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This research examined the motivations and conditions conducive to the academic success of adult learners who resume their studies in order to obtain qualifying training within the vocational training system after leaving school without obtaining a high school diploma.

It makes valuable recommendations concerning a number of facilitating structures and conditions that could be put in place to help such individuals to obtain a Diploma of Vocational Studies (DVS).

Adults who resume their studies are seeking to improve their quality of life and that of their families.

The project had three objectives: 1) To identify the issues of adult learners enrolled in professional training; 2) To identify the elements that facilitate or undermine academic success in the context of different instructional approaches; and 3) To propose possible courses of action.

The research showed that people who seek qualifying training after interrupting their studies for several years generally make the decision to do so in a well-reasoned, deliberate manner, as the result of dissatisfaction with their quality of life and working conditions. Essentially, adults who resume their studies are seeking to improve their quality of life and that of their families.

Main researcher

Lorraine Savoie, Université du Québec en Outaouais

Research report

Appendices

Call for proposals

Deposit of the research report: April 2007