Exploring perceptions and factors relating to the participation in adult education of poor women in an giang province vietnam

KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences Department of Educational Sciences EXPLORING PERCEPTIONS AND FACTORS RELATING TO THE PARTICIPATION IN ADULT EDUCATION OF POOR WOMEN IN AN GIANG PROVINCE, VIETNAM Master thesis presented to obtain the degree of Master of Educational Studies By: Le Hai Yen Promoter: Prof Dr Ides Nicaise 2013 KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences Department of Educational Sciences EXPLORING PERCEPTIONS AND FACTORS RELATING TO THE PARTICIPATION IN ADULT EDUCATION OF POOR WOMEN IN AN GIANG PROVINCE, VIETNAM Master thesis presented to obtain the degree of Master of Educational Studies By: Le Hai Yen Promoter: Prof Dr Ides Nicaise 2013 First name, FAMILY NAME: Hai Yen, LE Exploring Perceptions and Factors Relating to the Participation in Adult Education of Poor Women in An Giang Province, Vietnam Master’s thesis presented to obtain the degree of Master of Educational Studies Examination period & year: Third Examination Period – 2012-2013 Supervisor: Prof Dr Ides Nicaise PROBLEM STATEMENT Although having excellently achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on poverty reduction, Vietnam remains as a low-income country with the variable poverty reduction and cases of relapse into poverty (IMF, 2006) Sharing common characteristics of rural areas of Vietnam, An Giang Province is affected by a relatively high rate of poverty Poor people are less likely to participate in education as their minds are too engaged with struggling to earn for everyday life UNESCO (2002) has observed the increasing demand for, and practice of adult education participation in many Asian countries Vietnam has also prioritized education and training as important for the nation’s socioeconomic development and directed that a learning society for everybody is constructed However, the participation rate is low, especially of the disadvantaged people including the poor and women Yet, it is important to invest in women’s education because of their remarkable returns to individual, family, and society (Riddell, 2004; & UNESCO, 2002) This study has been carried out in an attempt to provide a better understanding of poor women’s participation in adult learning, in the hope of contributing to improve poor women’s life and poverty reduction METHODOLOGY Recruited from the population of poor women from 47,979 poor households of An Giang Province, the study sample was 120 poor women aged 19 to 35 from the three districts Long Xuyen, Chau Thanh, and Tri Ton of the province A quantitative questionnaire for the sample women was used to collect the data, exploring poor women’s personal, socio-economic, family and education background, their perceptions of barriers, motivations to learning participation, and benefits of female adult learning The correlations between the women’s characteristics and initial education, and their propensities of participation in adult learning were also analyzed MAIN FINDINGS There are specific correlations between (1) the poor women’s personal, family and occupation conditions, (2) their initial education attainment, and (3) their propensities of learning participation during the time since they left initial schooling and during the most recent five years, and (4) in the future Yet, all the correlations were weak Situational barriers, compared to institutional and dispositional ones, are perceived by the poor women as the most influential Also, they appeared to be more self-motivated to learn; and job-related motivators which aim to improve their economic life’s status were found preferred Benefits of learning are highly appreciated by the poor women CONCLUSION The study has pointed out certain propensities of participation in adult learning of poor women in An Giang Province, Vietnam, and their perceptions on the barriers, motivators, and benefits of adult learning, thanks to which implications for improving poor women’s learning could be constructed and hopefully serve as a source of information for those interested in adult learning participation and that of poor women in particular ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT It was a long distance for me to make it from Vietnam to Belgium It would be impossible to materialize my research without endless help, support and encouragement from my professors, friends and family I would like to express my deepest thanks to my thesis promoter, Professor Ides Nicaise His dedicated and patient guidance, sharing and comments throughout my research process has empowered me