So, what is stopping you?

The UK government has reported that adults who are participating in funded education fell by 3.5% in the first half of the 2018/19 academic year. A more significant statistic is that those mature learners taking pre-university level courses fell by 37%. Why is that? Could Imposter Syndrome explain some of this decline?

We all face times in our personal, work or academic lives when we doubt our accomplishments or abilities and begin to fear that we may be exposed at any time as being a ‘fraud’. This common psychological pattern is called the Imposter Syndrome, as outlined in the video, and can also be known as Fraud Syndrome, the Imposter Phenomenon or Imposter Experience.

Could this be the reason for the significant decrease in adult participation in education? What other reasons could there be?