MATURE-AGE STUDENTS FEELINGS OF ENJOYING LEARNING IN A FURTHER EDUCATION CONTEXT

Students' enjoyment in learning is an aspect of the quality of learnin g which has not been a focus for educational researchers despite its o bvious relationship to success in learning. This study adopts a nondua listic approach to investigate the reflected experience of their enjoy ment in learning of sixteen mature-age students in an Australian insti tution for further education. Through a phenomenographic analysis of i nterview transcripts, the researchers discerned six qualitatively diff erent ways in which the students experienced enjoyment in their learni ng in further education. These conceptions of enjoying learning in fur ther education are structurally related in terms of the personal exper ience, the institution's perceived approach to learning, the relevance of the learning to the students' careers, the nature of the learning environment, the presence of learning stimuli and the intellectual cha llenge involved in the learning itself.