Despite national policy commitments to adult education and lifelong learning, participation rates in Community Education and Training (CET) colleges and Community Learning Centers (CLCs) remain suboptimal, particularly in rural contexts. Employing an interpretivist paradigm and qualitative case study methodology, this research examined the lived experiences of six adult learners and six facilitators regarding barriers to participation in functional literacy programmes at Mageme Community Learning Centre, in Limpopo Province. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that barriers operate across four interconnected dimensions: situational factors (financial constraints, domestic responsibilities, distance and transport challenges); institutional factors (inadequate infrastructure, limited learning materials, inflexible scheduling); dispositional factors (social stigma, low self-confidence, gendered cultural norms); and informational factors (limited awareness, poor marketing of programmes). Additionally, the study identifies the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) as compounding these barriers through digital exclusion and infrastructure deficits. The study contributes context-specific evidence to the discourse on adult education barriers in rural South Africa and recommends targeted structural interventions, including transport subsidies, childcare provision, flexible scheduling, community mobilisation, and digital inclusion strategies to enhance participation and programme effectiveness.
Ogundiran et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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