Experiences of non-formal education : a study of motivation sources and empowerment among facilitators

Abstract

The aim of the thesis is to gain more understanding of the motivation sources and empowerment outcomes of the participants who are facilitators in non-formal education. The conceptual framework includes concepts of motivation and empowerment. Altruism and egoism describe interconnection between motivation sources and concepts of motivation in parallel. To explain the empowerment outcomes, the specific concepts of empowerment are constructed by data-driven approach. The life story interview and participant observation are applied for data collection, and the thematic analysis is adopted as a tool to categorize and analyze the data. The interview data consists of eight facilitators from five organizations in three different countries: The United States, Finland, and Thailand.

The results indicate that, first, participants have numerous motivation sources which emphasize altruism and egoism in different ways, and second, non-formal education participation has empowered facilitators, learners, and/or societies. Based on the findings on empowerment outcomes in this study, it is obvious that further research conducted consistently in longer duration is needed to produce more in-depth knowledge about empowerment outcomes. This study brings to the light that the previous experiences are essential to involve or continue in non-formal education.

The results indicate powerful motivations have inspired facilitators to continue in non-formal education, and that has empowered and influenced people and communities. This study reflects positive and negative motivations that can be led to learning design development, and it could be helpful to support existing and future education policy making.