through the toughest times, from research orientation, literature review, and specially data analysis with precious recommendations for better achievements Professor Nicaise’s understandings, sympathy, and warm encouragement have put my mind at ease and provided me a lot of space for my research aspiration and capability It is my sincere thankfulness to my friend Thao Bui Her wholehearted efforts helping me with the data collection, together with her moral attitude throughout the process, were fruited in the valid and reliable data for this study I would also thank the disadvantaged women whose open-heartedness, sincerity and willingness to share their plights went beyond our expectations I also would like to thank the cadres from grass roots to provincial departments of the People’s Committee of An Giang Province for bridging us to the right population with painstakingly assistance in our contacts and interviews with the sample I could hardly realize my research without their help My special gratitude is to Mr Kenneth Phillips for his careful proofreading and improving my paper I deeply thank Professor Diane Smedt, my friends Loi Le, Thanh Nguyen, Hien Truong, Ha Nguyen for all their moral and practical support and consultancy with my data analysis and interpretation I was able to overcome the difficulties of inexperience and un-confidence in statistical analyses thanks to their patience and devotion to listen and think with me Last but not least, I would express my wholehearted gratefulness to my parents, my husband, my younger sister, and my relatives and friends for their continuous support and encouragement, lifting me out of depressions of overseas life and study I can see their happiness and pride of my education achievements They are one of the very strong motivations for my education pursuit Thank you with all my heart iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY 1.1 Adult education in developing countries 1.1.1 Lifelong learning and adult education in developing countries 1.1.2 Women and adult education 1.1.3 Factors affecting adults’ education participation 1.1.4 Context of poverty on adult education participation 1.2 Methodology 1.2.1 Aim of this study 1.2.2 Description of the research region 10 1.2.3 Research methodology 11 CHAPTER 2: PROPENSITIES OF PARTICIPATION IN ADULT LEARNING OF POOR WOMEN 14 2.1 Description of poor women’s present states 14 2.2 Propensities of participation in adult education of poor women 17 2.3 Observing factors relating to the propensities of participation in adult education of poor women 21 CHAPTER 3: POOR WOMEN’S PERCEPTIONS OF BARRIERS, MOTIVATORS, AND BENEFITS OF ADULT LEARNING 31 3.1 Poor women’s perceptions about barriers to adult learning 31 3.2 Poor women’s perceptions of motivations to participate in adult learning 42 3.3 Poor women’s perceptions of benefits of female adult learning 46 CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSIONS 49 4.1 Empirical findings 49 4.2 Policy implications 52 4.3 Theoretical implications 54 4.4 Recommendations for future research 54 4.5 Limitations of the study 55 REFERENCES 57 APPENDIX A: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE 60 APPENDIX B: INDICES FOR VARIABLE DESCRIPTION 66 APPENDIX C: TABLES AND CROSSTABS OF DATA ANALYSIS 73 APPENDIX D: FIGURES OF DATA ANALYSIS 87 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Table 2.1 Table 2.2 Terms to be understood in the scope of this study Descriptive data on members of poor women’s families Correlations among highest initial completion, reading and writing proficiency of poor women Table 2.3 Times of taking the defined learning activities Table 2.4 Lengths of the last course taken (after initial schooling, excluding last five years) Table 2.5 Learning activities taken by poor women during the most recent five years Table 2.6 Lengths of the last course taken (during the last five years) Table 2.7 Number of hours per week of the course (during the last five years) Table 2.8 Correlations between the duration of the courses and the number of hours per week Table 2.9 Custom table between poor women’s participation in learning since initial education (excluding the last five years) and that during the most recent five years Table 2.10 Correlations between poor women’s personal, socio-economic and family conditions and their participation in education since initial education (excluding the last five years) Table 2.11 Correlations between poor women’s occupational conditions and their participation in education since initial education (excluding the last five years) Table 2.12 Correlations between poor women’s initial education attainment and their