CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The overwhelming conclusion of this study is that the majority of women of all ages, incomes and educational levels want to pursue further learning experiences. Yet in many cases these women are unable to access the types of courses they desire. They encountered many obstacles in their pursuit of further learning. Paramount amongst these is the poor scheduling of courses for women and the unavailability of the courses they want. Women's lifestyles dictate the need for careful programming The majority of the women we surveyed were employed. The major proportion also had children at home. Many were single parents. The combination of these factors facilitates against flexibility in course taking.

The repeated emphasis on the inconvenient times courses were offered indicates a strong need for someone who could help overcome this obstacle by bringing the course offering institutions and the women together in a productive manner. This individual might be seen as an information broker between these women who have a strong drive to learn and the delivery agents to ensure that the desired courses were available and that they were offered at convenient times. The women themselves are often not individually successful in articulating their needs. A fieldworker could develop effective strategies for delivery of the needed educational experiences.

It is interesting to speculate on the anomalies which appear in the Eastern Shore group. A majority of this sample had less than high school graduation and yet over a third expressed a desire to take a university course. They indicated overwhelming interest in courses of all kinds. This area was the subject of the rural networking project undertaken for CCLOW by Dr. Janet Eaton. It would appear that the project had heightened the awareness of the women about the possibilities for further study, and generated enthusiasm in the community. Further work in this community could be effectively carried out by a fieldwork.

The responses of the whole sample reveal a real need for basic upgrading and high school education. It is interesting to note that short-term, low-cost courses have proved very popular. These might be seen as a stepping stone to more protracted learning experiences.

It is clear from this study that many issues of women's learning experience need to be resolved. The need for a fieldwork to deal with these issues is clear if women are not to become the forgotten majority in the educational field.