The purpose of this study is to improve the quality of life for adult learners by identifying the quality of life and lifelong learning participation motivations, lifelong learning performance, psychological empowerment, and by analyzing paths and influences among variables to identify structural relationships.
First, how do adult learners participate in lifelong learning, lifelong learning outcomes, psychological empowerment, and quality of life vary depending on background variables? Second, what is the structural relationship between adult learners'' motivation to participate in lifelong learning, lifelong learning performance, psychological empowerment, and factors of quality of life? Third, what are the mediated effects of lifelong learning outcomes and psychological empowerment on adult learners'' motivation to participate in lifelong learning and quality of life? Fourth, how is the dual effect of lifelong learning performance and psychological empowerment in relation to lifelong learning participation and quality of life among adult learners?
The study subjects surveyed 551 adult lifelong learners and conducted t-test and one-way ANOVA with SPSS 25.0 and verified the suitability of the structural model and significance of the structural path with Amos 25.0 to analyze the structural relationship between variables.
The conclusions of this study are as follows.
First, as a result of studying the relationship between variables according to the personal background and characteristics of adult learners, the motivation for participation in lifelong learning, psychological empowerment, lifelong learning outcomes, and quality of life were all significantly different according to the duration of lifelong learning classes. There were significant differences in psychological empowerment, lifelong learning outcomes, and quality of life according to the place of residence. These results show that adult learners have significant differences in their quality of life according to their age, place of residence, and duration of lifelong learning. It can be seen that the long-term lifelong learning group has higher quality of life than the short-term group. Therefore, it is necessary to develop incentives that can sustain lifelong learning courses for a long period of time, or find prior research that affects continuous courses and apply them to lifelong learning programs or policy development to take lifelong learning courses.
Second, in the structural relationship of research variables, the motivation to participate in lifelong learning had a positive effect on lifelong learning outcomes, psychological empowerment, and quality of life. Psychological empowerment has a positive effect on the quality of life. And lifelong learning outcomes had a positive effect on psychological empowerment and quality of life. In addition, lifelong learning outcomes had a positive effect on the quality of life. Therefore, lifelong learning participation motivation, lifelong learning outcomes, psychological empowerment and quality of life are closely related as a whole, and by developing lifelong learning programs based on the improvement of adult learners'' participation in lifelong learning, lifelong learning outcomes, and psychological empowerment Need to improve their quality of life.
Third, lifelong learning outcomes and psychological empowerment played a mediating role between lifelong learning participation motivation and quality of life. The mediating effect is the single mediating path of lifelong learning outcomes and the single mediating path of psychological empowerment. In addition, there was a significant influence directly and indirectly between the motivation to participate in lifelong learning and the quality of life.
Fourth. There was a double mediating effect of lifelong learning outcomes and psychological empowerment. Therefore, lifelong learning outcomes and psychological empowerment are important in the lifelong education teaching process for adult learners. In other words, it is required to operate a program that considers activity-oriented, learning-oriented, and goal-oriented factors of lifelong learning outcomes, and a program that considers psychological empowerment competence, self-determination, and influence factors.
The recommendations of this study are as follows.
First, lifelong learning outcomes and psychological empowerment played a mediating role in the motivation and quality of life of adult learners to participate in lifelong learning. Therefore, it is necessary to find ways to improve the quality of life of adult learners by systematically developing comfort programs to improve adult learners'' lifelong learning outcomes and psychological empowerment.
Second, the research variables were limited to those related to lifelong learning participation motivation, lifelong learning outcomes, psychological empowerment, and quality of life. And improving the quality of life of adult learners is a complex process of various variables. Therefore, based on the results of this study, it is necessary to study the variables that can affect the quality of life of adult learners.
Third, in this study, a direct questionnaire and an internet questionnaire were conducted for adult learners in the Jeonbuk region. Due to COVID 19, qualitative research methods such as participatory observation and in-depth interviews were not conducted. In subsequent studies, it is necessary to consider the learner''s psychological variables through observation and interviews of adult learners.