Deterrents To Women's Participation In Work-Related Educational Activities

Abstract

Women's participation in adult education has been shown to be comparable to that of men, except for work-related educational activities, where their rate of participation is considerably lower. The purpose of the study was to explore nonparticipants' clusters of reasons for nonparticipation in continuing nursing education to determine whether women working in a traditionally female profession were confronted with specific kinds of deterrents. A questionnaire consisting of a list of 50 reasons which might have prevented respondents to participate was mailed to a random sample of diploma nurses. Analysis of the data revealed five conceptually interpretable clusters: Low Priority for Work-Related Activities, Absence of External Incentives, Incidental Costs, Irrelevance of Additional Formal Education for Professional Practice, and Lack of Affective Support.