A study to explore any personal growth which may take place in adults who undertake learning programmes: (special field : human relations)

This study puts forward the case that adults on an Advanced GNVQ in Health and Social Care have experienced personal growth as a result of undertaking the programme. I have presented a study of literature concerning adults learning to ascertain the goals and methods of education. This is followed by a study of literature concerning the nature of personal growth from a Humanistic perspective. I have then related education and personal growth because I wanted to see how far there were areas of commonality or overt differences in underpinning theory. My data came from two sources: the first was interviews with four mature students on the GNVQ programme. These interviews were carried out in a non-directive, person-centred manner. I taped the interviews and v^ote an account of each, with sections of interviewee response transcribed exactly, and my own interventions verbatim. The second source of data came from the same four participants and consists of learning journals, three of them kept in relation to aspects of self-awareness as part of the programme. The fourth gave me a life review he had written and asked me to use this instead of a journal. With both sources of data I have pulled out relevant parts and compared these to indicators of personal growth which I had afready identified. In this way I was seeking any evidence of these indicators being fiilfilled. I found there was evidence that different aspects of personal growth had occurred in the learners, attributed by them to the learning programme. I then considered what the implications of this may be from differing viewpoints, professional, practical and political. I have concluded with a critical evaluation of the research, including what I would alter if undertaking it again and what I have learned from doing it