Perceptions of Motivations and Barriers to Higher Education

Excerpt taken from my research proposal, pages 103-112.

*Minor adjustments have been made for formatting and readability purposes.

Barriers: Barriers are defined as any aspect in an individual’s current or future circumstances that might deter that individual from attending a postsecondary institution as an adult learner (Bellare et al., 2023).

Higher education: Higher education, also called postsecondary education or tertiary education, describes any formal learning beyond secondary school and usually involves specialized courses in particular fields of study (Kalso, 2025). 

Motivation: Motivation refers to the internal and/or external reason(s) an adult learner chooses to pursue higher education at a postsecondary institution (Bellare et al., 2023).

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The pursuit of postsecondary education is the result of a myriad of internal and external factors which affect students of all ages, in every population, in every region of the world. Conde (2023) explained that historically, social, legal, and political systems have been designed to promote a culture of work, emphasizing production and social reproduction of life. Furthermore, Conde found these systems to be especially prevalent in low-income households that are easily exploited by capitalists and unable to prioritize education.

This is evident in the Freely Associated States (FAS) where many women, despite facing racist and gender-bias sentiments, migrate to the U.S. or one of its territories to find stable work and earn enough money to send back home to their families (Smith et al., 2022). And according to Wang (2021), although education is considered an investment in human capital, it can also perpetuate poverty, especially for low-socioeconomic status (SES) families living in rural areas. Wang further explained how without financial security, families can exhaust their resources attempting to provide quality education for their children, resulting in both temporary and long-term poverty.

For many students, attending a higher education institution and attaining a postsecondary degree is already challenging however, there are key motivations and barriers students perceive that can either help or hinder the process. In this section, I will review studies that provide information relevant to students’ perceptions of higher education.

Ultimately, human influence is one of the most prominent factors in how students perceive postsecondary education. Whereas some researchers have demonstrated significant correlations between students’ motivations to learn and the level of engagement between students and instructors, (Ma & Gao, 2023; Xiong, 2025), other researchers emphasize the influence of family, social groups, mentor support, and adult role models in minimizing barriers to higher education (Doutor & Alves, 2024; Maheshwari, 2023; Schuman-Harel & Refaeli, 2024; Thunig, 2022).

On the other hand, in a study of private university students in Oman, higher institution selection was not associated with external influences but rather the school itself, and its efforts to communicate with potential students (Mishra & Gupta, 2021). Nonetheless, in marginalized populations, the three most significant motivators for students to pursue higher education were adults who actively encouraged them to, instructors who created engaging and interesting classroom content, and academic institutions that fostered a feeling of acceptance and community (Avant et al., 2021; Bullock et al., 2021). These findings underscore the complex relationship between interpersonal and institutional influences on students pursuing higher education.

The impact of these influences and consequent motivations begin to take shape in earlier education. In a study of high school students in the UK, Davies and Ercolani (2021) found that males were motivated to attend college by the opportunity for personal financial gain while females, on the other hand, were motivated by a desire to contribute to society and for increased occupational status. Additionally, Zhao and Smith (2025) discovered student motives to be significantly affected by teachers who shape student beliefs about the benefits and future opportunities provided by higher education. Furthermore, these experiences oftentimes mitigated the limitations associated with gender norms, especially for females.

This is also supported by Bryan et al. (2022) who found that contact with counselors who provided college counseling, the associated expectations of those counselors, support in the form of application assistance and financial aid help had a positive effect on students’ decisions to pursue higher education. In marginalized populations, Integrated Student Support (ISS) in primary school and taking at least one dual-enrollment class in secondary school were both shown to reduce barriers to higher education for low-SES students (Lee et al., 2022; Pollack et al., 2024). These studies reinforce the importance of faculty and staff support systems in promoting postsecondary academic opportunities.

Building on this, recent studies have examined these dynamics in more specific contexts. With a focus on black women, Kalu (2022) further explored how school factors motivated students to complete a bachelor’s degree. Of the study’s population, almost sixty percent of students were from households making fifty-five thousand dollars or less annually and results showed the level of teacher bias and parental expectations to be the strongest influencers.