participation in education since initial education (excluding the last five years) Table 2.13 Factors correlated to poor women’s participation in education since they left initial education (excluding the last five years) Table 2.14 Correlations between poor women’s personal, socio-economic and family conditions and their participation in education during the most recent five years Table 2.15 Correlations between poor women’s occupational conditions and their participation in education during the last five years Table 2.16 Correlations between poor women’s initial education attainment and their participation in education during the last five years Table 2.17 Factors correlated to poor women’s participation in education during the most recent five years Table 2.18 Correlations between poor women’s personal, socio-economic and family conditions and their propensity of participating in education in the future Table 2.19 Correlations between poor women’s occupational characteristics and their intention of participating in learning in the future Table 2.20 Correlations between poor women’s initial education attainment and their intention of participating in education in the future Table 2.21 Factors correlated to poor women’s intention to participate in education in the future Table 2.22 Correlations among poor women’s propensities of past participation in adult learning and their intention to learn in the future Table 2.23 Summary of the correlations between the factors and poor women’s participation in adult learning Table 3.1 Custom table between the participants/non-participants in adult learning after initial education and their perceptions of the institutional barriers Table 3.2 Correlations between poor women’s age and the cost-related barriers Table 3.3 Correlations between poor women’s age and the life responsibilities Table 3.4 Custom table between the participants/ non-participants in adult learning after initial education and their perceptions of the situational barriers Table 3.5 Custom table between the non-participants/participants in adult learning after initial education and their perceptions of the dispositional barriers Crosstabs 2.1 Poor women’s participation in learning and their current employment status Crosstabs 2.2 Crosstabs between poor women’s previous job and their participation in learning during the most recent five years Crosstabs 3.1 Cross-tabulation between poor women’s residential district and their perception of the barrier of which an educational institution is far from their house v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2 Figure 2.3 Figure 2.4 Figure 2.5 Figure 2.6 Figure 2.7 Figure 3.1 Figure 3.2 Figure 3.3 Figure 3.4 Figure 3.5 Figure 3.6 Figure 3.7 Figure 3.8 Figure 3.9 Figure 3.10 Figure 3.11 Figure 3.12 Figure 3.13 Figure 3.14 Secondary education enrollment rate by regions in Vietnam in 2010 Monthly average earnings per family member Poor women’s job categories Current jobs’ properties of poor women Poor women’s highest initial education completion Poor women’s literacy proficiencies Intention to learn in the future Desired learning activities to learn in the future if the women have opportunities Poor women’s overall perceptions of the three groups of barriers Poor women’s choices for institutional barriers to adult learning Poor women as non-participants and participants’ perceptions of institutional barriers Poor women’s choices for situational barriers to adult learning Poor women as non-participants and participants’ perceptions of situational barriers Poor women’s choices for dispositional barriers to adult learning Poor women as non-participants and participants’ perceptions of dispositional barriers Poor women’s choices for motivational factors to adult learning Poor women’s selections for the group of goal-oriented motivations to adult Poor women’s choices for the group of questions clarifying the factors of being selfmotivated to adult learning Poor women as non-participants and participants’ perceptions of motivational factors to participate in adult learning Non-participants and participants’ perceptions of motivational factors to learning in their own group Poor women’s choices for benefits of adult learning Poor women as non-participants and participants’ perceptions of benefits of adult learning vi ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviation Meaning APPEAL Asia-Pacific Program of Education for All ASPBAE The Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education CONFINTEA EFA International Conference on Adult Education (UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning) Education for All ELLI European Lifelong Learning