
semi-professional way.
that it is work-
related—to be
politically engaged
in work-related
activities/advocacy
?
Content and topic
political/social engagement/advocacy aspects
of his former profession- in the teachers’ union
etc.
Secondly, I’m not sure whether it is about new
or general knowledge, or more about civic
engagement, or more about work related
benefits...
21 S: That’s what I was going to ask about next- whether you see any links
between the courses and your past or present work or work involvement?
22 H: Yes it’s more out of interest, my own interest, but 1. it does make you
think, and then you think, yes, things like that- I’m out of education at the
moment, but certainly my professional body, it does make you think about
things like that, and if there were any opportunity or forum I could raise it,
say that. I mean I don’t think I’m alone in that, a lot of people have had
their say, about these [Gove’s] ill-thought out ideas, on the back of an
envelope or something.
3. Work related
Content and topic
(‘things like that’)
? None of the codes
fit? Is this about work-
related civic
engagement?
23 S: Can you see, do you feel that the courses have changed you at all
personally?
24 H: Um, oh, yes, I mean, when I’m talking to my friends, they, they, have
been quite interested, so it’s, yes, it think it has, and also Daoism and
things like that, it makes you think. We in the West are terribly
4. Civic competence
5. Sense of purpose
in life
Content and topic
6. Change of
attitudes
7. New inspiration
I think these are two separate points- two
separate benefits: 1. a shift in perspective to
appreciate what we have, to reassess what we
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 84
consumerist- and 1. so back to nature- it’s made me think, although I don’t
have a great deal of money at all, I live quite comfortably compared with
most people around the world. When you go to India – you think- gosh
we’re so- and we, we moan- 2. and- it just gives you another perspective-
and that’s great- it’s great to think 2000 years ago people were doing this,
that and another. So, yes,- it’s reinvigorating- would that be a word?
(‘Daosim and things
like that’)
need etc and 2. A ‘reinvigorated’ perspective
about human achievement (what people could
do 2000 years ago...). He is clear, though, that
they are linked interdependence?
25 S: Yes! Do you think it’s changed at all your ideas about learning or your
interest in learning?
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 85
APPENDIX 5: national case schemes
Case scheme CZECH REPUBLIC
Interview Gender Age Level of
education
Profession Course/s Provider/s Most important
benefits
CZE_A F 58 Educated in
the tailoring
Dressmaker for
women
Arranging of
flowers (floristry)
A private
organisation
Self-discovery
Well-being in daily
life
CZE_B F 28 University
degree
Project
manager
Spanish
language
A private
organisation
Competencies/
Language skills
Social network/
New friends
CZE_C F 29 University
degree
Clerk in the
state
administration
English
language
A private
organisation
Self-confidence
Language skills
CZE_D M 34 University
degree
Consultant IT A private
organisation
Self-confidence
Efficiency &
increase in job-
performance
CZE_E F 24 A-level Operator in the
call centre
Yoga A private
organisation
Quality of life
Medical
prevention and
rehabilitation
CZE_F F 34 Educated
hairdresser
Hairdresser English
language
A private
organisation
New perspective
Cultural
knowledge
CZE_G F 40 University
degree
Librarian Communication
skills
A private
organisation
Self-discovery
Well-being in daily
life
CZE_H F 33 University
degree
Quality auditor
in an industrial
company
Spanish
language
A private
organisation
Language skills
Cultural
knowledge
Quality of life
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 86
Case scheme ENGLAND
Interview Gen-
der
Age Level of
education
Profession Course/s Provider/s Most important
benefits
ENG_V
F
33 Undergraduate
degree
Has not worked
much due to mental
health difficulties.