In studies specifically related to women pursuing postsecondary degrees in STEM subjects, family members, school counselors, influential people working in STEM fields, and communal support systems were strong determinants in motivating women to pursue higher education (Dökme et al., 2022; Wao et al., 2023).

Tereshchenko et al.’s (2024) research also supports this position however, their study’s results showed gender stereotypes and balancing education alongside expectations in the home as challenges for women pursuing STEM education. These examples illustrate how individuals and academic communities alike can directly impact students’ higher education decisions.

Individuals and academic communities also contribute to broader systemic motivators and barriers to higher education. As an example, in rural India the existing caste systems and related disparities in SES can ultimately hinder women’s abilities to migrate to urbanized areas of the country where postsecondary education is both encouraged and accessible (Marmath, 2024). Furthermore, according to Marmath, receiving higher education in India was considered a privilege that was seldom afforded to village women. This is also supported by Kundal and Singh (2024) who found female law school students in India faced significant challenges rooted in societal norms and patriarchal expectations of their education and career choices. Women in South Africa also reported considerable gender-specific structural obstacles to enrollment and completion, including socio-cultural views and financial limitations (Sokani, 2024).

However, in a study of women attending public universities in Pakistan, Ur Rehman et al. (2024) found that while patriarchal structures and traditional cultures can be demotivating for women, the desire for economic stability, professional identity, intellectual development, and support from husbands and fathers contributed to academic motivation.

Disadvantaged students are burdened by restrictive systems in academics as well. According to Schuman-Harel and Refaeli (2024), women who faced financial hardship, experienced high levels of personal risk, and who were also diagnosed with a learning disability, tended to report higher perceived barriers to accessing postsecondary education. Moreover, Parekh et al. (2025) concluded that disabled students are almost twice as likely to not access postsecondary education compared to their non-disabled peers.

Pregnancy in college can also be a disadvantage. For example, in a study of postsecondary students in Uganda, pregnant students were socially stigmatized, unable to access any supportive services, and in many cases, rejected by their families (Nyakato et al., 2023). As a result, these students became victims of physical, emotional, economic, and social gender-based violence (GBV) and school-based violence.

However, while some researchers found a lack of information and prevention services paired with male-dominated societal beliefs resulted in pregnancies that led to early childbearing, participants reported that having a child was ultimately motivating for them to pursue higher education (Gao et al., 2023; Ngcobo & Shumba, 2023). Taken together, these studies provide evidence that humans play a critical role in either contributing to academic barriers or working to mitigate them.

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Transnational Students

Students who choose to attend postsecondary institutions in other countries are influenced by a variety of factors. For example, in a study of international students from four universities in Turkey, Alnajjar and Alacapinar (2024) found the quality of education and variety of academic options to be motivating factors. In addition, students reported culture, ease of living, affordability, and religious and ethnic associations to also be important in their decisions. This is also reflected in the results of Campbell et al.’s (2024) systematic literature review in which the researchers concluded students who identify as LGBTQIA+ felt more comfortable with attending academic institutions in other countries where they were free from familial oversight and could express their identities in an environment that was safer and more welcoming than their homes.

Similarly, Yilmaz and Sahan (2023) found some students to be motivated by the opportunity for cultural growth however, in this case, the researchers also noted that prejudices established through previous instruction and perceptions about the difficulty of learning a foreign language served as barriers. Likewise, Galván Malagón and Morera-Bañas (2025) determined that language barriers are an obstacle to self-expression and can lead to a lack of confidence in the classroom. This is further supported by Sahoo et al. (2023) who showed how limited English literacy skills and factors related to immigrant status can negatively impact one’s motivation to learn and quickly become a barrier to pursuing postsecondary education.

Nevertheless, Slobodin et al. (2021) found that when Ethiopian students attending higher education institutions in Israel believed they were discriminated against, they actually felt stronger about their ethnic identity, and subsequently, their reasons for pursuing a postsecondary degree.