Indicators GSO General Statistic Office of Vietnam IMF International Monetary Fund MDG Millennium Development Goal SES Socio-Economic Status UNESCO United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (United Nations Children’s Fund now) r Pearson correlation coefficient R Spearman’s Rho p Significance level vii CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY 1.1 Adult education in developing countries 1.1.1 Lifelong learning and adult education in developing countries In the 2002 report by the UNESCO Institute of Education, the Jomtien Declaration 1990 was defined as an important milestone, stressing the acquisition of initial basic education for all It requires increasing educational opportunities through various approaches, rather than merely schooling or formal education, and entails corresponding policies to promote its practice Countries observed in the report have made considerable progress in promoting adult education when they have prioritized adult basic education in policies and actions as being important for the countries’ development Basic literacy – reading and writing ability – was initially emphasized, which was then extended to a range of essential knowledge and life skills with increasing numbers of programs and non-formal educational opportunities for the deprived The evolvement of adult education in Asian countries also results from the promotion of community participation in constructing and developing adult education through the governments’ empowerment of individuals, governmental and non-governmental organizations Adult education to ameliorate poverty has also become an important concern to many countries in Asia, in the attempt to enhance the possibility of employment and income for the poor The efforts to provide education have been proved through a variety of programs Since the World Education Forum in Dakar in 2000, the Education for All (EFA) movement has been initiated as “a global commitment to provide quality basic education for all children, youth and adults” with six specific goals to achieve by 2015 (UNESCO’s official website), to promote equality in adult education in more than 160 countries Started in 1987 in Asia, the Asia-Pacific Program of Education for All (APPEAL), focusing on primary education, literacy promotion, and continuing education, has been implementing a great number of activities to achieve its goals The program has succeeded with the development of community learning centers in twenty Asian countries, which creates and responds learning needs of disadvantaged groups at grassroots levels of the countries (Oyasu, 2002) The Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE), with UNESCO and the International Council for Adult Education , is also collaborating with other regional organizations and individuals to promote adult education in the region, seeking for lifelong learning opportunities and quality education for all (UNESCO, 2002; & ASPBAE’s Overview) On a national scale, countries operate programs to encourage adult learning and education at different levels and with various targeted goals For example, the MOBRAL- an agency of the Ministry and Culture of Brazil developed the Functional Literacy Programme for adults in the 1970s It aimed to decrease the proportion of adult illiteracy of the country from 33.6% to that of developed countries at 10%, ameliorating poverty, producing economic profit from education, and promoting TABLE 2.10 (continued) Number of family members who are Pearson Correlation old, disabled, sick, under treatment Sig (2-tailed) N Family’s current debt situation 278** 055 003 116 116 189* 184* Sig (2-tailed) 042 047 N 116 116 257** 322** 005 000 N 116 116 Pearson Correlation 051 029 Sig (2-tailed) 584 761 Pearson Correlation Proportion of the employed over the Pearson Correlation family members Sig (2-tailed) Family's equivalent income 179 N Women's self evaluation on family's Pearson Correlation economic status Sig (2-tailed) N 116 116 -.153 -.119 100 202 116 116 ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) TABLE 2.14: Correlations between poor women’s personal, socio-economic and family conditions and their participation in education during the most recent five years Correlations Decision to participate in learning Amount of learning _ during during the most recent five years the most recent five years Age Pearson Correlation Sig (2-tailed) N Ethnic group Number of family members Total number of children Number of children aged under 082 116 116 -.100 Sig (2-tailed) 276 287 N 116 116 -.048 -.051 Sig (2-tailed) 612 589 N 116 116 Pearson Correlation Pearson Correlation -.095 -.153 Sig (2-tailed) 313 