Abstract:

This study seeks to investigate the motivation of participation of adults, who took part in educational programs in the Centres of Adults Education of Kozani prefecture, the biggest prefecture of Western Macedonia, which presents increased rates of unemployment in it’s human workforce.
For this goal, a research was held which, firstly, aimed to appreciate the motivation which influenced the attendance of adults in the programs of adults’ education of Centres of Adults Education at the period from 15th of December until 19th of December 2008 and, secondly, to investigate the effect of social-demographic characteristics of adults in the configuration of their motivation to participation.
Totally, 262 questionnaires were answered from 26 departments of learning which concern the following thematic regions:
a) information technology
b) foreign languages
c) diet and d) environment.
The tool which was used for the research is the Education Participation Scale A-form, which includes 42 questions with factor analysis of six factors:
a) communication improvement,
b) social contact,
c) educational preparation,
d) professional advancement
e) family togetherness
f) cognitive interest and
g) social stimulation.
At the results of the research the factors which dominated are-in declining scale-
a) cognitive interest
b) educational preparation and
c) professional advancement and they reveal both the importance of motivation to participation existence and the completion of study programs in structures of adults’ education, and the expansion and creation of programs which will correspond in the needs and the interests of adults.
Accordingly to the results of our research, programs of adults’ education can ensure the improvement of competitiveness and the promotion of growth and employment offering high level of knowledge with final objective the improvement and offering of specialised professional knowledge and social faculties.

Keywords:

motivational factors, adult education, training programmes.