Urban–Nonmetropolitan differences in adult participation in community learning: the roles of educational attainment, employment status, and participation barriers in Taiwan

Adult participation in continuing and community learning is shaped by agency exercised within unequal social, institutional, digital, and spatial conditions. This study examined urban–nonmetropolitan differences in adult participation in community learning in Taiwan and whether these differences remained after educational attainment, employment status, gender, and age were considered. It also analysed whether reported barriers differed between urban and nonmetropolitan non-participants. Nationally representative survey data from 7,058 adults were analysed using weighted binary logistic regression, average marginal effects, and weighted multinomial logistic regression. Urban adults had a higher descriptive participation rate than nonmetropolitan adults. However, the residence effect was no longer statistically significant after adjustment, and predicted participation probabilities did not differ significantly by residence within any educational group. Educational attainment and gender were more consistent predictors of participation. Work/time constraints were the most common barrier in both groups; only economic, eligibility, or supply-related barriers differed significantly by residence. The findings indicate that apparent spatial inequality in adult community learning is largely social-compositional. They also suggest that flexible and digital provision may be an important unmeasured mechanism through which geographical constraints are reduced.