101 N 116 116 -.023 -.026 806 780 Pearson Correlation N Pearson Correlation Sig (2-tailed) Number of children above 14 -.162 200 -.102 Pearson Correlation Sig (2-tailed) Number of children aged 5-14 -.120 116 116 -.039 -.097 679 301 N 116 116 Pearson Correlation 014 -.018 Sig (2-tailed) 884 844 N 116 116 -.017 -.016 852 868 116 116 Number of family members who are Pearson Correlation old, disabled, sick, under treatment Sig (2-tailed) N 76 TABLE 2.14 (continued) Family’s current debt situation Pearson Correlation 035 038 Sig (2-tailed) 707 685 N Proportion of the employed over the Pearson Correlation family members Sig (2-tailed) Family's equivalent income 116 116 159 196* 087 035 N 116 116 Pearson Correlation 165 166 Sig (2-tailed) 076 076 N 116 116 -.181 -.131 052 160 116 116 Women's self evaluation on family's Pearson Correlation economic status Sig (2-tailed) N ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) TABLE 2.18: Correlations between poor women’s personal, socio-economic and family conditions and their propensity of participating in education in the future Correlations Intention of participating in learning in the future Age Pearson Correlation -.300** Sig (2-tailed) 001 N Ethnic group Number of family members Total number of children Number of children aged under 116 Pearson Correlation -.087 Sig (2-tailed) 351 N 116 Pearson Correlation 008 Sig (2-tailed) 930 N 116 Pearson Correlation -.167 Sig (2-tailed) 073 N 116 Pearson Correlation -.154 Sig (2-tailed) 098 N Number of children aged 5-14 116 Pearson Correlation -.210* Sig (2-tailed) 024 N 116 Number of children aged above 14 Pearson Correlation 088 Sig (2-tailed) 345 N 116 Number of family members who are old, disabled, sick, under treatment Pearson Correlation 047 Sig (2-tailed) 615 N 116 Family’s current debt situation Pearson Correlation 091 Sig (2-tailed) 332 N 116 77 TABLE 2.18 (continued) Proportion of the employed over the family members Family's equivalence income Women's self evaluation on family's economic status Pearson Correlation -.024 Sig (2-tailed) 795 N 116 Pearson Correlation 012 Sig (2-tailed) 897 N 116 Pearson Correlation -.017 Sig (2-tailed) 858 N 116 ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) * Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) TABLE 2.22: Correlations among poor women’s propensities of past participation in adult learning and their intention to learn in the future Correlations Decision of participating in learning since initial education (excluding the last five years) Decision of participating in learning since initial education (excluding the most recent five years) Pearson Correlation 872** 580** 549** 147 000 000 000 115 116 116 116 116 116 872** 469** 490** 125 000 000 180 Sig (2-tailed) N Amount of learning since Pearson Correlation initial schooling (excluding Sig (2-tailed) the most recent five years) N Amount of Decision to Amount of learning since participate in learning Intention of initial schooling learning during during the participating (excluding the the last five last five in learning last five years) years years in the future 000 116 116 116 116 116 Decision to participate in Pearson Correlation learning during the last five Sig (2-tailed) years N 580** 469** 951** 143 000 000 000 125 116 116 116 116 116 Amount of learning during the last five years 549** 490** 951** 168 000 000 000 Pearson Correlation Sig (2-tailed) N Intention of participating in Pearson Correlation learning in the future Sig (2-tailed) N 071 116 116 116 116 116 147 125 143 168 115 180 125 071 116 116 116 116 ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) 78 116 TABLE 3.1: Custom table between the participants/non-participants in adult learning after initial education and their perceptions of the institutional barriers Participation in learning after initial education Non-participant Count 26 The course I'm looking for does not exist Strongly agree Row N % Participant Column N % Count Row N % Column N % 50.0% 3.3% 50.0% 3.6% Agree 19 52.8% 31.1% 17 47.2% 30.9% Neutral 23 63.9% 37.7% 13 36.1% 23.6% Disagree 11 39.3% 18.0% 17 60.7% 30.9% Strongly disagree 50.0% 9.8% 50.0% 10.9% 27 I cannot find the Strongly agree information about the course Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 19 27 66.7% 57.6% 60.0% 34.6% 44.4% 3.3% 31.1% 44.3% 14.8% 6.6% 14 18 17 33.3% 42.4% 40.0% 65.4% 55.6% 1.8% 25.5% 32.7% 30.9% 9.1% 28 The time schedule of the course is not convenient Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 15 25 16 71.4% 37.5% 59.5% 66.7% 0% 8.2% 24.6% 41.0% 26.2% 0% 25 17 28.6% 62.5% 40.5% 33.3% 100.0% 3.6% 45.5% 30.9% 14.5% 5.5% 29 The course is long and takes me too much