| New Study: Educational Disadvantages for Women | | Print | |
| | 08.11.2009 | Science - Articles [en] [de] | ||||||
|
The educational desires and needs of educationally disadvantaged women who are not in gainful employment and whose highest qualification comes from compulsory education are the focus of a new study. Women in this target group in Austria were asked about their needs and requirements in terms of making it easier for them to re-enter the process of education.
The result of this survey is that the current choices in adult education do not appeal to many women and they therefore do not participate in it. A combination of various barriers at political, structural, social and personal levels result in women seeing few advantages in continuing education. However, it is often also a result of the lack of self-confidence as well as where and when the educational opportunities are offered. The women authors of this study discovered that there is little available knowledge of this target group. One reason for this is that not being in gainful employment and a low level of educational achievement are taboo topics in society. Because of this, efforts should be increased to collect data on this group and to deepen the understanding of it, for this is the only way that adequate educational opportunities can be developed for this target group. Publicity is a particular concern for the authors. They emphasise the need to better communicate the value and significance of learning and education for all sections of the population, for example through campaigns. The authors recommend that institutes of adult education analyse the make-up of their female participants and thereby establish which people they are reaching with their strategies. In order to reach new female customers, new methods of publicity are recommended. In doing so, associations with school and the negative learning experiences connected with it should be avoided. An absolute must is that the use of language is monitored so that no words are used that have associations of negativity or of deficiency. Role models from the target group can be appointed to serve as a positive example. To portray learning as something normal for young and old alike, photos of people of all ages should be used. Offering “taster courses” which do not require any commitment reduce the inhibitions of potential participants. It is generally advisable to make the introduction to educational opportunities as “gentle” as possible. For the development of learning opportunities, the authors strongly recommend that women in the target group get involved, for example through surveys, and thereby adapt the learning to their needs. At a political level, funding schemes are required which enable longer-term learning and education processes and also provide this target group with easily accessible information. The authors recommend the development of local strategies through a local network of leading figures in, for example, politics, adult education and interest groups, which is as wide as possible. The study was created as part of the development partnership “learn forever – lifelong learning in the age of information society – new paths for women” and supported by funds from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture (Bundesministeriums für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur – bm:ukk). „learn forever“ has set itself the goal of increasing the participation of women in continuing education, who for various reasons have no access to formal learning opportunities and therefore current adult education opportunities. |
||||||
| Details: | ||||||
|
||||||
