Helen Sabell (2017) stated that there are six concerns adult learners face when returning to study. Each are separated by a title name: Employment, Affordability, Age, Learning Advances, Employer Perceptions and Burning Out. Underneath said concerns, descriptions are stated involving information that may not be known by future learners. However, in addition, Sabell also notes information that gives awareness of how to address and overcome said concerns. ‘I’m too old to study’ shows ones age as a negative barrier. Whereas, ‘age is their greatest advantage,’ attains a positive quality and illustrates their experiences of the world and their knowledge gained from the importance of learning. This piece of research is dated from 2017 and is considered relevant and fairly up to date. Also, the source reference of this article is from The College for Adult Learning, reassuringly confidence is given in that the knowledge and information published is creditable, as it’s from an educational setting.

According to Caschera (2013), the three biggest challenges facing adult learners are balancing school and life, accessibility and costs. The realisation of how time management is essential when deciding to enter or re-enter education is evident in all aspects of living. ‘The Balancing Act’ is detrimental to the success of progression, but many adult learners have family and work obligations. Furthermore, these ‘additional responsibilities can lead to stress and frustration for adult learners.’ It is then considered that accessibility is linked to time commitments and therefore attendance to classes may become more difficult during the regular course timetable, as employment and childcare may cause conflict. In turn, reluctance in the pursuit of higher education may occur. The long-term cost of higher education can also have a major impact on adult learners living situations.