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
Adults engaged in lifelong learning in Taiwan 313
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
Adults engaged in lifelong learning in Taiwan 315
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
316 Dian-Fu Chang, Ming-Lieh Wu and Sung-Po Lin
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
Adults engaged in lifelong learning in Taiwan 317
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
318 Dian-Fu Chang, Ming-Lieh Wu and Sung-Po Lin
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.
Adults engaged in lifelong learning in Taiwan 319
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%.
320 Dian-Fu Chang, Ming-Lieh Wu and Sung-Po Lin
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.
Adults engaged in lifelong learning in Taiwan 321
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.
322 Dian-Fu Chang, Ming-Lieh Wu and Sung-Po Lin
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$.
324 Dian-Fu Chang, Ming-Lieh Wu and Sung-Po Lin
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
Adults engaged in lifelong learning in Taiwan 325
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.
330 Dian-Fu Chang, Ming-Lieh Wu and Sung-Po Lin
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.
Adults engaged in lifelong learning in Taiwan 331
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
332 Dian-Fu Chang, Ming-Lieh Wu and Sung-Po Lin
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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