Ten learners accredited their families, friends and other classmates for helping them make progress. With reference to classmates, learners said it was helpful “having people around that are serious about the program” and “seeing other people move along.”

Five learners mentioned the importance of goals, i.e., knowing their goals, interest in their goals and achieving their goals Five also mentioned motivation, the desire to learn, initiative to finish, dedication, determination and achievement.

Positives influences on learners’ attendance

While learners attributed their progress in LBS programs mainly to their teachers, they identified three major influences that helped them attend regularly.

They are:

• features of the program itself such as a flexible schedule, attendance cards, selfpaced learning, and interesting subjects (15 responses)
• motivation such as the desire to learn, determination and dedication (14)
• achievement of goals (11)

Four learners discussed the importance of not falling behind. Some of their comments include:

• If you miss too much you can fall behind. You don’t want to fall behind.
• When you miss one day, you want to keep missing.
• The more time spent in the program, the faster you finish.
• People who move through the program very fast go on to get good paying jobs.

Summary Highlights

We feel the concept of force field analysis has potential as a simple, non-threatening way for learners to explore and overcome the barriers that get in the way of their full participation in programs. Managing forces fits well with the self-management part of the Self-Management/Self-Direction learning outcome. The concept can be used in orientation to help lessen or eliminate serious situational barriers. It can be integrated into the regular progress review process as a reflection piece. Managing forces is an ongoing challenge for learners. As we well know, learners can disappear from the program at any time, even when they are doing well. The concept of force field analysis might also be incorporated into learning activities such as journal writing and demonstration activities related to career exploration.