Adults engaged in lifelong learning in Taiwan: Analysis by ...Adults engaged in lifelong learning in...

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 52, Number 2, July 2012

Adults engaged in lifelong learning in Taiwan: Analysis by gender and socioeconomic status

Dian-Fu ChangTamkang University, Taiwan

Ming-Lieh Wu and Sung-Po LinNational Chi Nan University, Taiwan

This study examines the nature of adult engagement in lifelong learning in Taiwan. Previous studies have shown that gender and socioeconomic status (SES) are key variables related to equal access to education. Are these variables related to adults’ engagement in lifelong learning in a specific country? This study analysed data from a survey of adults that was administered by the Ministry of Education in 2009. The results show a strong relationship between gender, SES and the learning experiences of adults. Women in low and middle SES groups were more likely to engage in lifelong learning. This study reveals that women’s engagement in lifelong learning depended on their family concerns. Men’s engagement in lifelong learning, in contrast, was often for career or work-related reasons. By explaining the connections between the gender and SES of adult learners engaging in lifelong learning, the results of this study will enrich the context of lifelong learning.

Adults engaged in lifelong learning in Taiwan 311

Keywords: lifelong learning, adult education, educational policy, engagement theory

Introduction

Theconceptoflifelonglearningwasintroducedinthe1960s.Inthe1970s,internationalorganisationssuchasUNESCOadoptedtheconcept.However,therewaslittlefocusonlifelonglearningfromthe1970stothe1990s.Inthe1990s,theworldwitnessedtheimpactofglobalisation,theeffectsofanagingsociety,andtheinfluenceofinformationtechnology.Atthattime,manycountriesstartedtofocusonlifelonglearning,andnewregulationswereintroducedtoensureitsimplementation(Jarvis2007;Kang2007).Becauselifelonglearningbecameawidely-acceptedconceptinaknowledge-basedeconomy,theTaiwanesegovernmentlaunchedthelegislativeprocessfortheLifelongLearningAct,whichwasimplementedin2002.ByimplementingthisAct,thegovernmenthasplacedgreatimportanceonthepracticeoflifelonglearning.

Thedifferentbackgroundsoflifelonglearnersmayleadlearnerstoengageindifferentlearningactivities.Inamulti-culturalsociety,learnerscandevelopdifferentlearningperspectivesandbehaviours(Chang2004;Moen,Kelly&Magennis2009).However,eventhoughpeopleunderstandtheimportanceoflifelonglearning,itisnoteasytoprovidelearnerswithequalaccesstolimitededucationalresources.Researchhasshownthatgenderdifferencesorlowsocio-economicstatus(SES)canaffecttheeducationalopportunitiesofindividuals(Nesbit2006).Generally,womenhavefeweropportunitiesforformaleducationduetotheirfamilyresponsibilitiesorsocialexpectations(Gunawardena,Rasanayagam,Leitan,Bulumulle&Dort2006;WorldBank2005,2007).Desjardins,RubensonandMilana(2006)foundthatgenerallygenderdifferencesaresmallforthedevelopedcountriesconsidered,butthispartlydependsonthelevelofformal

312 Dian-Fu Chang, Ming-Lieh Wu and Sung-Po Lin

education.Overall,incountrieswherewomentendtohavelowerlevelsofformaleducationthanmen,womenarelesslikelytoparticipateinadultlearning.Furthermore,employersupporttendstobealesscommonsourceoffinancingforwomenthanformen.

• Desjardins,RubensonandMilana(2006)alsoshowedthesignificanceofeducationasasocio-economicmarker,revealingthatinmanycountriesthereisastrongconnectionbetweenhomebackground,educationalattainmentandfurtherlearning.Thisconnectionpointstoacycleofintergenerationalreproductionofinequalitiesthatisstronglylinkedtolifelonglearningprocesses.Thosewhohavehigherlevelsofformaleducation,andhenceagreaterlikelihoodofengaginginfurtherlearning,exhibitatendencytopasstheimportanceofformaleducationontotheirchildren.Basedontheresultsofpreviousresearch,weexplorethefollowingquestionsinaspecificcountrytoenrichtheknowledgeofthisfield:WhataretheexperiencesofadultsengagedinlifelonglearninginTaiwan?

• DowomenofdifferentSESfaceunequalsituationswhenattemptingtoengageinlifelonglearning?

• Dowomenandmenhavesimilaraccesstolifelonglearningprograms?Isthissimilartootherdevelopedcountries?

