This research was subdivided into two studies: Study 1 aimed at the development and validation of the Personal Barriers towards the Conclusion of a Course scale (N=541). In Study 2, the aim was at verifying the explanation of variables of trainee characteristics in personal barriers towards the conclusion of a distance course. This study, in cooperation with SEBRAE, is part of the assessment of the IPGN course. The data was collected on the web, by digitalized instruments and hosted on internet and has been made in two stages: the first with drop outs, containing open questions on the reason why they were quitting the course; the second, after the course, the personal barrier instrument was used at the end of the course with who had dropped out. The instrument presented satisfactory psychometrical indexes. The results of standard multiple regression analyses had a low explicatory power.
distance education; drop-out; personal barriers; trainee characteristics
