Of the two women, one was in her 50s and lived in a low-income housing unit. She had gone to ABE on a full-time basis, but had dropped out after one month as she found it "too much to handle emotionally and academically." This woman, although born in Canada, had come from an ESL family background. She had gone as far as Grade 8 in public school. She quoted personal problems, her health and age as reasons for not going back to ABE. “What will I do with a Grade 12 now? Who would hire a 50 year old woman? Besides, there's the problem of transportation, and repaying loans. How could you repay a loan without a job”

The other woman was close to 30 years old and had had a checkered school history. She did not like school, had been sent to a boarding school in another province, and bad eventually quit in Grade 8. She went to ABE as a fee-payer when she was married and "housewifey". Her husband could afford the fees. She quit because she "found it boring," and then she was divorced. She tried ABE again at another centre, that time on a student loan, but she found the math difficult and quit. She characterized herself as a "practical" type with "a low tolerance level" and wanted more individual attention. The math had to be practical and useful, not abstract. (She was in Fundamental Math.) She would work in a group "if they were all at the same level." She had taken a non-traditional trades course, but not been offered a job because she was "a little woman," Her priority was to find a job.

Reasons for dropout

The reasons of the remaining 21 withdrawals for dropping out are given in Table 15.