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ll. ‘lll‘lll’l ill/mill -'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3 00625 7103

“Mon State
University

This is to certify that the

dissertation entitled

Female Dropouts From the Adult Education!
Program in a School District
in Amman-Jordan

presented by

Asma Ghaleb Abu-Abboud

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Doctoral degree in CurriculumJeaching
& Educational Policy

~79

Major professor /

 

 

Date ”gym/990

MSU is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution 0-12771

 

LIBRARY 1

i

 

 

.p ‘r .

PLACE N RETURN BOX to remove this cmokout from your record.
TO AVOID FINES return on or before «to din.

DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MSU Is An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity lnditution

 

 

FEMALE DROPOUTS FROM THE ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAM
IN A SCHOOL DISTRICT IN AMMAN-JORDAN

By

Asma Ghaleb Abu-Abboud

A DISSERTATION

Sumitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fullfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Teacher Education

1990

ABSTRACT
FEMALE DROPOUTS FROM THE ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAM IN A
SCHOOL DISTRICT IN AMMAN-JORDAN

By

Asma Ghaleb Abu-Abboud

The purpose of this study was to understand the reasons behind dropping out from
female adult education programs in a school district in Amman, Jordan. Because of
sex segregation in schools, the study was conducted on female adult students only.
The ethnographic methods were used to understand the factors behind dropping
out. The qualitative research methods used included participant observation, field
notes, and interviews. The participants in the study were given forms that indicated
that participation was voluntary, the participants could withdraw their participation
at any time, and that the identity of the participants would remain confidential.
The data collected provided rich description of the students in the setting and an
understanding of the broader segment of society to which the students belong. The
study suggests a number of reasons behind dropping out from the centers. They are:
(i) Social factors.
(ii) Psychological factors.
(iii) Economic factors.
(iv) Educational factors.
(v) Factors that deal with the school environment.
The study suggests that although it is important to understand the reasons behind
dropping out from the program, it is very important to understand the motivation

behind enrolling in the program in order to understand dropping out.

To my children

Lina, Backer, and Omar

iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The researcher is greatly indebted to the chairman of her guidance com-
mittee, Dr. Kenneth Neff, for his guidance, assistance and support through-
out the study. His time and valuable suggestions were instrumental in weav-
ing the multi-faceted problems of the study. His care and thoughtful advice
were crucial especially when I moved to the State of New York. He was
always there whenever I needed him. To properly thank him is impossible,
but I always will be greatful.

The researcher also wishes to express sincere appreciation to Dr. Charles
Blackman, Dr. Howard Hickey, and Dr. Marvin Grandstaff. The time I
spent as your student will always be cherished. The knowledge I gained will
always have your prints on it.

For his patience, encouragement, and assistance, I am indebted to my
husband, Nafiz, without whom this study would not have been completed.
We shared the worries, the sweat, and the tears that have been part of this
research project. I know that you sacrificed a lot and I will never be able to
pay you back. I will always be indebted to you because you never denied me
the chance to pursue my ambition. Thank you.

Also, the researcher would like to acknowledge all the participants in the
project and thank them for their participation, because, although they will
remain nameless, they are the study.

Contents

 

Abstract ii
Acknowledgements iv
1 Introduction 1
1 .1 Introduction ................................ 1
1.2 A Statement of the Problem ....................... 2
1.3 Definitions ................................. 2
1.4 The Significance of the Study ...................... 3
1.5 The Research Questions ......................... 7
1.6 Some Hypotheses About the Study ................... 8
1.7 The Participants in the Study ...................... 9
1.8 The Limitations of the Study ...................... 10
2 Overview of the Problem 12
2.1 Sources of Illiteracy ............................ 12
2.2 Historical Overview of the Problem in Jordan ............. 15
2.3 The Development of Adult Education Programs in Jordan ...... 17
2.4 The Goals and Philosophy of Adult Education in Jordan ....... 21
2.5 Legislation Concerning Adult Education ................ 22
2.6 The Educational Laws for the National Campaign to Fight Illiteracy
for the Year 1981 ............................. 25

2.7 The Size of the Illiteracy Problem in Jordan ..............

2.8 The Curriculum for Adult Education Programs ............
2.9 Review of the Literature .........................
2.9.1 Review of the Literature in Jordan ...............
2.9.2 Review of the Literature in the Arab World ..........
2.9.3 Review of the Literature in the United States .........