Is doing voluntary
work along with her
course
1) Course to
take care of
courses and
teach disabled
adults to ride
Further
Education
College
Mental well-
being
ENG_D
F
70 Some
secondary
school, is in
process of
doing an Open
University
Degree
Retired
secretary/PA/event
organiser/advertising
account manager
1) Creative
writing
2) Creative
writing
3) Welsh
1) WEA
(Workers’
Educational
Association)
2) County
Council
3) Privately
organised
Competencies,
Self-efficacy,
social
networks,
mental well
being
ENG_T F
42 Undergraduate
degree
Manager at a
community centre
1) Baking
2) Jewellery
making
3) First aid
4) Safeguarding
1) Community
education
centre
2) Community
education
centre
3 & 4)
Workplace
Competencies
Self-efficacy
Social network
ENG_B M
57 Undergraduate
degree and
teaching
qualification
Retired teacher 1) Lifedrawing
2) Lifedrawing
1) Local
authority
education
2) Privately
arranged group
Competencies
ENG_R F
62 Undergraduate
degree and
MA
Semi-retired teacher
and teacher
educator
1) Finnish Evening
classes at
Leeds Met
university
Competencies
Tolerance
Civic
competence
ENG_L M
37 Undergraduate
degree and
accountancy
qualifications
Accountant 1) Digital
photography
Further
education
college
Mental well-
being
Sense of
purpose in life
ENG_M M
43 None, perhaps
L2 (unclear)
Unemployed 1) Photoshop
2) Web design
1&2 Further
education
college
Competencies
Social network
ENG_H M 59 Undergraduate
degree and
teaching
qualification
Retired teacher The arts of
China
Workers
Educational
Association
Competencies,
Sense of
purpose in life
Civic & social
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 87
engagement
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 88
Case scheme FINLAND
Interview Gend
er
Age Level of
education
Profession Course/s Provider/s Most important benefits
FIN_A M 64 Technician Retired Writing
Cooking for men
Summer University Competencies
Work related benefits
FIN_B F 41 Master's
degree
Researcher,
nurse
Painting,
Capoeira,
Singing
Scuba diving,
Yoga
Adult education
centre,
Diving club
Sense of purpose in life
Changes in the
educational experiences
FIN_C F 44 Secondary
level
commercial
Librarian Middle East
dancing
Handicrafts
Adult education
centre,
Dance group
Physical well-being
Changes in the
educational experiences
Social network
FIN_D F 47 Master's
degree
Lecturer Nature
photography,
Photography,
Writing
Adult education
centre
Social network
Competencies
Mental well-being
FIN_E F 60 Master's
degree
Inspector of
Vocational
Education
Peer support
group,
Choir singing,
Knowledge of a
specific disease
Adult education
centre,
Disease
association
Health benefits
Competences
Sense of purpose in life
Self-efficacy
FIN_F F 64 Secondary
level
commercial
Retired Basics of
Volunteering,
Afro dance,
English
Adult education
centre
Mental well-being
Locus of control
Changes in the
educational experiences
Self-efficacy
FIN_G F 61 Matriculation
exam
Janitor Wisdom of Mind;
Weaving;
Upholstery;
Literature;
Adult education
centre
Changes in educational
experiences
Social network
Sense of purpose in life
FIN_H F 70 Secondary
level
Retired Self organised
bowling and
gymnastic clubs
Self organized
courses
Health benefits
Social network
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 89
Case scheme GERMANY
Interview Gender Age Level of education Profession Course/s Provider/s
Most
important
benefits
GER_A F
70 Secondary school Legal
assistent
1. Painting
2. Gymnastics
3. Walking
4. Breathing techniques
5. Romanian
Adult
education
centre
Private
studio
Sense of
purpose in life
Mental well-
being
Self-efficacy
Health
behaviour
GER_B M
60 University degree in
social work
Press officer
at the munici-
pal adminis-
tration
Head of town
the twinning
office
1. Cabaret at the KZ
2. Political intending
work
Educational
institution of
the trade
union
Competencies
Civic and
social
