Motivations and challenges of adult women learners pursuing elementary education in Philippine higher education

Abstract

In the Philippines, the growing participation of adult women learners in elementary education degree programs raises critical questions of equity, gendered access, and social justice in higher education. This study examines the motivations and challenges of eight adult women learners pursuing an elementary education degree at a non-urban university. Guided by feminist theory and self-determination theory, data from semi-structured interviews, observations, and document analysis were thematically interpreted. The findings reveal three interconnected motivations—emotional, functional, and social—and three corresponding challenges—personal, emotional, and social. These dynamics show how financial constraints, caregiving roles, and gendered expectations intersect with autonomy, competence, and relatedness to shape persistence, identity reconstruction, and developing pedagogical agency. The study points out that there are flexible, inclusive, and gender-responsive adult education programs that recognise women’s intersecting responsibilities. Situated within a Global South framework, the research enhances a socially just comprehension of adult women learners in higher education and underscores its capacity to promote empowerment, equity, and the transformation of educator identities in the Philippines.