GENDER OBSTACLES IN NON-FORMAL ADULT EDUCATION IN EUROPE
Abstract
Education, including adult education, is a key factor in achieving gender equality. Gender equality in adult education means equal access to education, equal rights in all education systems, and equal rights acquired through education regardless of gender. Non-formal education has a powerful potential to achieve gender balance. At the same time, gender inequalities can be traced in it. The purpose of the research is to highlight those obstacles in adult education that women face in European countries. In the research process, a complex of complementary methods was used: general scientific (analysis, synthesis, generalization, systematization) and specific scientific (content analysis of the European Commission statistics website, analysis of statistical data in Adult Education Survey, system-structural method to identify barriers in non-formal education of adults by gender). The results of the research show that gender stereotypes have changed little over the past decades. Men and women have different goals, motivations, and expectations for education. It has been found that men rely more than women on the results of job-related non-formal education programs, such as a salary increase or promotion. In the European Union, a higher proportion (83,2%) of non-formal education initiatives involving men were directly related to their work. Only 74,6% of women participated in job-related non-formal education programs. The European-wide gap between male and female shares in non-formal job-related learning is estimated to be 8,6%. The obstacles to gender equality that prevent women from fully participating in non-formal education were highlighted in the article. They are characterized and grouped into 4 categories: social, economic, cultural, and historical. The offered categorization of barriers is quite relative. In practice, these barriers are often interconnected and appear before a woman in a complex. Overcoming the outlined barriers can become an effective tool for achieving gender equality in society.
Key words: gender; European Union; non-formal education; barriers; classification of obstacles.
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References
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References (translated and transliterated)
Babushko, S.R. (2021). Hendernistʹ u neformalʹniy/informalʹniy osviti doroslykh: yevropeysʹki praktyky [Gender in non-formal/informal adult education: European practices]. Osvita doroslykh: teoriya, dosvid, perspektyvy – Adult education: theory, experience, perspectives, 2(20), 10-20 [in Ukrainian].
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Cain, M.L., & Kjar, E. (2001, June 1-3). Learning in context: Women in transition from situations of domestic violence. In Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Adult Education Research Conference. Michigan State University [in English].
Cain, Margaret L. (2002). Theorizing the Effects of Class, Gender, and Race on Adult Learning in Nonformal and Informal Settings. Adult Education Research Conference. https://newprairiepress.org/aerc/2002/papers/12 [in English].
Clark, C.M. (1992). The restructuring of meaning: An analysis of the impact of context on transformational learning. In Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Adult Education Research Conference. University of Saskatchewan [in English].
Council of Europe (2015). Combating gender stereotypes in and through education. Report of the 2nd Conference of the Council of Europe National Focal Points on Gender Equality. Council of Europe. https://cutt.ly/cVH5RRm [in English].
Dybbroe, B., & Ollagnier, E. (Eds.). (2003). Challenging gender in lifelong learning: European perspectives. Copenhagen: Roskilde University Press [in English].
Eurostat Statistics. (June, 2021). https://cutt.ly/RVH5t8d [in English].
Home, A.M. (1998). Predicting Role Conflict, Overload and Contagion in Adult Women University Students with Families and Jobs. Adult Education Quarterly, 48(2), 85-97 [in English].
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