time to complete Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 16 23 14 66.7% 41.0% 59.0% 58.3% 40.0% 9.8% 26.2% 37.7% 23.0% 3.3% 23 16 10 33.3% 59.0% 41.0% 41.7% 60.0% 5.5% 41.8% 29.1% 18.2% 5.5% 30 The course has strict attendance requirements Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 36 10 80.0% 33.3% 66.7% 43.5% 30.0% 6.6% 13.1% 59.0% 16.4% 4.9% 16 18 13 20.0% 66.7% 33.3% 56.5% 70.0% 1.8% 29.1% 32.7% 23.6% 12.7% 31 I need to finish many bureaucratic procedures to study Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 12 32 11 75.0% 44.4% 65.3% 40.7% 33.3% 4.9% 19.7% 52.5% 18.0% 4.9% 15 17 16 25.0% 55.6% 34.7% 59.3% 66.7% 1.8% 27.3% 30.9% 29.1% 10.9% 32 The course does not offer Strongly agree a degree or certificate Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 38 11 50.0% 50.0% 65.5% 42.3% 21.4% 1.6% 13.1% 62.3% 18.0% 4.9% 20 15 11 50.0% 50.0% 34.5% 57.7% 78.6% 1.8% 14.5% 36.4% 27.3% 20.0% 33 The school is far from my Strongly agree house Agree 44.4% 6.6% 55.6% 9.1% 17 48.6% 27.9% 18 51.4% 32.7% Neutral 23 63.9% 37.7% 13 36.1% 23.6% Disagree 13 43.3% 21.3% 17 56.7% 30.9% 66.7% 6.6% 33.3% 3.6% Strongly disagree 79 TABLE 3.2: Correlations between poor women’s age and the cost-related barriers Correlations The cost for tuition, I cannot afford books, stationeries the transportation are too much for me fee to go to school Age Spearman's rho The cost for tuition, Correlation Coefficient books, stationeries are too Sig (1-tailed) much for me N 1.000 531** -.009 000 460 116 116 116 I cannot afford the Correlation Coefficient transportation fee to go to Sig (1-tailed) school N 531** 1.000 -.077 000 206 116 116 116 -.009 -.077 1.000 Sig (1-tailed) 460 206 N 116 116 116 Age Correlation Coefficient ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (1-tailed) TABLE 3.4: Custom table between the participants/ non-participants in adult learning after initial education and their perceptions of the situational barriers Participation in learning after initial education Non-participant Participant Count Row N % Column N % Count Row N % Column N % 34.I am so busy with my personal Strongly agree life that I don’t have enough time Agree to take the course Neutral Disagree 23 46.9% 37.7% 26 53.1% 47.3% 25 56.8% 41.0% 19 43.2% 34.5% 62.5% 8.2% 37.5% 5.5% 50.0% 9.8% 50.0% 10.9% Strongly disagree 66.7% 3.3% 33.3% 1.8% 35 The cost for tuition, books, stationeries are too much for me Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 11 20 21 40.7% 43.5% 77.8% 66.7% 25.0% 18.0% 32.8% 34.4% 13.1% 1.6% 16 26 59.3% 56.5% 22.2% 33.3% 75.0% 29.1% 47.3% 10.9% 7.3% 5.5% 36 I have to work to earn for living, so I cannot study Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 20 28 11 45.5% 59.6% 73.3% 25.0% 0% 32.8% 45.9% 18.0% 3.3% 0% 24 19 54.5% 40.4% 26.7% 75.0% 100.0% 43.6% 34.5% 7.3% 10.9% 3.6% 37 I am worried no one takes care Strongly agree of my child/children/my sick Agree family members Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 28 20 58.3% 47.6% 72.7% 14.3% 50.0% 45.9% 32.8% 13.1% 1.6% 6.6% 20 22 41.7% 52.4% 27.3% 85.7% 50.0% 36.4% 40.0% 5.5% 10.9% 7.3% 38 I don't have a transportation to Strongly agree go to school Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 12 23 17 52.2% 52.3% 54.8% 50.0% 50.0% 19.7% 37.7% 27.9% 13.1% 1.6% 11 21 14 47.8% 47.7% 45.2% 50.0% 50.0% 20.0% 38.2% 25.5% 14.5% 1.8% 80 TABLE 3.4 (continued) 39 I cannot afford the transportation fee to go to school Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 10 28 15 47.6% 56.0% 53.6% 46.7% 50.0% 16.4% 45.9% 24.6% 11.5% 1.6% 11 22 13 52.4% 44.0% 46.4% 53.3% 50.0% 20.0% 40.0% 23.6% 14.5% 1.8% 40 I don't have a good place to study in my home Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 21 25 28.6% 53.8% 62.5% 52.9% 33.3% 6.6% 34.4% 41.0% 14.8% 3.3% 10 18 15 71.4% 46.2% 37.5% 47.1% 66.7% 18.2% 32.7% 27.3% 14.5% 7.3% 41 My partner / family members Strongly agree not think my learning is a good Agree idea Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 16 18 18 33.3% 53.3% 52.9% 58.1% 50.0% 4.9% 26.2% 29.5% 29.5% 9.8% 14 16 13 66.7% 46.7% 47.1% 41.9% 50.0% 10.9% 25.5% 29.1% 23.6% 10.9% 42 My family does not have the tradition of going back to school or acquiring further education Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 20 21 14 33.3% 55.6% 53.8% 56.0% 42.9% 4.9% 32.8% 34.4% 23.0% 4.9% 16 18 11 66.7% 44.4% 46.2% 44.0% 57.1% 10.9% 29.1% 32.7% 20.0% 7.3% 43 There is no encouragement and support from the local government about my studying Strongly agree 52.9% 14.8% 47.1% 14.5% Agree 13 50.0% 21.3% 13 50.0% 23.6% Neutral 24 63.2% 39.3% 14 36.8% 25.5% Disagree 12 44.4% 19.7% 15 55.6% 27.3% 