Adult Learning in Online Communities of Practice: An Investigation of Environmental, Personal, and Behavioural Factors
Creators: name: Abedini, Ahmad
Publisher: name: Macquarie University
Year: 2025
Subjects: classificationCode: 350303
subject: Business information systems

description: Adult learning is a complex phenomenon that occurs over an adult's lifetime. It includes activities to enhance life by improving skills, knowledge and capabilities. The foundational theories of adult learning, such as andragogy theory, place the individual adult at centre stage and differentiate adult learning from formal learning. Online communities of practice (OCOPs) offer a platform for adult learners to connect, share experiences, and learn from one another. The principles of adult learning are directly applicable to engagement in OCOPs because they include practical methods founded on the belief that adults are self-directed, autonomous learners and that learning is most effective when the environment plays the role of a facilitator rather than just a supportive and traditional setting for learning. However, how individual adults engage in OCOPs and benefit from them is not well understood. Online communities have made it easier for adult learners to share experiences and engage in learning activities from any location. Also, the rise of adults' engagement in OCOPs has allowed for a more flexible and accessible approach to lifelong learning. Despite an increased growth in the use of OCOPs by adults in various sectors, there is still a lack of understanding of the characteristics of adult learners in OCOPs, adults' engagement in OCOPs, and learning outcomes. The literature review (Chapter Three) discovered that adult members of OCOPs exhibit qualities such as independence, a focus on experiences and problem-solving, self-motivation, goal orientation, and a commitment to lifelong learning to achieve desired outcomes. The interview study results (Chapter Four) revealed that participation in online communities fulfils intrinsic needs, aligns with well-defined and anticipated outcomes, and significantly influences adults' engagement, impacting learning achievements such as professional experience and credit recognition. Based on these findings, a revised framework for adults’ engagement in OCOPs is presented, and critical factors influencing each other to shape adults’ engagement in OCOPs are discussed (Figure 4-3). The content analysis study (Chapter Five) delved into the interaction of environmental, personal, and behavioural factors, contributing to understanding how these elements shape engagement in OCOPs. Additionally, employing a cognitive process in the case study (Chapter Six) assessed the impact of adults' engagement in OCOPs. Moreover, using cognitive process, this study showed the process of adults’ learning engagement in OCOPs, uncovering the importance of two critical steps to achieving desired results in OCOPs contributing to learning outcomes: (i) learning to engage and (ii) learning to learn (Figure 6-2).In summary, this research expanded the application of andragogy to adult learning within OCOPs. It enriched the existing theory by elucidating the characteristics of adult learning in OCOPs, presenting a refined framework for adults' engagement in OCOPs using social cognitive theory, and identifying factors that contribute to shaping adults' engagement. Furthermore, it integrated the influence of adults' engagement in OCOPs on learning outcomes through the cognitive process.