engagement
Civic
competence
GER_C M
45 University degree:
Wirtschaftsingenieur
Manager 1. Yoga
2. Jazzdance
3. Leadership
4. Meditation
Adult
education
centre
Private
studio
Sense of
purpose in life
Social
networks
Health
behaviour
Mental well-
being
Work related
benefits
GER_D M
72 Secondary school Manager 1. French (since four
years)
Adult
education
centre
Competencies
Self-efficacy
Mental well-
being
GER_E M
63 Secondary school Lath
operator/union
employee/com
munity
secretary
1. Islam Critique
2. New Patriotism
3. Cabaret at the KZ
Educational
institution of
the trade
union
Civic and so-
cial engage-
ment
Civic compe-
tencies
Sense of
purpose in life
Mental well-
being
GER_F F 28 Diploma as in
oecotrophologist
Employee at
the voluntary
service of the
UNESCO
1. Swedish (since 3-4
years)
Adult
education
centre
Competencies
Sense of
purpose in life
Changes in
educational
experiences
GER_G F 30 Secondary school medical
technologist
1. English
2. Cooking
Adult
education
Self-efficacy
Work-related
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 90
3. Different sports
courses
centre
benefits
GER_H F 41 University degree in
Laws
Advisor for
banking
supervision
1. Prague parent child
programme (PEKiP)
Family
Education
Centre
Social
networks
Family
Case scheme ITALY
Interview Gen-
der
Age Level of
education
Profession Course/s Provider/s Most important
benefits
Example:
ITA_ A
Mariagrazia
F 38 Univ. degree in
Contemporary
History
Unemployed,
former copy
editor
1. Yoga
1. Cultural
association
Self-efficacy
Health benefits
ITA B
AnnaPia
F
65 Univ. Degree in
pedagogical
sciences
Retired, former
public servant
1. Creative
writing
2. Creative
writing
3. Self
consciousne
ss and
autobiograph
y
Cultural
association
Social networks
Self-efficacy
ITA _C
Ludmila
F 40 School leaving
certificate (in
Moldovia)
She works in
the small
building
enterprise
owned by her
husband
Italian for
foreigners
Cultural
association
Self-efficacy
Health benefits
ITA_ D
Sonia
F
37 School leaving
certificate (in
Ucraina)
Professional
caregiver
Italian for
foreigners
Cultural
association
Self-efficacy
Health benefits
ITA _E
Carla
F
42 School leaving
certificate
Civil servant 1.Creative
writing
2.yoga
Cultural
association
Self-efficacy
Health benefits
ITA_F
Paolo
M
64 Univ. Degree in
Human
Geography
Retired
Former
manager in a
public
administrative
office
1.yoga Cultural
association
Health benefits
Social networks
ITA_G
Rosa
F
55 Univ. Degree in
Italian Literature
Librarian 1.Photography
2.Yoga
1. Third age
university
2.Cultural
Self-efficacy
Mental
wellbeing
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 91
association
ITA_H
Elena
F
28 Univ. Degree in
Communication
Self employed
worker
1.E-book
creation
2.English
language
Cultural
association
Social network
Work-related
benefits
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 92
Case scheme ROMANIA
Interview Gender Age Level of
education
Profession Course/s Provider/s Most important
benefits
Example:
ROM_T
(Teea)
F 18 Example:
High school
Student 2. Dancing
3. Volley
1. Private
course
2. School
Self-efficacy
Social network
Changes in the
educational
experiences
Health benefits
ROM_NV
(Nicu)
M
70 Higher
education,
technical
univ.
Retired
mechanical
engineer
1. English
2. ICT
3. Health
Seniors
association
Social network
Civic and social
engagement
ROM_IM
(Ioana)
F
24 Higher
education
Assistant
manager
1.Project
management
2. Catalan
language
3. ICT
Private course
Spanish
University
Private course
Competences
Work-related
benefits
ROM_SN
(Simona)
F
37 Post high
school
Librarian,
student
Techniques of
communication
Private
foundation
Competences
ROM_V
(Viorica)
F
73 High school Retired 1.English
2.Health
3.ICT
Seniors
association
1.Social network
2.Health
behaviour
3. Changes in
the educational
experiences
ROM_AS
(Alex)
B
26 Higher
education,
PhD
Univ.