37.5% 4.9% 62.5% 9.1% Strongly disagree 81 TABLE 3.5: Custom table between the non-participants/participants in adult learning after initial education and their perceptions of the dispositional barriers Participation in learning after initial education Non-participants Count 44 Learning is a really hard job for me I don’t think I can learn Row N % Participants Column N % Count Row N % Column N % Strongly agree 50.0% 8.2% 50.0% 9.1% Agree 26 55.3% 42.6% 21 44.7% 38.2% Neutral 12 54.5% 19.7% 10 45.5% 18.2% Disagree 14 48.3% 23.0% 15 51.7% 27.3% 20 22 14 10 15 17 12 10 22 17 12 15 18 17 11 30 14 27 18 10 50.0% 66.7% 37.5% 66.7% 43.1% 58.3% 62.5% 42.9% 58.6% 46.2% 70.0% 0% 41.7% 48.9% 65.4% 80.0% 55.6% 60.0% 60.0% 44.7% 42.9% 50.0% 47.8% 66.7% 48.3% 26.7% 87.5% 67.5% 58.1% 21.7% 28.6% 62.5% 6.6% 3.3% 4.9% 32.8% 36.1% 23.0% 16.4% 24.6% 27.9% 19.7% 11.5% 0% 16.4% 36.1% 27.9% 19.7% 8.2% 24.6% 29.5% 27.9% 9.8% 3.3% 18.0% 49.2% 23.0% 6.6% 11.5% 44.3% 29.5% 8.2% 6.6% 16.4% 10 29 10 20 12 14 14 23 10 12 21 12 15 15 11 13 13 18 10 50.0% 33.3% 62.5% 33.3% 56.9% 41.7% 37.5% 57.1% 41.4% 53.8% 30.0% 100.0% 58.3% 51.1% 34.6% 20.0% 44.4% 40.0% 40.0% 55.3% 57.1% 50.0% 52.2% 33.3% 51.7% 73.3% 12.5% 32.5% 41.9% 78.3% 71.4% 37.5% 7.3% 1.8% 9.1% 18.2% 52.7% 18.2% 10.9% 36.4% 21.8% 25.5% 5.5% 10.9% 25.5% 41.8% 16.4% 5.5% 7.3% 18.2% 21.8% 38.2% 14.5% 3.6% 21.8% 27.3% 27.3% 20.0% 1.8% 23.6% 23.6% 32.7% 18.2% 10.9% 17 47.2% 27.9% 19 52.8% 34.5% 23 63.9% 37.7% 13 36.1% 23.6% 10 50.0% 16.4% 10 50.0% 18.2% 12.5% 1.6% 87.5% 12.7% Strongly disagree 45 I don't have enough Strongly agree energy and health for Agree studying Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 46 I am afraid that I am Strongly agree too old to begin Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 47 I got bad results when Strongly agree I was in school, so I don't Agree believe in my ability to Neutral learn Disagree Strongly disagree 48 I don't like studying Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 49 I don't like the Strongly agree atmosphere of schools and Agree classrooms Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 50 I don't know what to Strongly agree learn Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 51 Learning cannot help Strongly agree improve my poor situation Agree now Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 82 CROSSTABS 2.1: Poor women’s participation in learning and their current employment status Case Processing Summary Cases Valid N Current employment status * Participating in learning since initial education, excluding the most recent five years Missing Percent 116 N 100.0% Total Percent N 0% Percent 116 100.0% Current employment status * Participating in learning since initial education, excluding the most recent five years Crosstabulation Count Participating in learning since initial education, excluding the most recent five years Non-participants Current employment status Participants Total Employed full-time 39.13% 14 60.87% 23 Employed part-time 13 39.39% 20 60.61% 33 Unemployed and looking for jobs 29 65.91% 15 34.09% 44 Unemployed and not looking for jobs 10 62.50% 61 37.50% 55 16 116 Total Chi-Square Tests Value Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 7.737a 7.825 5.478 116 df Asymp Sig (2-sided) 3 052 050 019 a cells (.0%) have expected count less than The minimum expected count is 7.59 Symmetric Measures Value Interval by Interval Ordinal by Ordinal N of Valid Cases Pearson's R Spearman Correlation -.218 -.227 116 a Not assuming the null hypothesis b Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis c Based on normal approximation 83 Asymp Std Errora 090 090 Approx Tb -2.388 -2.492 Approx Sig .019c 014c CROSSTABS 2.2: Crosstabs between poor women’s previous job and their participation in learning during the most recent five years Case Processing Summary Cases Valid N Previous Job * Participation in learning during the most recent five years Missing Percent 116 N 100.0% Total Percent N 0% Percent 116 100.0% Previous Job * Participation in learning during the most recent five years Crosstabulation Count Participation in learning during the most recent five years Non-participant Previous Job Participant Total Military personnel and White collar worker Non-farm self-employed 40.00% 60.00% Farmer 50.00% 50.00% Skilled manual worker 58.33% 41.67% 12 74 89 83.15% 15 27 16.85% 89 116 Unskilled manual worker Total 75.00% 25.00% Chi-Square Tests Value Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases df Asymp Sig (2-sided) 10.510a 9.299 4.992 116 4 033 054 025 a cells (70.0%) have expected count less than The minimum expected count is 93 Symmetric Measures Value Interval