• WhatarethekeyreasonsthatadultsmightchoosetonotengageinlifelonglearninginTaiwan?

Literature review

In1972,UNESCOpublishedLearning to bewhichwasthefirsttimethatUNESCOpromotedtheconceptoflifelonglearning(Faure,Herrera,Kaddoura,Lopes,Petrovsky,Rahnema&Ward1972).TheOrganizationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment(OECD)alsoprovidedasignificantcontributiontowardsdevelopinglifelonglearninginaglobalsetting.In1973,itsRecurrent education: A strategy for lifelong learningarguedforrecurrenteducationasanimportantstrategyforlifelonglearning(OECD1998a).Themostsignificantyearforthedevelopmentoftheideaoflifelonglearning


was1996,whentheInternationalCommissiononEducationfortheTwenty-firstCenturyannouncedthereport,Learning: The treasure within,andindicatedthatlifelonglearningwouldbekeyinthetwenty-firstcentury(Delors1996).Inthefollowingyear,UNESCOheldtheFifthInternationalConferenceonAdultEducation,CONFINTEAV,andproposedtheHamburgDeclarationonAdultLearningwhichpositionedlifelonglearningasthekeytohelpingsocietyfacechallengesinthenextcentury(UNESCOInstituteforEducation1997).

TheOECD’sEducation policy analysis 1998selectedlifelonglearningasaspecialissuetopicwithitsanalysisoflifelonglearningpoliciesindifferentcountries(OECD1998b).Inaddition,theEuropeanUnion(EU)proposedA memorandum on lifelong learningtodiscussthestrategiesoflifelonglearningimplementation(EuropeanCommission2000).In2005,theEUproposedKey competences for lifelong learning: A European reference frameworktoreframetheeightkeycompetenciesforlifelonglearning(CommissionoftheEuropeanCommunities2005;TheEuropeanAssociationforUniversityLifelongLearning2009).

Basedonthepromotionoflifelonglearninginthesevariousinternationalorganisations,manycountrieshavebeenexposedtotheimportanceoflifelonglearningandbecomedevotedtodevelopinglifelonglearningforall.Hasan(2001)analysedlifelonglearningandexaminedthevariousdefinitions,policyandpraxisindifferentcountries,includingAustralia,Finland,Norway,theNetherlands,theUnitedKingdom,France,Italy,Japan,Korea,theUnitedStates.However,manycountriessettheirlifelongpolicybasedonnationaladulteducationsurveys.Forinstance,Australia,Germany,theUnitedKingdom,theUnitedStates,andCanadahavesurveyedtheirpopulationsonthetopicapproximatelyonceeverytwotothreeyears(seeTable1).

314 Dian-Fu Chang, Ming-Lieh Wu and Sung-Po LinTa

ble

1:

The

maj

or n

atio

nal s

urve

ys o

f adu

lt ed

ucat

ion

Cou

ntr

ies

Su

rvey

inst

itu

teye

arA

ge o

f ad

ult

s M

eth

odS

amp

les

Fin

al/

rep

ort

Su

rvey

fr

equ

ency

Germany

Infratest Burke

Sozialforschung

1979

19–64

Telephone

7,108

2006

3 years

United

Kingdom

NationalInstitute

ofAdultContinuing

Education(N

IACE)

1996

17&over

Not

available

4,932

2008

1–3years

United

States

NationalCenterfor

EducationalStatistics

1991

16&over

Telephone

8,905

2006

3–5years

Canada

StatisticsCanada

1984

17&over

Telephone

33,410

2001

3–4years

Australia

AustralianBureauof

Statistics

1995

25–64

Telephone

14,190

2007

not regular


Initiating a national policy for lifelong learning development

Theimportanceofimplementinglifelonglearningistoeliminateagapinaccesstoeducationwithinthecommunityandtoprovidemoreequitableaccesstoeducationalresources(Williamson1998).Reframingpolicytoenhancelifelonglearningisaneffectiveapproachinademocraticsociety(Nerland2008).Inmanycountries,thepurposeoflifelonglearningpoliciesistoeliminatetheunequaldistributionofeducationalattainment,whichmightresultinintellectual,socialandeconomicdisparities.Researchhasshownthatadulteducationparticipationratesarepositivelycorrelatedwithacountry’slevelofeconomicdevelopmentasmeasuredbypercapitagrossdomesticproduct.Onaverage,themoreprosperousthecountry,thehighertheparticipationratereported(UNESCOSixthInternationalConferenceonAdultEducation2009).Furthermore,foreachadditionalyearofeducationintheadultpopulationonaverage,thereisacorrespondingincreaseof3.7%inlong-termeconomicgrowthanda6%increaseinpercapitaincome.Therefore,adultlearningandeducationarenotonlyfinancialexpendituresbutalsoinvestmentsinthefuture(UNESCOInstituteforLifelongLearning2009).

In1998,theTaiwanesegovernmentpublishedawhitepapercalledToward a learning society,andlisted14actionprogramstoestablishlifelonglearninginsociety.Subsequently,theLifelongLearningActwasannouncedin2002,illustratingthatthepromotionoflifelonglearningandtheestablishmentofeducation’simportancetosocietyhadbecomeaclearconceptandanationalpolicy.In2010,theMinistryofEducationproposed‘TheActionYearforLifelongLearning331’, encouragingthepublictospendatleastthirtyminutesforlearning(3),thirtyminutesfordoingexercise(3)andtoundertakeoneactivityforthecommongood(1)perday(MinistryofEducation,Taiwan2010).Toreducethepolicyimplementationgap,Taiwanhasemphasisedthesocialroleoflifelonglearningandencouraged


thegeneralpublic’sacceptanceofitsimportance.AccordingtothepurposesoftheEU’sannouncementofA memorandum on lifelong learningtheintentionistopromoteactivecitizenshipandemployability.Lifelonglearninghasemphasisedtheresponsibilityofcitizenstopursuepersonalself-fulfilment.Ininstanceswherethegovernmenthasplayedaneutralroleinpolicyimplementation,lifelonglearningmaybecomeamarket-drivenactivitytosatisfytheincreaseddemands.SomeprogramsbasedonlifelonglearningpolicyhavebeenimplementedinTaiwan,butthereisstillagrowinggapbetweenthelifelonglearningpolicyanditspractice(Wang2008).Thegapcausesconcernabouttheengagementofdisadvantagedgroups,suchasfemalesandindividualsoflowerSES,inlifelonglearningactivities.

Gender and socio-economic status explanations in lifelong learning

Manystructuralinequalitieshavebeenfoundtolimittheparticipationofdifferentsocialgroupsinlifelonglearning.Ingeneral,thosewhoarefemale,older,lesseducated,lessskilled,inlow-skilljobsorunemployed,immigrantsorfrompoorsocio-economicbackgroundsaretheleastlikelytoparticipateinadulteducationandtraining(Desjardins,Rubenson,&Milana2006).Withinacountry,levelsofparticipationvaryaccordingtosocio-economic,demographicandregionalfactors,revealingstructuraldeficienciesinaccesstoadulteducation.Infrequentparticipationbycertaingroupsillustratesstructuralinequalitiesinsociety,thatthereisunequalaccesstolifelonglearningwhengeneralparticipationislow,orthatinfrequentparticipationinlifelonglearningmaycreateinequalitiesinsociety.Gender,geographicallocation,ageandsocio-economicstatusallplayapartinlifelonglearningengagement(UNESCOInstituteforLifelongLearning2009).

Genderisakeyelementinthediscourseoflifelonglearning(Rogers2006).Inmanydevelopingcountries,women’sliteracyrates


arelowerthanthoseofmen.Comparingratesofdifferentcountries,thereisasignificantgendergap(Mulenga&Liang2008).Therearemultipleconstraintsthatmaypreventwomenfromparticipatinginadulteducation,suchasdomesticduties,childcareandsubmissivebehaviour(Gouthro2007;Lind2006).Womengenerallyhaveresponsibilitiesandconnectionstothehome.However,ongoingsocialchangeshaveencouragedwomentobemoreindependent,andtheyhavebeguntoexpecttoengageinmorelearningactivities.

SESisamajordeterminingfactorintheattainmentofdifferentlevelsofeducation,anditispossiblyanotherimportantfactorinlifelonglearning.Inmanycountries,SEShasbeenoneofthestrongestfactorsassociatedwitheducationaldifferencesinaccessaswellasoutcomes(OECD2001).Generally,wemayassumethehigheranadult’sSES,thegreaterthelikelihoodofhis/herengagementineducation.Atthesametime,effectiveadultlearningmayplayacriticalroleinprovidingopportunitiesforsocialmobility,whichmaydecreasesocialinequality(Nesbit2006).However,Desjardins,RubensonandMilana(2006)indicatedthattheobservedrelationshipisnotnecessarilydirect.

Engagement and lifelong learning

Generally,‘engagement’isdefinedaswhatstudentsdo,feelandthinkduringschool.Whenlearnersareengagedinlearningactivities,theyneedtolearnthroughinteractionswithothersiftheywanttomaketheactivitymeaningful(Kuh2009).Thequalityofeffortandinvolvementinproductivelearningactivitiesfurtherdefinesengagement(Kuh2009).Manyarticlesonstudentengagementatthecollegelevelhavebeenguidedbytheconceptsofbehavioural,emotionalandcognitiveengagements,whilearticlesattheK-12levelhavemainlyfocusedonpsychologicalandbehaviouralengagements(Fredricks,Blumenfeld&Paris2004).Theliteraturedefinescognitiveengagementintermsofself-regulation,andstudents


usemeta-cognitivestrategiestoplan,monitor,andevaluatetheircognitionwhenaccomplishingtasks(Fredricksetal.2004).

Adults,ingeneral,mayhavetheabilitytoengageinself-directedlearning,andadultscanbeseenasself-directedlearners.Whentheyengageinlifelonglearning,theymayevaluatethelearningoutcomes.Adultstudentsengaginginlearningactivitiesinasocialcontextareverydifferentfromstudentsinaschoolcontext.Thedifferencesinclude,forexample,theirpurpose,motivation,worklimitations,familyresponsibilities,availabletimeandfinancialabilities.

Method

Toanswertheresearchquestions,thestudyanalyseddatafromtheAdultSurveyinTaiwanin2009.Thefollowingsectionwilldiscusstheframeworkofanalysis,datacollection,sampling,datatransformationandmethodofanalysis.

Framework of analysis

Toinvestigateadultsengaginginlifelonglearningactivities,weproposetheanalyticalframeworkshowninFigure1.Usingthisframework,thisstudytestedthefollowinghypotheses:

H1:WomenofdifferentSESfaceunequalsituationswhentheyengageinlifelonglearning.

H2:Womenandmendonotengageinsimilarlifelonglearningprograms.

H3:Thereasonsforadultlearners’disengagementfromlifelonglearningvary.


Figure 1: Framework of analysis

Data collection

TounderstandTaiwaneseparticipationinlifelonglearning,weimplementedthesurveysupportedbytheMinistryofEducationandthefindingsmayserveasabasisfordevelopingrelevantpolicies.

Tocollecttheviewsofthesubjectsinashortperiod,thisstudyusedthetelephonequestionnairemethodComputerAssistedTelephoneInterview(CATI)torandomizethedigitdialling.ThesurveywasimplementedfromMondaytoSundayduringtheeveningfrom6to10o’clockfrom1Juneto1July,2009.Thetotalcallsnumbered48,463,andthevalidatedsampleincluded10,000.Inthisstudy,wespecificallyselectedindividuals18–64yearsold,andthevalidatedsampleinthisgroupwas4,065.Therewereonly1,323peoplewhoreportedexperiencingengagementinlifelonglearningactivities,whichis32.55%ofthetotalsample.Basedonthepopulationdistribution,thisstudyemployedpost-stratificationweightingtocalculatethereasonablesamplingdistribution.Inthisstudy,themarginofsamplingerrorwaslowerthan3%,ataconfidencelevelof95%.


AccordingtotheAnnual reportbytheMinistryoftheInteriorofTaiwan,thetotalpopulationinTaiwanaged18to64yearswas15,970,678.Overall,50.11%wasmale,and49.89%wasfemale.Inthisstudy,thedatasetconsistedof4,065validrespondents,ranginginagefrom18to64,with40.91%maleand59.09%female.Chi-squaretestresultsrevealedastatisticallysignificantdifferenceingenderdistributionbetweenthedatasetandthetotalpopulation(p<.001),asshowninTable2.Thisfindingmeansthatthegenderdistributioninthesampleisdifferentfromthatinthepopulation.Therefore,thesamplesneededtobeweightedtofacilitatestatisticalevaluation.Thisstudyemployedpost-stratificationweightingtocalculatethegendervaluesandanalysedthederivedfiguresthroughstatisticalmeans.Theequationisasfollows:

Note: Wi:theweightvalueofgroupi;Ni:thetotalvalueoftheithgroupinthepopulation;N:thetotalvalueofthepopulation;ni:thenumberofvalidsamplesingroupi;n:thetotalvalueofthesamples

Table 2: Gender distribution in the samples and the population

Variables ClassificationSample Populationa

χ2Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage

GenderMen 1,663 40.91 8,002,553 50.11

137.55***Women 2,402 59.09 7,968,125 49.89

Total 4,065 15,970,678

Note:a.ThepopulationofTaiwanaged18to64was15,970,678.***p<.001.


Data transformation

Educationalbackgroundandoccupationinthedatabasewereonanominalscale.Forthedatatofitthestatisticalmodel,thisstudyadaptedthesetwovariables,educationalattainmentandoccupation,intoaneducationindexandacareerindex.TheadaptationprocesswasbasedontheInternationalStandardClassificationofEducation(ISCED)proposedbytheOECD(1999).ISCED1(primaryeducation)wasdesignatedas1,whichwaspresentedinthequestionnaireas‘primaryschoolgraduateorbelow’.ISCED2(earlysecondaryeducation)wasdesignatedas2,whichwaspresentedinthequestionnaireas‘juniorhighschoolorjuniorvocationalschoo’.ISCED3A,3B,3C(uppersecondaryeducationorvocationaleducation)wasdesignatedas3,whichwaspresentedinthequestionnaireas‘seniorhighschool(vocationalschool)(includingthefirstthreeyearsofjuniorcollege)’.ISCED4(juniorcollege)wasdesignatedas4,whichwaspresentedinthequestionnaireas‘juniorcollege’.ISCED5A,5B(highereducation)wasdesignatedas5,whichwaspresentedinthequestionnaireas‘university’.ISCED6(highereducation)wasdesignatedas6,whichwaspresentedinthequestionnaireas‘graduateschoolorabove’.

TheoccupationdatawereadjustedaccordingtoHwang’s(2003)proposalin‘NewoccupationalprestigeandsocioeconomicscoresforTaiwan’.Occupationspresentedinthequestionnaireas‘agricultural,forestryandfisheryworkers’and‘non-technicalworkersandmanuallabor’weredesignatedas1.‘Salesandservicepersonnel’,‘technicalworkersandrelatedworkers’and‘machineoperatorsandassembly-lineworkers’weredesignatedas2.‘Administrativestaff’wasdesignatedas3,and‘technicalworkersandassistantprofessionalpersonnel’weredesignatedas4.‘Humanresource,supervisorsandmanagers’and‘professionals’weredesignatedas5.ThemeanandstandarddeviationoftheadaptededucationcareerindicesareshowninTable3.


Table 3: The mean and standard deviation of education and career indices

Variables CategoriesIndices

Education Career

Educationalattainment

Primaryschoolgraduateorbelow 1

Juniorhighschoolorjuniorvocationalschool 2

Seniorhighschool(vocationalschool) 3

Juniorcollege 4

University 5

Graduateschoolorabove 6

Mean=3.598,StandardDeviation=1.275

Occupation

Humanresource,supervisorsandmanagers 5

Professionals 5

Technicalworkersandassistantprofessionalpersonnel 4

Administrativestaff 3

Salesandservicepersonnel 2

Agricultural,forestryandfisheryworkers 1

Technicalworkersandrelatedworkers 2

Machine-operatorsandassembly-lineworkers 2

Non-technicalworkersandmanuallabour 1

Mean=3.322,StandardDeviation=1.416

Thisstudyappliedatwo-stepclassificationtoanalysethedata.Theeducationindex,careerindexandpersonalincomewereincludedinthemodel.TheresultsoftheanalyseswerecategorisedintothreedifferentSESgroups(high,middleandlow-incomegroups),asshowninTable4.

Adults engaged in lifelong learning in Taiwan 323Ta

ble

4: T

wo-

step

clu

ster

ana

lysi

s of

SE

S gr

oups

SE

S

grou

ps

N%

of

com

bin

ed%

of

tota

lE

du

cati

on in

dex

Car

eer

ind

exP

erso

nal

inco

mea

MS

DM

SD

Cat

egor

ies

Fre

qu

ency

High

722

26.52

17.76

4.468

1.083

4.031

1.280

18,000–24,000

24,000–30,000

30,000–45,000

45,000

304

203

144 71

Middle

1,161

42.65

28.56

3.600

1.200

3.115

1.340

6,000–9,000

12,000–18,000

559

602

Low

839

30.82

20.64

3.081

1.270

2.813

1.400

0–6,000

9,000–12,000

431

408

Com

bined

2,722

66.96

3.777

1.238

3.328

1.406

No

response

item

s1,343

33.04

Tot

al4

,06

5

Note:a.M

easuredinUS$.


ThisstudyusedSPSSVersion15.0forWindowstoconductalogisticregressionanalysisandχ2test.Thelogisticregressionmodelwasusedtoanalysetheexperiencesoflifelonglearningamongadultswithdifferentcharacteristics.Inthisstudy,wedesignatedtheengagementinlifelonglearningasadependentvariableandthedisengagementfromlifelonglearningasthereferencevariable.Gender(χgen)andSES(χses)weredesignatedasindependentvariablesofthelogisticregressionmodeltoverifyhypothesisH1.Thelogisticregressionmodelwasasfollows:

Note.p as the probability of engaging in lifelong learning refers to disengaging.

ToverifyhypothesesH2andH3,thisstudyadoptedtheχ2testtoconductacross-analysisofthetypesofadultsengaginginlifelonglearningandthereasonswhyadultsdisengagefromlifelonglearning.Thea posterioricomparisonoftheχ2testswasbasedonthecomparisonofadjustedresiduals.TheZ-score1.96wasusedforthe0.05significancelevel,2.58wasusedforthe.01significancelevel,and3.30wasusedforthe.001significancelevel(Haberman1978).

Results

Inthissection,weaddresstheresultsaccordingtothepurposesofthestudy.Theresultsshowtheadults’lifelonglearningexperiencesandthedistributionofgenderengagementinlifelonglearning.Theresultsalsoshowtherelationshipofgender,socioeconomicstatusandengagementinlifelonglearning.Theadults’programselectionandtheirreasonsfornotengagingarethendiscussedattheend.

Theresultsshowedthat67.45%ofadultsdidnotengageinlifelonglearning,andthatonly32.55%ofadultsreportedtheyhadlifelong


learningexperiences(seeTable5).Thepercentageofwomen(56.34%)engagedinlifelonglearningwashigherthanthatofmen(41.87%).ThepercentageoflowSESgroupsengaginginlifelonglearning(41.59%)washigherthanthatofotherSESgroups.

Table 5: Crosstab analysis by gender and SES for lifelong learning

Engagement

Gender Socio-economic status (SES)

Men (%)

Women (%)

Total (%)

Low (%)

Middle (%)

High (%)

Total (%)

No 1,483(54.08)

1,259(45.03)

2,742(67.45)

353(19.81)

770(42.73)

659(35.73)

1,782(63.55)

Yes 554(41.87)

769(56.34)

1,323(32.55)

425(41.59)

405(38.08)

192(17.43)

1,022(36.45)

χ2 53.219*** 183.834***

***p<0.001.

Women engaged in lifelong learning

Usingalogisticregressionmodel,weanalysedengagementinlifelonglearningasthedependentvariable,pistheprobabilityofnotparticipatinginlifelonglearning,χ gen(1)aswomenreferstomen, χ ses(1)aslowSES, χ ses(2)asmiddleSESreferstohighSES.Inthismodel,genderandSESweretreatedasindependentvariables.Theresultwasasfollows:

Note: a. p as the probability of participating in lifelong learning refers to not participating; b. χ gen(1) as women refers to men, χ ses(1) as low SES, χ ses(2)

as middle SES refers to high SES.

326 Dian-Fu Chang, Ming-Lieh Wu and Sung-Po Lin Adults engaged in lifelong learning in Taiwan 327

TherewerestatisticallysignificantgenderandSESdifferencesinthismodel.Theresultsindicatedthemodelwasfitted(seeTable6).WomeninthelowandmiddleSESgroupsengagedinlifelonglearning5.762and1.926,respectively,timesmorethandidmen.ThefittedlogisticregressionmodelshowedthedatasupportedhypothesisH1.

Table 6: Coefficients of the logistic regression model

Variablesa

Coefficients Fit of modelb

β Exp(β) Wald -2LL HL Percentage Correct

SES*Gender 157.709***

3504.756 .000 67.1%

SES(1)*Gender(1) 1.751 5.762 133.929***

SES(2)*Gender(1) 0.656 1.926 44.134***

Constant -0.847 0.428 304.477***

Note.a.SES(1)referstolowSES;SES(2)referstomiddleSES;b.-2LLis-2loglikelihood,andHListheHosmer-Lemeshowgoodness-of-fitstatistic.***p<.001.

Engagement in different programs

Amongtheadultswhoengagedinlifelonglearningactivities,8.74%wereinaccreditedprograms,17.73%wereincertificationcourses,53.52%wereinprofessionaldevelopmentcourses,and20.02%wereinleisure-relatedcourses.Thisindicatesthatalargernumberofadultspreferredtoengageinprofessionaldevelopmentcoursesthananyotherkindoflifelonglearningactivity.ThisstudyfurtheranalysedtheengagementindifferentprogramsbygenderandSES(seeTable7).Accordingtotheresultsoftheχ2test,therewerenosignificantdifferencesbetweenmen’sandwomen’sengagementindifferentprogramsbydifferentSES.Theresultoftheχ2testdidnotprovidesufficientevidencetosupporthypothesisH2.

326 Dian-Fu Chang, Ming-Lieh Wu and Sung-Po Lin Adults engaged in lifelong learning in Taiwan 327Ta

ble

7:

Cro

ssta

b an

alys

is o

f eng

agin

g in

diff

eren

t pro

gram

s

Pro

gram

s

Low

SE

SM

idd

le S

ES

Hig

h S

ES

Tot

al (

%)

Men

(%

)W

omen

(%

)M

en (

%)

Wom

en (

%)

Men

(%

)W

omen

(%

)

Accredited

programs

26(8.81)

24(11.59)

10(5.68)

25(8.83)

6(8.57)

12(8.11)

103(8.74)

Certification

courses

42(14.24)

35(16.91)

33(18.75)

57(20.14)

16(22.86)

26(17.57)

209(17.73)

Professional

developm

ent

185

(62.71)

118

(57.00)

85(48.30)

142

(50.18)

31(44.29)

70(47.30)

631(53.52)

Leisure-related

courses

42(14.24)

30(14.49)

48(27.27)

59(20.85)

17(24.29)

40(27.03)

236(20.02)

χ22.172

3.520

0.932

Note:thereisnosignificantdifferencebetweencategoriesinthecrosstabanalysis

328 Dian-Fu Chang, Ming-Lieh Wu and Sung-Po Lin Adults engaged in lifelong learning in Taiwan 329

Reasons for not engaging in programs

ThereasonsfornotengaginginlifelonglearningactivitiesarelistedinTable8.Themostpopularreasonsincludedlackoftime(58.43%),nodesire(12.65%)andworklimitations(10.95%).Accordingtotheanalysis,wefoundthatlackofdesireandworklimitationswerethemainreasonswhymendidnotengageinlifelonglearning.Themainreasonforwomen’slackofengagementwasalsolackoftime,butwomenalsocommonlynotedoverwhelmingfamilyresponsibilities.HypothesisH3,statingthatreasonswouldvaryforadultlearners’disengagementfromlifelonglearning,wasnotfullysupportedbythedata.

328 Dian-Fu Chang, Ming-Lieh Wu and Sung-Po Lin Adults engaged in lifelong learning in Taiwan 329Ta

ble

8:

Cro

ssta

bs a

naly

sis

of r

easo

ns fo

r no

t eng

agin

g

Rea

son

sG

end

erS

ES

Men

(%

)W

omen

(%

)L

ow (

%)

Mid

dle

(%

)H

igh

(%

)

Lackoftime

754

(62.52)

452

(37.48)

242

(20.07)

533

(44.20)

431

(35.74)

Nodesire

189

(72.41)

72(27.59)

52(19.92)

98(37.55)

111

(42.53)

Worklim

itations

157

(69.47)

69(30.53)

46(20.35)

90(39.82)

90

(39.82)

Lackofrequiredcourses

72(66.67)

36(33.33)

28(25.93)

48(44.44)

32

(29.63)

Overwhelmingfamily

responsibilities

28(31.11)

62(68.89)

10(11.11)

44(48.89)

36

(40.00)

χ262.32***

29.49

***p<.001.


Discussion

Basedontheaboveanalysis,thestudyshoweddifferentexperiencesoflifelonglearningamongTaiwaneseadults.Thesimilaritiesanddifferencesinexperiencesarenowdiscussed.

Generally,womenhadlessaccesstoformaleducationduetofactorssuchasfamilyresponsibilitiesandsocialexpectations,whichmightaffecttheirparticipationinlifelonglearning(WorldBank2005,2007).Recently,womenhavegraduallysurpassedmeninlifelonglearningparticipation(Bryans2001;Moen,Kelly&Magennis2009;Wu2010).Theresultsofthisstudyshowedthatwomen,incomparisonwithmen,hadgreaterlifelonglearningengagement,especiallyinthelowSESgroup.Infact,theopportunitiestoaccesslifelonglearningforbothgendergroupswerenotquiteequal.AlthoughmanywomenareenteringthejobmarketinTaiwan,theyarestillexpectedtoshouldermostoftheresponsibilityforraisingchildrenandmaintaininghouseholds.However,thesocialenvironmenthaschangedgradually,andwomenaremoreawareoftheirself-development.ThisawarenesswillmotivatemanywomentoengageinlifelonglearninginTaiwan.