Theory and Methods

3.1 Ethnographic approach ..........................
3.2 Data Collection Procedure ........................
3.2.1 Interview .............................
3.2.2 Participant Observation .....................
3.2.3 Field Notes ............................
3.3 General Description of the Participants in the Study .........
3.3.1 The Site ..............................

Findings and Analysis

4.1 Introduction ................................
4.2 Analysis of Data .............................
4.2.1 The Social Factors ........................
4.2.2 The Psychological Factors ....................
4.2.3 The Economic Factors ......................
4.2.4 The Educational Factors .....................

4.2.5 Factors that Deal with the School Environment
4.3 Summary of Findings ...........................

Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations

5.1 Introduction to Problem .........................
5.2 Purpose of Study .............................
5.3 Procedure .................................
5.4 The Findings ...............................

vi

29
29
30
30

58
58
61
62
63
64
64
66

68
68
70
70
90
94
96
106
108

116

116
117
118

5.4.1 The Social Factors ........................ 118

5.4.2 The Psychological Factors .................... 118
5.4.3 The Economic Factors ...................... 119
5.4.4 The Educational Factors ..................... 119
5.4.5 Factors that Deal with the School Environment ........ 120
5.5 Recommendations ............................. 120
5.6 Reflections ................................. 121

vii

List of Tables

 

1..1
1.?!

2.1
2.2
2.3

2.4

2.5

Percentage of Illiteracy in Jordan According to Age and Gender. . . .
Number of Classes Opened and Closed in the Year 1981-1982 .....

Number and Percentage of Failure and Dropout from Regular Educa-
tion Programs in 1983-84 .........................
Number of Adult Education Classes and Students during 1968-1982 .
Qualifications of Adult Education Teachers in 1981-1982 .......
Number of Students Enrolled in and Completed the Adult Education
Programs in 1981-1982 ..........................
Number of Classes and Students During the Years 1972-85 ......

viii

14
19
24

27
28

List of Figures

 

2.1

4.1
4.2

4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7

The Educational Ladder ......................... 20
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Forces that Shape Jordanian Society ..... 71
Social Aspects Associated with Dropping Out from the Adult Educa-

tion Programs ............................... 79
Number of Students According to Their Marital Status ........ 81
Number of Students According to Their Occupation .......... 95
Academic Progress of Students in the Adult Education Centers . . . 98
Stages of the Adult Education Program ................. 102
Factors Associated with Dropping Out from the Adult Education Pro-

grams

ix

Chapter 1

 

Introduction

1.1 Introduction

Education in Jordan is a right each individual has, and it is compulsory until the
end of the ninth grade or until the student reaches age 16 at the beginning of the
school year. In Jordan, education is centralized, and all its aspects are in the hands of
the Ministry of Education. The Ministry has done more than just providing regular
education programs for the students. It also provides a variety of programs that are
flexible in their content and methods to suit the needs of those who cannot or could
not attend regular education programs. But, despite the preventive methods the
Ministry uses, the phenomenon of illiteracy is still noticeable in Jordan (as illustrated
in Table 1.1) and it is clear by now that fighting illiteracy needs more effective and
modern methods. Literacy education is very important because it helps to overcome
some negative aspects of the regular education programs. Through adult and literacy
education programs, it is possible to provide the opportunity to study for some adults
who missed the chance in regular education programs. Adult and literacy education
helps in reducing the number of illiterate people in the society and eliminating the
social differences between people. The adults in adult education programs, hopefully,
become more confident in themselves and in their ability to solve life problems. This
enhances their job performance and therefore increases their income. This will be
reflected in the increase in the national income, and will pull families together and

organize them. The literate adult will be able to make sound decisions for him/ herself

and participate in life and to vote on issues that concern him/ her without any help

(Al-Momany(1), P.17).

1.2 A Statement of the Problem

The problem to be investigated deals with dropping out from adult education
programs in a school district in Amman, Jordan. The country, represented by the
Ministry of Education, spends time and money trying to solve the problem of i1-
literacy. Many programs have been designed to help adult students continue their
education. These programs have succeeded to some degree. There are many gradu-
ates from these programs, but the number of the dropouts is very high. Finding the
reasons behind dropping out from the programs and proposing ways to remedy the
situation is a crucial step in the elimination of illiteracy in Jordan. This study will
be conducted only on female adult students because Jordan has a segregated system

of education.

1.3 Definitions
(i) Literacy:

0 Conventional literacy is “the ability to read, write, and comprehend
texts on familiar subjects and to understand whatever signs, labels,
instruction, and directions are necessary to get along within one’s envi-

ronment”. ( Hunter and Harman, p.7)

0 “A person is literate who can with understanding both read and write

a short simple statement on his everday life”. (Cook, p.13)

0 In 1962, UNESCO stated that “a person is literate when he has acquired
the essential knowledge and skills which enable him to engage in all
those activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning in

his group and community and whose attainments in reading, writing,

and arithemetic make it possible for him to continue to use these skills

toward his own and the community’s development”. (Cook, p.13)
(ii) The Ministry: The Jordanian Ministry of Education.
(iii) The centers: The adult education centers.

(iv) The students: The female adult students in the centers.

1.4 The Significance of the Study

Many studies have been conducted about literacy education in Jordan as will be
clarified in Chapter two. Those studies were concerned with the programs provided
and with the problems that face the administration, the centers, and the students
themselves.The problem of dropouts from adult education programs in Jordan has
been examined in a number of studies. But there is a need to study the situation
of women in particular, especially since co-education does not exist in the Jordanian
educational system. The high number of female dropouts might suggest that there is
a weakness or failure in the programs offered to teach adult women. If the number of
dropouts was small, then the issue would not be that significant. But by examining
the number of dropouts, it is clear that the problem needs immediate investigation.
As much as it is important to recruit illiterate adults to adult education programs,
it is equally important to motivate these adults to continue in these programs until
they graduate. This point is clearly shown in Table 1.2 in which the number of adult
education classes that were opened and closed in one school year is shown. This table
gives an indication of the number of dropouts from adult education programs. By
examining the table it is noticed that the number of female dropouts is larger, in
most cases, than the number of male dropouts. Unless the number of dropouts is
significantly reduced, adult education programs in Jordan cannot be claimed to be a
success. Taking into consideration the special responsibilities a woman has at home
and at work if she has a job, her decision to continue her education and perhaps her

decision to drop out cannot be decisions made hastily. Understanding the reasons

behind her decision to drop out is very important if literacy education in Jordan
is to succeed. As a means of determining why students drop out from the adult
education programs in this specific school district, a study of the reasons associated

with dropping out was begun.

Table 1.1: Percentage of illiteracy in Jordan in 1983 according to
age and gender and number of illiterate people in each age group.
(Al-Momany(1), p.15).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AGE PERCENTAGE NUMBER. OF

OF ILLITERACY ILLITERATE ADULT

TOTAL Males Females TOTAL Males Females
15-19 7.6 2.4 13.3 17920 2970 14950
20—24 14.6 5.2 23.7 22040 3960 18580
25-29 17.2 7.8 26.7 25360 3980 21380
30-34 32. l 1 1 . 1 53.7 33030 5790 27240
35—39 42.6 19.2 66.6 41100 9390 31710
40-44 55.5 32.4 77.0 48780 13730 35050
45-49 59.3 38.3 82.3 39400 13320 26080
50-54 60.2 38.0 87 .2 30970 10740 20230
55-59 76.4 46.0 87.0 26000 8500 17500
60-64 71.9 59.5 86.7 21580 9700 11880
65+ 84.5 73.8 94.8 50720 21650 29070
TOTAL 34.6 19.9 49.6 357400 103730 253670

 

 

Table 1.2: Number of adult education classes at the beginning
of the year 1981-1982, and the number of classes closed during the
same year by county and gender. (Al-Mommyfl), p.25).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NUMBER OF CLASSES NUMBER OF CLASSES
COUNTY OPENED AT THE BEGINNING CLOSED DURING
OF THE YEAR THE YEAR
TOTAL Males Females TOTAL Males Females

Amman 277 35 242 12 1 11
Irbid 189 16 173 16 1 15
Palka 31 5 26 6 2 4
Karak 42 ll 32 8 4 4
___M_u’an 21 7 14 2 2 0
Total 560 74 486 44 10 34

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.5 The Research Questions

The main research question in this study is “what are the reasons behind dropping
out from adult education programs in Jordan?” The researcher was also interested

in a number of related questions. They are:

(i) Is there a relationship between the level of teachers’ qualifications and drop-

ping out from the program?
(ii) What kind of instructional materials and methods do the teachers use?

(iii) What do adult students think about studying in school buildings used by

the children in the morning?

(iv) What is the reaction of the spouse to his wife’s decision to study? Do his

feelings change during the course of her study?

(v) What effect does the children’s education have on their mother’s decision to

continue her education?

(vi) What role does the family’s financial status ( the need to work) or the marital
status (divorce or death of the spouse) of the woman play in the woman’s

decision to continue her education?

(vii) What is the effect of friends’ or relatives’ reaction on the woman’s decision

to continue her education?
(viii) Does the adult student think studying is satisfactory or unsatisfactory?
(ix) What is the relationship between access to transportation and dropping out?
(x) What role does age play in dropping out?

(xi) What is the effect of the experience of other adult students on the female

students’ decision to drop out?

(xii) What is the effect of the school environment on the adult students?

(xiii) What pressures do the students experience (if any) after enrolling in the

program? What is their effect?

These are the types of questions that guided the researcher’s inquiry into the
reasons behind dropping out from adult education programs in the school district
chosen for the study. Fieldwork research methods, with their focus on understanding
the social organization and the sense-making of people studied were most appropriate

in answering questions of this nature.

1.6 Some Hypotheses About the Study

There are some hypotheses that can be made about female adult students in Jor-
dan by looking at the social structure of the Jordanian society and by understanding

the educational system there.

0 One hypothesis that can be made is that there is a gap between the teachers
and the adult students. The teachers do not begin from the point where the
students are, on the contrary, they begin from where the teachers themselves
are. In order for a person to deal successfuly with others, especially if the
intention is to improve the quality of their lives, he/ she should understand

the thinking process of those others.

0 The curriculum for adult education programs is standardized and is devel-
oped by the Ministry of Education. This approach might not be successful
in fulfilling the needs of all adult students in the programs. So, even if the
teachers are qualified, being restricted to a standardized curriculum kills
their creativity. So, the question about education being satisfactory or un-

satisfactory is a key one in this study.

0 Another issue that might be important in this study is social values and

people’s. reaction to enrolling in adult education programs. People in Jordan

are very close to each other in terms of knowing each other and sometimes
interfering in their lives, especially the relatives. Social and family pressures
play an important role in influencing the decisions of people. So, the hypoth-
esis that can be made is that if the members of the family do not agree with
the decision to enroll in adult education programs, the adult will be likely,

in most cases, to drop out.

o The social structure in Jordan is similar to almost all the social structures in
Muslim and Arab countries. There are many important aspects that define
and control family life in these social structures. One of these principles is
caring for and taking the responsibility to look after the old people in the
family. Many old people do not feel that they have to look for a job to
support themselves. So, another hypothesis can be made is that the need
to work and find a job is not very significant in deciding to enroll in the
program. This point relates to another issue raised in the research question
which deals with age. One can hypothesize that the older the student is, the
more likely it will be for her to drop from the adult education program. The
fact that she does not need to support herself lowers the likelihood that she
will continue her education. But the younger the woman is, the more likely

it will be for her to try to achieve a goal in her life.

These are some hypotheses made about the research questions. The findings of
the study might confirm or contradict these hypotheses. But these ideas served as a

guide during the interviews and participant observation.

1.7 The Participants in the Study

The nature of adult education is different from regular education in the sense that
it is broad and deals with different people at different stages with different needs
and by being marginal in the educational system. Because of these reasons, the
participants in the study are many. They include female adult education students

in the school district, adult education teachers in the center, and adult education

10

administrators in the Ministry of Education and in the school district in which the
study was conducted. Female students, both those who are already in the program
and those who dropped out, were interviewed. The schools where the study was
conducted were chosen in a school district where the population is stratified in the
sense that it represents almost all the different socio-economic classes in the Jordanian

society.

1.8 The Limitations of the Study

The study was conducted for eight weeks in November and December in the school
year 1988/1989. One limitation of the study is that the school year had begun in
September, so the study was conducted almost at the beginning of the year. The
number of the dropouts may have increased by the end of the year. The researcher
did not have a chance to record the changes in attendance over the full year.

Another limitation is that the study was conducted in an urban area whereas the
life style of the people in the rural areas is different. Although Jordan is a small
country with a small population, there are differences between people who live in
the city and people who live in the country. Since the researcher’s intention was to
study the students in the urban areas, the results found after data analysis cannot
be claimed to apply to all the female adult students in Jordan.

Another limitation concerns the fieldwork method used. The qualitative approach
is different from the quantitative approach in that it relies on a smaller number of
subjects which might limit the range and accuracy of data collected. The findings
of a qualitative research project cannot be easily measured and tested or statistically
generalized. Although the researcher gets the opportuniy to get to know the subjects
well and examine closely their behavior in the setting, some factors might interfere,
like being shy or embarrassed, which might affect the accuracy of information given
to the researcher because of the direct interaction between the researcher and the

subjects.

A perceived weakness for some people might lie in the generalizability of the

11

findings. Because environments and actors vary it is not always appropriate to gen—
eralize the finding from one setting to other settings. However, establishing theory
from such rich data might be helpful in revealing significant information for future
planning, teacher training and faculty and staff development.

In this chapter, the purpose, significance and research questions of the study have
been explored. The limitations and deliminations of the study are mentioned, too.

In the following chapter, the problem of illiteracy and the literature related to the
study will be explored.

Chapter 2

 

Overview of the Problem

2.1 Sources of Illiteracy

There are different sources of illiteracy in Jordan. This makes the problem even
bigger and means that the problem of illiteracy cannot be solved by just opening new

centers to teach adults. Sources that should be located and dealt with are:

0 Dropouts from regular school. The number of dropouts from the first grade
during the years 1977-81 was 15216 students, both males and females (Dab-
bor, p.47). This number increases as the grade gets higher. This is clearly
illustrated in Table 2.1 which shows that failure in regular school programs
is a big factor in increasing illiteracy in Jordan. The reasons for dropping

out vary. They include:

(i) Health reasons.

(ii) School subjects are difficult for some students and there is nobody to

help.

(iii) Some of the Jordanians are nomads. They live mainly in the desert
and keep moving from one place to another. Their constant movement
makes it difficult for their children to settle in one school, so they drop

out.

(iv) The need to work. Because of their special circumstances (death of the
provider, divorce, low socio-economic status, etc.) some families need

the support of their school age children to provide enough income.

12

13

o The socio-economic changes in Jordan. Education is no longer viewed as
the single way for social mobility. Rather, people can improve their socio-
economic status in a shorter period of time by doing jobs that do not require
a degree or a diploma. So, education is not a priority in many families. It

can be viewed as time consuming with little pay off.

0 Misunderstanding the meaning of compulsory education. Most people in
Jordan do not understand the full meaning of the word compulsory (Almo-
mani(2), p.30). They believe that the government is responsible for providing
their children with education. On the other hand, they do not know that
they have to send their children to school. They think that it is a matter of
choice. There has been neglect in reporting the cases of families’ failure to

send their children to school.

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15

2.2 Historical Overview of the Problem in Jordan

Until the end of the nineteenth century, education in Jordan was very traditional.
The emphasis was on both religion and Arabic language, with minor emphasis on
arithmetic and writing skills. There were a few elementary public schools for boys in
large towns in the area. People were very conservative and were reluctant to educate
girls inspite of the fact that Islam emphasizes the education of every individual in the
society. Beginnings of the system of modern schools were made in 1921. The tradi-
tional village school continued to exist, but modern schools were opened. But then,
Jordan fell under the British occupation. It has often been the policy of the occu-
pying country to keep the occupied people illiterate because knowledge is associated
with being aware of what happens to people in the society. So, this would prevent
or, at least, decrease people’s resistance against occupation. But a few missionary
schools were opened at the time and a big number of both Muslims and Christians
were taught there.

Al-Momany indicates that since independence in the year 1946, there has been
all-round growth of primary, secondary, vocational and technical education for both
males and females (the educational ladder is illustrated in Figure 2.1). Article 20 of
the constitution states that education is compulsory to all citizens and free in public
schools. But the demand in those days (1955) was still greater than the achievement.
There was a shortage of teachers and building facilities. In 1955, the teacher-student
ratio was 1:42. Educational facilities were available to 40% of the girls and 60%
of the boys. This was considered a great change from what was going on in 1949.
In the year 1949, 9,874 pupils were attending 73 government schools, of which nine
were elementary girls’ schools. The remaining schools were for young boys in towns
and villages. During the same period, 100 private schools registered 6,472 pupils of
which 2,600 were girls (Al-Momany(2), p.10). Considering this, it is obvious that
the educational system in Jordan failed to absorb all the students in the country. In
addition to this, there were factors that had a negative effect on the education of

people in Jordan in general , and the education of women in particular. These factors

16

were:

0 The way of life people were used to living. The early Jordanians were mostly
nomads and lived in tribes. They depended on raising sheep and on agricul-

ture for living, so education was not a priority in their lives.

0 Lack of schools for girls. Early in the century women did not receive edu-
cation in public schools. Parents relied on what can be taught at home for
their daughters. Parents were very conservative and thought that education
would spoil or ruin the morals of their daughters. There were many famous
schools in Jordan, but all of them were for boys. Later on, when schools

were established for girls, the percentage of illiteracy among women was still

high.

0 Early marriages. Many girls got married at the ages of 14, 15, or 16. So,
instead of attending school, these girls would get married and stay home.
Even if girls did not get married at this age, some of them would still leave
school. The families, especially the nomads, needed their help at home when
the boys either went to work or attended school. If some families had a
chance to send one of their children to school, this chance was given to the

male in the family.

The negative effects of illiteracy were reflected in the weak productivity of the
Jordanian society. The ability to accomplish any job successfully is closely connected
to knowledge and having an open mind about what happens in one’s life and society.
This cannot happen without proper education and training for all the people in the
society, especially women. Women have the responsibility to raise the children and
prepare them to live and participate in the society. So, they need to be aware of
the proper ways to raise children and understand their various needs. Otherwise, the
young generation will grow up to be weak physically, psychologically and morally.
Educating women is a basic condition for them to understand their rights and duties,

and participate in the politics of their countries in which they constitute half the

17

population. Educated women can participate in the development of the economy in

their countries.

2.3 The Development of Adult Education Programs
in Jordan

Adult education programs in Jordan began in the 1950’s. Evening classes were
opened to adult students, and the first group to teach adults was sent, by the Min-
istry, to Egypt in the year 1954 to specialize in adult education. After graduation,
they were appointed to teach in rural community colleges to prepare their graduates
to develop their communities by fighting illiteracy (Samara, p.23). Then the move-
ment to fight illiteracy increased, and it was carried out by many different societies
and unions. The Arab states held a conference at Alexandria, Egypt in October 1964
(Samara p.11). This followed a summit conference of Arab kings and heads of states
who had committed the Arab countries to joint action to eradicate illiteracy. Con-
ference participants recommended that the Arab countries should plan a strategy to
eliminate illiteracy within fifteen years. They also recommended that literacy cam-
paigns should be accorded their proper place in national plans for development and
recommended that a certain percentage of the national income should be spent on the
education of the illiterates. Further it was recommended that a special agency should
be established to plan the Arab strategy. After the declaration of the educational law
in the year 1964, the first organized campaign to fight illiteracy began. The Ministry
of Social Aflairs and Labor founded a special departement to fight illiteracy. This
departement founded 59 centers to teach adults, forty-four of these centers were for
males, and the other fifteen were for females. The number of students attending these
centers was 1470 and this was considered a success (Al-Momany(1), p.12). Because
of the fact that teaching adults and fighting illiteracy is considered education, and
is a part of the whole educational system, the responsibility for teachng adults was
transfered to the Ministry of Education in the year 1968 (Dabbor p.26). The Min-

istry of Education expanded its efforts and opened new centers for adult education.

18

“The number of students in these centers increased from 2567 students (both males
and females) in the school year 1968/ 1969 to about nine thousand in the school year
1981 / 1982” (Al-Momany(2), p.12). As a result of these efforts, the percentage of il-
literacy decreased from 67.6 percent in the year 1961 to about 34 percent in the year
1982. The movement to fight illiteracy became a main and important part of the
educational system in Jordan, and it has its own philosophy and goals. The increase
in the number of classes opened and the students who enrolled in adult education
programs is illustrated in Table 2.2. This table shows the progress of literacy edu-
cation and the increase in the number of students who enrolled in adult education

programs and succeeded.

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Figure 2.1. The Educational Ladder

 

21

2.4 The Goals and Philosophy of Adult Education in
Jordan

The goals and philosophy of adult education are derived from the goals and phi-
losophy of general education in Jordan. The philosophy of adult education is based
on respect for the dignity and freedom of the individual, taking into consideration the
larger society in which one lives. The philosophy is also based on social justice and
equity and on providing equal access to education which gives all the Jordanians (both
males and females) an opportunity to gain knowledge. It is also based on respect for
the democratic system which gives the citizens the ability to run their lives in the
way they want, provided with knowledge and understanding of the Jordanian values
and belief system. Derived from this philosophy are general goals that guide adult
education in Jordan. These goals concern preparing good citizens who understand
their rights and duties. Another goal is developing communication skills between
people by the means of writing. The third goal is helping the individual to grow and
develop physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally. Another goal is improving the
health and financial conditions of the people. And finally, understanding the natural,
social, and cultural environment that surrounds people, beginning gradually from the
home, then the village, the city, the country, the Arab nation and then, the whole

human society. There are specific goals that concern adult education. These are:

(Al-Momany(1), p.15)

0 Providing the opportunity to study for those who missed it in regular edu-

cation programs.

0 Improving the cognitive level and skills of adult students to enable them to

acquire the skills of reading, writing and arithmetic.

0 Helping students to acquire the knowledge and skills that would enable them

to pursue further education or participate in developing their communities.

22

It is clear now that adult education is not an end, but a means to an end. This
end means active participation in developing the country by understanding and com-

municating with the environment that surrounds us.

2.5 Legislation Concerning Adult Education

Adult and continuing education derives its legitimacy from all the legislation in
Jordan, beginning with the constitution and ending with the rules and regulations
that concern education in Jordan. Act 20 of the constitution states that “elemen-
tary education is compulsory for all Jordanians and is free in public schools” (Al-
Momany(1), p.14) Article 5 section 15 of the educational law for the year 1964 obli-
gated the Ministry of Education to “establish adult education centers that will teach
and educate adults in every area in the country” (Al-Momany(l), p.14). The edu-
cational law for the year 1964 expanded compulsory education another three years,
so it became nine years. So, emphasizing elementary education shows that the Min-
istry is trying to use preventive methods to fight illiteracy. The same act included a
special section for adult education that states that the Ministry “is concerned with
educating the citizens by establishing adult education centers that will give adult stu-
dents scientific, vocational, and technical knowledge and skills that will enable them
to improve their lives” (Al-Momany adult and, p.14). To make all this possible, the
law allowed the Ministry to use the public education centers for teaching illiterate
students. Article 7 of the Educational Law states that the Ministry will establish cen-
ters for teaching illiterate adults. For this purpose, the Ministry can use the public
education centers and the buildings of public and private institutions as centers for
teaching adults. It also states that the Ministry can hire qualified teachers to teach
adult students. Those teachers can be recurited either by the Ministry of Education

or by any other public institution. Article 9 of the Educational Law states that:

e The student should spend 16 months in the center to reach the fourth grade

level.

23

e The student should spend another 16 months in the center (which is equal

to two school years) in order to reach the level of the sixth grade.

0 The centers are open two hours a day five days a week.

The regulations governing opening new centers include giving the priority in hir-
ing teachers to those with special training to teach adults, and to those with the
experience and interest in teaching adults (the most recent available survey of the
qualifications of adult education teachers for the school year 1981-1982 are shown in
table 2.3). The educational supervisors in each school district are required to pay

occasional visits to the centers (Al-Momany and Jaradat, p.21).

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2.6 The Educational Laws for the National Campaign
to Fight Illiteracy for the Year 1981

The purpose of this campaign was to eliminate illiteracy among the Jordanian
citizens in the period of ten years, and making them able to continue their education
and participate in the development of the society. In table 2.4 the number of classes
opened and the number of students enrolled is displayed. According to this law: (the
Ministry of Education(6), p.2)

0 The government has the responsibility to eliminate illiteracy by emphasiz-
ing compulsory education and reducing the number of dropouts from adult

education programs.

e The public and private institutions in which the government has more than
50% of the shares have the responsibility to eliminate illiteracy among their

workers during the first five years of the campaign.

All the businesses and organizations in Jordan have to take these measures against

the adults who refuse to join the literacy programs:
(i) Refuse to hire any of them or even give them license to work.
(ii) Stop any raise to the working illiterate adults.

After five years of the campaign, the illiterate adults who did not enroll in the program

are governed by these procedures:

(i) The illiterate adult will be expelled from work if he/ she works in a public

institution.
(ii) Is not allowed to get a driver’s license, and his old one is not renewed.

(iii) Is not allowed to be a member in the local government in his district or

county.

26

(iv) Is not allowed to be a member in the administrative committee in any public

or private establishment.
This law governs the people who :

o Are between ten and forty five, not enrolled in any educational institution,

and their educational level is below the fourth grade .
o Are illiterate Arabs and live in Jordan.