by Interval Ordinal by Ordinal N of Valid Cases Pearson's R Spearman Correlation Asymp Std Errora -.208 -.273 116 a Not assuming the null hypothesis b Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis c Based on normal approximation 84 104 102 Approx Tb -2.274 -3.026 Approx Sig .025c 003c CROSSTABS 3.1: Cross-tabulation between poor women’s residential district and their perception of the barrier of which an educational institution is far from their house Case Processing Summary Cases Valid N The school is far from my house * District or city of residence Missing Percent 116 N 100.0% Total Percent N 0% Percent 116 100.0% The school is far from my house * District or city of residence Crosstabulation District or city of residence Long Xuyen City Chau Thanh District Tri Ton District The school is far from my house Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree Total Count 22.2% 55.6% % within District or city of residence 5.3% 12.5% 5.3% 7.8% % of Total 1.7% 4.3% 1.7% 7.8% 10 23 35 % within The school is far from my house 5.7% 28.6% 65.7% 100.0% % within District or city of residence 5.3% 25.0% 60.5% 30.2% % of Total 1.7% 8.6% 19.8% 30.2% 13 17 36 % within The school is far from my house 36.1% 47.2% 16.7% 100.0% % within District or city of residence 34.2% 42.5% 15.8% 31.0% % of Total 11.2% 14.7% 5.2% 31.0% 18 30 % within The school is far from my house 60.0% 16.7% 23.3% 100.0% % within District or city of residence 47.4% 12.5% 18.4% 25.9% % of Total 15.5% 4.3% 6.0% 25.9% 3 50.0% 50.0% % within District or city of residence 7.9% 7.5% 0% 5.2% % of Total 2.6% 2.6% 0% 5.2% 38 40 38 116 32.8% 34.5% 32.8% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 32.8% 34.5% 32.8% 100.0% % within The school is far from my house Count Count Count Count % within The school is far from my house Count % within The school is far from my house % within District or city of residence % of Total 85 Total 22.2% 100.0% 0% 100.0% CROSSTABS 3.1 (continued) Chi-Square Tests Value Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases df a 39.506 42.588 17.627 116 Asymp Sig (2-sided) 8 000 000 000 a cells (40.0%) have expected count less than The minimum expected count is 1.97 Symmetric Measures Value Interval by Interval Ordinal by Ordinal N of Valid Cases Pearson's R Spearman Correlation -.392 -.417 116 a Not assuming the null hypothesis b Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis c Based on normal approximation 86 Asymp Std Errora 079 081 Approx Tb -4.543 -4.902 Approx Sig .000c 000c APPENDIX D: FIGURES OF DATA ANALYSIS FIGURE 2.1: Monthly average earnings per family member FIGURE 2.3: Current jobs’ properties of poor women 70.00% 62.93% 60.00% 50.00% 50.00% 49.14% 39.66% 39.66% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.34% 10.00% 2.59% 0.86% 0.00% Stable Unstable Odd jobs Manual Intellectual High-paid Low-paid Painstaking 87 FIGURE 2.4: Poor women’s highest initial education completion FIGURE 2.6: Poor women’s intention to learn in the future FIGURE 3.9: Poor women’s selections for the group of goal-oriented motivations to adult learning (questions 55 to 67 in the survey questionnaire) 45.00% 40.80% 40.00% 35.00% 27.68% 30.00% 21.77% 25.00% 20.00% 27.16% 16.28% Self-motivated 15.00% 9.20% 10.00% 5.00% 26.08% 21.77% 6.03% 3.23% 0.00% Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree 88 Strongly disagree Externally motivated FIGURE 3.13: Poor women’s choices for the motivational factors to adult learning 60.00% 50.86% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 47.41% 44.83% 37.93% 24.14% 7.76% 6.03% 3.45% 4.31% 3.45% 43.10% 41.38% 42.24% 41.38% 38.79% 37.07% 44.83% 39.66% 37.93% 45.69% 43.97% 42.24% 36.21% 29.31% 26.72% 24.14% 17.24% 17.24% 20.00% 10.00% 45.69% 34.48% 39.66% 37.93% 31.03% 18.10% 6.90% 4.31% 15.52% 15.52% 15.52% 12.93% 10.34% 10.34% 9.48% 9.48% 8.62% 7.76% 6.90% 5.17% 6.03% 5.17% 5.17% 5.17% 5.17% 5.17% 4.31% 4.31% 4.31% 3.45% 3.45% 2.59% 4.31% 6.03% 2.59% 4.31% 3.45% 0.00% Strongly agree 89 Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 90 ... Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences Department of Educational Sciences EXPLORING PERCEPTIONS AND FACTORS RELATING TO THE PARTICIPATION IN ADULT EDUCATION OF POOR WOMEN IN AN GIANG PROVINCE, ... Perceptions and Factors Relating to the Participation in Adult Education of Poor Women in An Giang Province, Vietnam Master’s thesis presented to obtain the degree of Master of Educational Studies Examination... learning of poor women in An Giang Province, Vietnam, and their perceptions on the barriers, motivators, and benefits of adult learning, thanks to which implications for improving poor women? ??s