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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Data from the 1981 census of Canada reveal that 24.1 percent of the out-of-school adult female population has less than grade nine education and that only 2.0 percent of these functionally illiterate women attend formal programs to improve their educational achievement. The data provided in this report indicate that women who attend adult basic education programs are not representative of the population of under-educated women in Canada. This report contains the findings of a survey of adult basic education programs in Canada. The objective of the survey was to provide information which could be used to answer the question: To what extent do adult basic education programs in Canada address the learning and related needs of women? The survey focused on two areas:
Questionnaires were mailed to 360 adult basic education (ABE) programs across Canada; 106 completed questionnaires were returned. Personal interviews were conducted with thirty women students in ABE programs in three provinces - British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario. The major findings are summarized below. LEARNING AND RELATED NEEDS OF WOMEN Both providers and women students identified the major needs of women, in order of importance, as educational, psychological and financial. Although lack of child care services was perceived as a major barrier to regular attendance, it was not mentioned as a major need of women students, suggesting that neither group perceived childcare as an educational need or an education-related issue. More women students than providers felt that there was a difference between the learning needs of women and men in ABE programs. Women students prefer to learn in a one-to-one student-teacher relationship and in small groups. |
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