assistant
Poetry writing Cultural
association
Competences
Social network
RO_AA
(Alina)
F
32 Higher
education,
MA
Teacher Education for
democracy
Intercultural
institute
Work-related
benefits /
competences
ROM_SI
(Infonina)
F
53 Higher
education
Medical
retirement
Handicraft Church
workshop
Social network
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 93
Case scheme SERBIA
Interview Gender Age Level of
education
Profession Course/s Provider/s Most important
benefits
SRB_T
(Tanja )
F 56 Univ. degree in
pedagogy
(Magistar/Master)
Secretary Guitar course
for beginners
Private
course
Health benefits
SRB_S
(Sasa)
M
29 Univ. degree in
economics
Economist,
consultant
Germany
language,
B2/2 level
Private
institution
Work-related
benefits
Changes in the
educational
experiences
SRB_D
(Dusan )
M
24 Bechelor degree
in Andragogy
Student of
master studies
German
language
Intermediate
level (B2)
Private
course
Work-related
benefits
SRB_J
(Jelena)
F
34 High school –
musical school
Administrator
at company
Chorus -
musical course
for amaters
NGO Competencies
Changes in the
educational
experiences
Self-efficacy
SRB_V
(Violeta)
F
54 PhD degree in
Andragogy
Assistant
professor
Yoga Private
course
Health benefits
Work-related
benefits
Changes in the
educational
experience
SRB_M
(Maja)
F
38 High school –
medical school
Masseur,
housewife,
mother of two
children
Yoga NGO Health behavior
Mental well-
being
Self-efficacy
SRB_B
(Bojana)
F 31 University degree
in Andragogy
Secretary at
the
Department
for Andragogy
/Trainer
The
professional
orientation on
transition to
secondary
schooliing
NGO and
Ministry of
Education
Work related
benefits
SRB_Ž
(Željka)
F
28 Master of Food
Technology
Developer of
packaging
English
language,
B2/3 level
Private
institution
Work-related
benefits
Competencies
Changes in the
educational
experience
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 94
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 95
Case scheme SLOVENIA
Interview Gender Age Level of
education
Profession Course/s Provider/s Most important
benefits
SLO_A
Alenka
F
61 University
degree in
sociology
Retired
(before: a
sociologist)
1. Mediation –
conflict
resolution
2. Grandmothers
and grandfathers
3. Computer
course
1-3 Third Age
University
Self-efficacy
Sense of
purpose in life
SLO_B
Branko
M 31 Grammar
school
Candidate for
graduation
1. Theatre
improvisation
2. Workshops on
voluntary and
other work
3. Vineyard
issues
1. Theatre
2. NGO
3. Private
entrepreneur
in Austria
Competencies
Civic
competence
Tolerance
SLO_C
Cvetka
F 32 University
degree – the
Slovene
language
Adult
educator,
mentor,
professor of
the Slovene
language
1. Classes on
adult education
2. How to make
a skirt
3. The Spanish
language
1. Folk high
school, Insti-
tute for Adult
Education etc.
2. Private
dressmaker
3. Language
school
Self-efficacy
Mental well-
being
SLO_D
Darko
M
27
University
degree – in
electrotechnics
Computer
programmer
1. Computer
course
(programming)
1. Computer
company
Competencies
SLO_E
Erika
F
49
M. SC. in
computer
science and
informatics
Disability
pension
1. Mentoring for
study circles
2. Reading
circles for elderly
1. Institute for
Adult
Education
2. Institute
Changes in the
educational
experience
Social network
SLO_F
Franci
M
76
Technical High
School
Retired
(before: head
ofprototype
workshops in
a factory)
1. Arts class
2. Computer
class
1. Artist
2. Computer
company
Changes in the
educational
experience
Social network
Self-efficacy
SLO_G
Gizela
F
24
Upper
secondary
school
Unemployed 1. Yoga
2. Business
communication
3. Personal
coaching
1. Private
yoga trainer
2. Company
3. City Youth
Council
Self-efficacy
SLO_H Lower Unemployed 1. Project 1. Folk high Changes in the
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 96
Herbert
M
22
vocational
school
(computer field)
learning for
young Adults
school
educational
experiences
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 97
Case scheme SPAIN
Interview Gender Age Level of
education
Profession Course/s Provider/s Most important
benefits
ESP_M
(Maria)
F 25 University
degree
Red Cross 1. English B 2.0
2. Catalan D
3. Intervention
of Socio
Addictions
Work related
benefits,
Competences,
Self-efficacy
ESP_J
(Jose)
M
66 Basic
Education
Retired 1. English Social network
Changes in
educational
experiences,
Competences
ESP_D
(David)
M
77 Basic
Education
Retired 1. Literary
discussion
2. ICT resource
Competences
Changes in
educational
experiences,
Social network
ESP_N
(Noemi)
F
73 Basic
Education
Housewife 1. Bobbing
lacing
Social interaction,
Skills in handcraft,
Civic competence,
Changes in
educational
experiences
ESP_N
(Nuria)
F
37 High School School dining
instructor
1. Preparation
of entrance
exam for the
intermediate
grade of
vocational
training
Public School Social network,
Self-efficacy,
Mental well-being
Family
ESP_E
(Esther)
M
28 Basic VET Worker at a
nightclub of
public
relationships
1. Preparation
of entrance
exam
Public school Competences,
Self-efficacy,
Social network
ESP_J
(Juan)
M
38 VET Unemployed 1. English for
adults
2. IT
3. Furniture
restoration
4. Early
detection of
Public school Self-efficacy,
Social network,
Competences,
Changes in
educational
experiences
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 98
dyslexia
ESP_R
(Raquel)
F
70 -- Retired Public school Changes in
educational
experiences,
Competences,
Mental well-being
ESP_S
(Sofia)
F 44 Basic
Education
Unemployed 1. Literature of
Catalan
Public school Changes in
educational
experiences,
Mental well-being,
Self-efficacy
ESP_M
(Marisa)
F 67 Basic
Education
Retired 1. Literacy
2. Technology
(Photoshop)
Public school Self-efficacy,
Social network,
Mental well-being,
Competences,
Changes in
educational
experiences
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 99
Case scheme SWITZERLAND
Interview Gender Age Level of
education
Profession Course/s Provider/s Most important
benefits
CH_A
(Anna)
F 59 Univ. degree
(Dr med.)
