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Gender differencesAs the work of numerous adult education researchers (e.g.,
Goldstein, 1996; Gowen, 1992; and Winkelmann, 1998) indicates, the life
experiences of women and men differ dramatically and these differences affect
adult education needs and goals. While
undereducated men typically structure their lives around wage-earning
opportunities and identities, women--even those who work outside the home--are
far more likely to structure theirs around family responsibilities. Men and women often leave school for very different reasons
and likewise identify differing motivators and obstacles when they consider
returning to school. Male and female respondents
regarded adult education needs and goals very differently.
Males were primarily concerned with wage-earning labor and family support
while females placed a greater emphasis on in-home family responsibilities that
typically included childcare and housekeeping.
Statistical analyses indicated that males (62.2%) were somewhat more
likely than females (37.8%) to report being motivated to attend adult education
programs for job-related purposes. Conversely,
females (73.3%) were more likely than males (26.7%) to report that they were
motivated to attend programs for family-related reasons.
Deterrents to adult education attendance were also gender-related.
Job-related time constraints were more typical for males (77.8%) than for
females (22.2%), whereas child-related constraints were more typical for females
(90%) than for males (10%). Thus,
gender clearly plays an important role in adult education needs and decisions.
Male respondents were typically employed in manual labor positions in
which they took great pride. Many
men described themselves as “self taught” and hard workers. I’ve always been the type of person who can learn anything. You know, as far as educatin’ myself and learnin’ anything, I haven’t run across too much I can’t do. I’m self-taught, everything I’ve learned I’ve learned on my own. For these men, the lack of a formal education did not
typically represent a lack of job skills. Male
respondents worked in a variety of manual labor positions that included
construction, mining, farming, mechanics, factory work, sawmill work and
transportation. For many of the men
who participated in this study, physical labor provided a strong sense of
identity and competence. Although
many struggled financially, these men typically prided themselves on their
abilities as workers and providers.
Many of the female respondents also worked outside the home and in 63% of
the two-parent households both adults worked.
Women respondents tended to have erratic work histories in low skill and
low status jobs that were particularly vulnerable to economic upheaval.
Women’s work, both inside and outside the home, often revolved around
cooking, cleaning and childcare. Many
of the women reported working in fast food restaurants, in hotels and motels as
cleaning staff, in nursing homes, and in childcare facilities.
Less frequently, women were employed in factories and retail positions.
Restaurant jobs and motel jobs are things that sure can make you wish that you had stayed in school! I hated it. Eight years I worked in a motel before I got this job workin’ at the day care. Just a little tired of it--clean, clean, clean . . . I’m cleanin’ again, but it’s supposed to change this fall--supposed to get to become a teacher. I’m sure hopin’ so. There’s nothin’ can make somebody [want to] change a whole life situation as to have to clean every day at work and at home. Women’s work, although often low-paying, was frequently
necessary for economic survival.
While men often left school prior to graduation to enter the workforce,
women frequently left at a young age because of pregnancy or marriage.
Twenty-four percent of the female respondents reported pregnancy was the
primary reason they left school prior to graduation. I
was pregnant with my daughter and I kept passing out because I was anemic.
My Mom got scared that my passing out would hurt the baby, so I quit
school. I was sixteen and I just
signed myself out. I got pregnant. The doctor wanted me out [of school] ‘cause I wasn’t even fifteen when I got pregnant, and he wanted me to do school at home. When I turned fifteen I quit. I was just sick of it. The birth of an infant often meant the end of school for
these young women who found it difficult to simultaneously continue their
education and care for a newborn. In
addition, many of the women reported they felt it was “their place” to stay
at home after the birth of a child.
Divorce was also a common occurrence among study participants.
Women whose marriages ended were especially vulnerable to economic
hardships. I got married at the age of fifteen, had my first child at the age of seventeen. I was a stay home mom because he made good money. He was in the coal mine. My twin sons were born when I was 21 and then we divorced and I went to work cleanin’ houses. That women and children often experience a dramatic change
in economic status following divorce has been well documented. The single mothers in this study frequently resorted to
social services for financial help. Even
so, many continued to struggle economically and remained in poverty.
The
welfare plan, it’s fine, but there is not enough there to take care of your
kids. Even if they give you the
money for a baby-sitter, that’s that baby-sitter’s money.
That don’t help you get back and forth.
That don’t help you to make sure your kids get a decent meal and stuff.
Welfare never paid me enough to stay home and take care of my kids
full-time. Because I had a house
payment, car payment, and four kids, so I will work anywhere, any time I can.
Numerous individuals received some kind of governmental
aid. Social service support was
not limited to single parent families, however.
Two-parent families also received varying types of assistance that
included KTAP, food stamps, disability, Medicaid, and social security insurance
(SSI).
Female respondents often reported that childcare and household
responsibilities made it difficult for them to attend adult education programs.
Many women depended on other family members to help with childcare and if
these resources fell through they were often without alternatives.
One respondent related, “It’s tough to get a baby-sitter, especially
with four kids.” Other women,
including those who worked outside the home, reported they had dropped out of
adult education programs that interfered with family
responsibilities. I was cleanin’ ‘til about 5:00pm and they started their program at 6:00pm. Well, my kids needed to be fed and taken care of and I had no one to do it but my older son. The children needed me and to me, that was more important at the time.
Women were more concerned than men about the impact of education on their
children. Women’s impetus for
entering adult education programs frequently involved the desire to help
children with homework and to model educational achievement for them. When I read my oldest a story and I did not know the words, I would just make up words. And when they got into school, time they got into kindergarten, I realized that wasn’t going to work. So I started makin’ myself learn. When my oldest one brought homework home, we would sit down and figure it out. If I did not know the word, he knew it. Women frequently emphasized the value of education for
their children, many worked hard to see that their children finished school, and
expressed great pride in children’s educational success. My son’s in college now. He’s in computers. My grouchin’ has paid off. I pushed him to go to school. He does pretty good for hisself. I don’t know how. Conversely, another woman whose children dropped out of
school reported: If I had’ve got mine, my kids might would have gone on and got theirs. They look at me and say, “Well, Mom quit, I’ll quit.” So I feel like I let them down. As these comments indicate, many respondents found it
difficult to keep their children in school even though they strongly desired to
do so. Clearly gender plays an important role in adult education decision-making. The undereducated males who participated in this study were most likely to attend adult education programs for job-related reasons. Their work schedules, however, often left little time or energy for adult education programs. For women, family issues were paramount. Childcare and household responsibilities impinged on the time they had for adult education classes. Family literacy programs have typically been directed toward females and many study participants had formerly participated in PACE (Parent and Child Education) programs. While it is important for AEL programs to recognize women’s interest in improving educational outcomes for their children, it is also necessary to take into account the constraints that exist for women who often work outside the home in addition to their family responsibilities.
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