An Anthropological Approach to the Study of Educational Barriers of Adults at the Postsecondary Level.

Autor/inn/en	Marienau, Catherine; Klinger, Karla
Titel	An Anthropological Approach to the Study of Educational Barriers of Adults at the Postsecondary Level.
Quelle	(1977), (20 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Access to Education; Adult Students; Educational Anthropology; Educational Opportunities; Educational Problems; Educational Research; Environmental Influences; Family Influence; Postsecondary Education; Socioeconomic Influences; Minnesota + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Education; Access; Bildung; Zugang; Bildungszugang; Adult; Adults; Student; Students; Erwachsenenalter; Studentin; Schüler; Schülerin; Pädagogische Anthropologie; Bildungsangebot; Bildungschance; Bildungsforschung; Pädagogische Forschung; Environmental influence; Umwelteinfluss; Post-secondary education; Tertiäre Bildung; Sozioökonomischer Faktor
Abstract	A study was conducted on 42 adults in west central Minnesota to identify emerging patterns of educational barriers, explore the relationships among the barriers, and determine the effect barriers have in influencing the adult learner's participation in education. The study used three anthropological fieldwork techniques: Network analysis using the referral technique to identify the research population (the 12 primary subjects referred the investigators to 30 others); ethnographic data collection through indepth personal interviews; and ethnoscience techniques used in the organization and analysis of the data. (Ethnoscience is defined as a mode of eliciting, in a rigorous way, the means by which a culture structures meaning for its participants.) Five main categories of barriers were identified: Access to educational facilities, family responsibilities, finances, time, and motivation. The investigators found that over two-thirds of the participants reported the presence of two or more barriers and that the barriers were intricately related to one another. Three generalizations were reached: Barriers are derived from the situations people face and the value orientations people hold; value-related barriers require personal readjustments by the adult learner; and situational barriers have the potential to be overcome by external sources. (Implications of the study for adult educators and for the authors' own situation are also explored.) (LMS)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC