“It’s Not Like Normal School”: The Role of Prior Learning Contexts in Adult Learning

Abstract

This article explores the ways in which prior experiences in formal learning contexts influence adult learners’ views of their current context. Using interview data from five women participating in a General Educational Development program, this study suggests that these learners’ constructions of previous learning contexts function as “screens” between the learner and the learning. Contextual features of current learning contexts may pass easily through a learner’s screen, may be a misfit creating ambivalence and tension, or may exceed the boundary of the screen’s frame. The outcomes of each situation are discussed and an argument is made for conscious examination of the screen.