HUSBANDS' EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AND SUPPORT FOR WIVES' RETURN TO SCHOOL

Abstract

This study used data collected during intensive interviews with 44 returning women students and 33 of their husbands to investigate the effects of husbands' educational attainment on their attitudes toward their wives' enrollment and on their provision of instrumental support during the first year in a university. As hypothesized, well-educated husbands held more positive attitudes toward their wives' enrollment than did less-educated husbands; however, contrary to expectations, well-educated husbands provided their wives with lower levels of instrumental support than did less-educated husbands. Less-educated husbands appear to have provided their wives with higher levels of instrumental support because they were more likely to believe that their wives' increasing educational attainment would raise the total family income.