Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) is a university-level institution in the South-East of Ireland with over 10,000 students and 1000 staff. WIT offers tuition and research programmes in various areas up to PhD level.

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With the number of mature students pursuing courses in further and higher education having increased considerably during the last two years, groundbreaking doctoral research completed at Waterford Institute of Technology has reinforced the need for quality guidance services to support those returning to formal education after what may have been a lengthy period.

Conducted by Dr Lucy Hearne, who herself returned to education as a mature student and is now a course director in the Department of Education & Professional Studies at University of Limerick, the PhD research was the first of its kind to examine the impact of guidance provision for adult learners in Ireland.

Funded by an Irish Research Council for Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS) scholarship, the study charts the educational progression, personal and professional development of a number of adults over a period of time to gauge the value they drew from guidance intervention and their return to education. The research also examines the range of personal and systemic obstacles encountered by adult learners over time.

Arising from her research, Dr Hearne has made a series of policy and service delivery recommendations. These include a re-examination of how progress by adult learners through further and higher education is tracked over time to take account of wider outcomes beyond employability.

In addition, it is recommended that specific methods are introduced, such as client action plans and agreements at the start of guidance about how progress will be monitored over time. In addition, Dr Hearne suggests that adult learners be more directly and structurally involved in the planning, development, delivery and review of adult guidance services at a local and national level.

Speaking about her findings, Dr Hearne said: “The over-riding message coming through from the clients I spoke to and worked with in recent years is that there is no ‘one size fits all’ package that will suit the circumstances of all adult learners. Rather, each comes in with a different set of talents and expectations though all share a determination to grasp the opportunity they have carved out by returning to formal learning at some level.

“For the last 10 years, a formalised system of guidance has been a feature of adult education in this country and this has brought considerable benefits to clients, their families and the wider community. There are now 40 adult educational guidance services operating around the country that support adults to make decisions around their educational, training, occupational, personal, social and life choices. Indeed, Waterford-based REGSA (Regional Educational Guidance Service for Adults) where I previously worked as a guidance counsellor is the longest-established centre in the country and has contributed considerably to professional best practice.

“While much progress has been made, there is more that can be done and this is particularly important now as more and more adults return to education in response to changed economic circumstances or other adjustments in their own lives. Having taken the courageous step of deciding to resume their formal education after what may have been an absence of several years or more, adult learners deserve every support and facilitation so that their experience is a positive one that benefits themselves but also society more widely. Measuring the range of long-term outcomes achieved in individual cases in a more rounded way is vital at this juncture.”