Daines,Daines,&Graham(2006)indicatedthereasonsforadultengagementwerecategorisedintovocationalorprofessionaldevelopment,aspirationsforfurtherlearningorcreativity,personaldevelopmentgoals,orasocialneed.BecausemoreTaiwaneseadultsengageinprofessionaldevelopmentcourses,thereappearstobeanemphasisonthevocationalcategory.Governmentshavegenerallysetbudgetsforlifelonglearningprograms.Thekeyfocusisusuallyonyouth,professionaltrainingorspecialinterestcourses.Manyadultshavechosentoimprovetheirprofessionalskills,andthereisgreaterbenefitwhenlearningprogramsarearrangedatatimeandaplacesuitableforthem.


Previousstudieshaveshownthatalackoftimeand financesareprimereasonswhyadultschoosenottoengageinlifelonglearning(Desjardins,Rubenson&Milana2006).Familyresponsibilitywasanotherreasongivenbyadultsfornon-participation(Merriam,Caffarella&Baumgartner2007).Thisstudyalsoshowedthatlackoftimewasthemainreasonfornotengaginginlifelonglearning.Fromasituationalpointofview,reasonsfornon-participationduetolackoftimecanbeproblematicbecauseitisavagueconcept(Rubenson1999).Thevalueascribedtolearningwillaffectaperson’sperceptionofwhethertheyhavetimeforitornot(Desjardins,Rubenson&Milana2006).Inapreviousstudy,theresponse‘nomoney’wasthesecondmostcommonreasonstatedfornotparticipatinginacourse(Desjardins,Rubenson&Milana2006).However,thisstudydidfindasimilarrationalebecausemanyprogramswereprovidedbythegovernmentornon-profitorganisationsinTaiwan.

Incomparisonwithmen,womenweremorelikelytoengageinlifelonglearning.However,theyreportedalackoftimeduetofamilyresponsibilities.Thisisamajorbarrierpreventingwomenfromengaginginlifelonglearning.Menwereoftenunabletoengageinlifelonglearningduetowork-relatedfactorsandlackofdesire.Typically,meninvolvedinlifelonglearningweredeeplyinfluencedbywork-relatedfactors,suchasimprovingprofessionaldevelopmentandachievingtheircareergoals.However,whentheattractionofworkdecreases,therateofmaleparticipationmayalsodecrease(Porfeli&Vondracek2009).

Conclusion

Ifweanalyselifelonglearningexperiencesbasedonsocialstatus,wemayobtaindifferentresults.Forinstance,adultsfromdifferentculturesinthesamesocietymightviewlifelonglearningdifferentlyormightengageinlearningactivitiesinverydifferentways.Theeconomicdevelopmentstageofacountryinfluencestheresource


allocationforadults’learningprogramsanddiffersdependingonthestageofdevelopment.TheexperiencesofadultsinTaiwanmayprovideanexplanationforlifelonglearningengagement.Inthisstudy,genderandsocio-economicstatusaresignificantvariablesthatwerefoundtobecloselyrelatedtoadults’lifelonglearningexperiences.Theresultsindicatethatmanymendonotengageinlifelonglearning.Itisimportanttorethinkhowtoeliminateoratleastminimisethebarriersthataffectadults’engagementinlifelonglearning.

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About the authors

Dian-Fu Chang is a Professor in the Graduate Institute of Educational Policy and Leadership at Tamkang University in Taiwan.

Ming-Lieh Wu is a Professor in the Graduate Institute of Adult and Counting Educationat the National Chi Nan University in Taiwan.

Sung-Po Lin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Policy and Administration at the National Chi Nan University in Taiwan.

Contact details (respectively)

Address: No. 151, Yingzhuan Road. Tamsui District, New Taipei City 25137, Taiwan Email: [email protected]

Address: No. 1 University Road. Puli, Nantou County, 54561, Taiwan Email: [email protected]

Address: No. 1 University Rd. Puli, Nantou County, 54561, Taiwan Email: [email protected]

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