Money is another notable factor in students’ decisions to pursue academics internationally. Doutor and Alves (2024) studied students from Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa who chose to pursue higher education in Portugal. Their findings proved lower tuition fees and scholarship opportunities to be motivating factors. Furthermore, African students perceived higher education in Portugal to be of higher quality, desired a degree from a more respected country, and felt they would experience greater positive impacts on the personal, social, and professional parts of their lives.

In another study, Mitic and Wolniak (2022) sought to predict study abroad participation from a national sample of students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. Results showed while money remains a significant barrier to studying abroad, students who were previously exposed to severe poverty and those who received financial aid were more likely to seek instruction at an international institution. These studies confirm that when resources are available to students, pursuing postsecondary education in other countries is seen as an important aspect of both their immediate personal wellbeing and their future economic stability.

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Nontraditional Students

Local workforce options can impact how some adults perceive higher education opportunities. For instance, in Bali where tourism is a major generator of jobs and the economy, women were motivated to pursue higher education in tourism-related fields because of their work in the industry (Yanthy & Pickel-Chevalier, 2021). As a result, Balinese women reported finding better jobs and career opportunities after completing a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate program focused on tourism.

However, Guan and Blair (2022) studied students in the Chinese adult higher education sector and determined many students felt their degrees were undervalued. In addition, while the students agreed the resulting accreditations legitimized their careers and supported job promotions, they did not feel it validated their ability to do their jobs effectively. In another example, although career development and tuition reimbursement were found to be major motivators when education was related to employment, Bellare et al. (2023) determined that some of the top deterrents for these students included concerns about technology and having to take courses online. Thus, while professional development proves to be motivating for some adult students, moving from a traditional classroom setting to a virtual one may serve as a barrier to others.

Distance learning has become a viable source of postsecondary education for many students around the world, although not without its challenges and limitations. More specifically, Ersoy (2023) identified socioeconomic constraints, digital literacy limitations, language, and cultural barriers, lack of learning support, and overall diminished motivation and engagement as barriers to distance learning for marginalized groups and disadvantaged student populations. In another study of online learners, Nam et al. (2024) found students who were already employed also felt technically challenged and had issues with learning motivation, along with having less time and support to pursue a degree.

However, Kilinc and Goksel (2024) showed that intrinsic motivation is extremely important in distance learning, regardless of age, gender, employment status, or educational status. Moreover, the study revealed that as students age, intrinsic incentives for learning grows. In other studies, regardless of age, ethnicity, cultural context, or SES, women were found to show more self-determination and optimism, were more proactive and resourceful, and demonstrated more inherent pride in their own abilities than their male peers (Bozgeyikli et al., 2023; Gutierrez-Serrano et al., 2023; Roa Venegas et al., 2024). Ultimately, intrinsic motivation is a key determinant in how students perceive their ability to access postsecondary education.

The majority of studies I discussed about perceptions of motivations and barriers utilized a qualitative methodology however, several quantitative studies mirror my chosen research design. For instance, Bryan et al. (2022) and Schuman-Harel and Refaeli (2024) both employed regression analysis in their studies of high school and college students, respectively. Likewise, numerous researchers used regression analysis and in addition, used online questionnaires to collect self-reported data (Alnajjar and Alacapinar, 2024; Bozgeyikli et al., 2023; Mishra & Gupta, 2021; Nam et al., 2024).

Self-reporting online questionnaires were also used as instruments in Kilinc and Goksel’s (2024) study of intrinsic motivation in distance learning as well as Slobodin et al.’s (2021) study of transnational students in Israel. When questionnaires were used by other researchers, measuring responses using Likert-type questions proved to be an effective way to collect data (Davies & Ercolani, 2021; Kalu 2022; Galván Malagón & Morera-Bañas, 2025).

These examples validate the use of questionnaires as a collection tool and regression analysis as a way of examining data in quantitative studies about perceptions of motivations and barriers to higher education. And finally, when taken together, the research I covered in this section provide a comprehensive foundation for understanding what motivates students of all ages, backgrounds, and SES levels to pursue a postsecondary degree both at home and abroad. 

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