Writer (a
former doctor
who gave up
her medical)
1) Script writing
2) Style in
modern
literature
Private provider Sense of
purpose in life
Competences
Work-related
benefits
CH_B
(Brenda)
F
57 College of
higher
education
Remedial
teacher
(currently out
of work for
health
reasons)
1) Digital
photography (2
courses)
2) Acoustics
3) Sewing
1)Private
provider
2) Public
provider
3) Private sewing
studio
Sense of
purpose in life
Mental well-
being
CH_C
(Chris)
M
44 Baccalaureate
(upper
secondary ,
general qualif.
for university
entrance)
Project
manager in
the financial
sector
1) Japanese
(basic and
advanced)
2) Power Yoga
Private providers Mental well-
being
Physical well-
being
Changes in the
educational
experience
CH_D
(Daniel)
M
38 Federal VET
diploma (upper
secondary,
vocational
qualification)
Accountant
(currently in
full-time self-
organised
education)
1) French
conversation
2) Swedish
(basic)
3) Economics
(self-orga-nised,
1 year)
Private provider,
self-organised
learning
Competences
Sense of
purpose in life
CH_E
(Edith)
F
51 PET college
degree (tertiary
professional
education)
Employee at
the public
administration
and free-
lance coach
1) Awareness
training
2) Matrix (self
healing
technique)
Private providers
Mental well-
being
CH_F
(Frieda)
F
77 Vocational
education
Retired
journalist
1) Desktop
Publishing,
2) Photo-shop
3) Dutch
4) Sewing
1-2) Public
provider
3) Private
provider
4) Private
sewing studio
Sense of
purpose in life
Mental well-
being
Social network
CH_G
(Gregor)
M
42 University of
applied
sciences
Electro
engineer,
Technical
University
1) Portuguese (2
courses),
2) Brazilian
dances
3) Rhetoric
(vocational)
Public provider Sense of
purpose in life
Social network
Mental well-
being
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 100
CH_H
(Henrik)
M
71 Vocational
qualification
(social work)
Speaker at
funerals,
weddings etc.
1) German
language and
grammar
2) Conflict
solving
Public provider
Changes in the
educational
experience
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 101
APPENDIX 6: Additional description of the interview sample
The total sample of interviews is N=82 (8 per participating country, except for Spain that made 10
interviews). The structure of the interview sample is similar to the structure of the survey sample in terms of
gender (two thirds women, one third men) and age (except for respondents under 18, less represented in
the interview sample than in the survey sample).
Age group Interviewees
N
Percent
15 - 24
6
7.3
25 - 36
20
24.4
37 – 49
22
26.8
50 – 64
19
23.2
65-92
15
18.3
Total
82
100%
Table 1
In terms of level of education, the qualitative sample contains slightly more respondents with high
qualifications than the quantitative sample.
Level of education Interviewees
N
%
ISCED 1 – 2
11
14%
ISCED 3 - 4
34
41%
ISCED 5 - 6
37
45%
Total
82
100%
Table 2
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 102
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 103
Finally, in terms of course topics, the interview sample includes people that attended almost all course
areas represented in the survey sample.
Course topics
Number of courses
taken by the
interviewees
N
%
Social & political education
9
5.8%
Languages & humanities
37
23.6%
ICT
14
8.9%
Health and sports (doing)
30
19.0%
Creative activities (doing)
39
24.8%
Skills and competences
12
7.6%
Work related topics
9
5.8%
Other
7
4.5%
Total
157
100%
Table 3
Benefits of Lifelong Learning (BeLL)
Agreement n. 2011 - 4075 / 001 – 001
Project number – 519319-LLP-1-2011-1-DE-KA1-KA1SCR
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author,
and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 104
