Balancing Act: A Phenomenological Study of Female Adult Learners Who Successfully Persisted in Graduate Studies

Abstract

A study was conducted utilizing Cross’ (1981) barriers to adult learning as a framework to better understand how adults successfully complete their graduate studies. Participants in the study were solicited via Facebook and LinkedIn. Three female adult learners who persisted in their graduate studies while balancing demands outside academics including employment and family responsibilities were selected. The study found the barriers identified by Cross 30 years ago–institutional, dispositional and situational–were still relevant for these female graduate adult learners. The phenomenological approach allowed the participants to describe how they made meaning of these barriers while overcoming them to persist in their graduate studies.