This law applies to all the people in Jordan except those with a physical or mental
handicap. The increased number of female adult students who enrolled in adult

education classes is illustrated in table 2.5.

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Table 2.5: Number of classes opened and the number of students
who enrolled during the years 1972-85. (Al-Momany and Jaradat, p.24).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SCHOOL NUMBER OF NUMBER OF
YEAR CLASSES OPENED STUDENTS
TOTAL Males Females TOTAL Males Females
72-73 216 96 120 4142 1784 2358
73-74 221 97 124 4198 1767 2431
74-75 305 160 145 6204 3310 2831
7 5.76 373 178 195 6756 3112 3644
7 6-77 426 176 250 6947 2756 4191
77-7 8 470 163 307 7811 2841 4970
78-79 479 112 367 8733 1966 6767
79-80 615 130 485 10164 1945 8219
80-81 651 121 530 10134 1977 9057
81-82 560 74 486 891 1 1339 7572
82-83 558 78 471 9054 1523 7531
83-84 541 76 465 9374 1351 8023
84-85 544 88 456 9726 1742 7984

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

29

2.7 The Size of the Illiteracy Problem in Jordan

The most recent available population survey in Jordan (11/ 10/ 78) shows that the
number of illiterate people (both males and females) is about 357,400 (Al-Momany(1),
p.15). This number amounts to about 34.6 percent of the population who are over
15 years of age. The number of illiterate males is 253,670 or about 49.6 percent. The
percentage of illiteracy is bigger among the females and in rural areas than among
males and in urban areas (Al-Monany(1), P.15). In rural areas, the percentage of
illiteracy rises to become 48.64 percent. The percentage of illiterate males in rural
areas is 29.91 percent and the percentage of illiterate females is 67.61 percent. The
percentage of illiteracy in urban areas is lower, it is 13.34 percent for males and 37.84
percent for females. The percentage of illiteracy in Jordan decreases 1 percent every
year (Al-Momany and Jaradat, p.25). According to the Departement of General
Statistics, the percentage of illiteracy in Jordan for the year 1985 is about 28 percent
of the total number of the fifteen year old citizens. According to this, the number
of illiterate people in Jordan is 352,500 which equals 28.25 percent. Of this number
113,500 or 17.37 percent are illiterate males and 239,00 or 40.14% are illiterate females.

2.8 The Curriculum for Adult Education Programs

Al-Momany states that since the beginning of adult education programs in Jordan
in the year 1954 and until the year 1967, the books used to teach adults were the ele-
mentary school books. In 1968, The Ministry of Education borrowed the curriculum
that had been used in Kuwait. In 1970/71, a new curriculum was implemented, and
special books to teach adults were published and used in the year 1977. These books
are being used nowadays with some modifications every now and then. The curricu-
lum consists of three books for reading and writing and one book for mathematics for
the first stage which consists of the grades one through four. The curriculum for the
second stage (grades five and six) consists of two books to teach Arabic language, one

book for mathematics, and two books to teach general education (Al-Momany(1), p.
16)

30

2.9 Review of the Literature

2.9.1 Review of the Literature in Jordan

A number of studies have been conducted to investigate general literacy education
in Jordan. One study was done by Aziz Samara in the year 1976 titled Factors
associated with dropping out from adult education programs in Jordan. He studied
the reasons behind dropping out from adult education programs. He distributed a
43 item questionaire about the reasons behind dropping out. His subjects included
adult students from different areas in Jordan. He studied the problems that face the
adult students both males and females without special emphasis on the situation of

female students. His findings indicated that the reasons were (Samara, p.55):
(i) Work
(ii) Family situation
(iii) The student’s attitude
(iv) Health reasons
(v) The centers

He found that the importance of these factors varies according to the student’s gender.
For instance, work came in first in affecting the males’ decision to continue their
studies, whereas the family situation and responsibilities came in first in affecting the
females’ decision. But he also found out that some factors affect both the males and
females like the health factor and the condition of the centers.

Another study was conducted by Khaled Mustafa to study the reasons that en-

courage the adults to enroll in the literacy programs. The reasons were (Mansour,
p.5):

(i) Religious reasons

(ii) Educational reasons

 

31

(iii) Social reasons
(iv) Recreational reasons

(v) Economical reasons i

In the year 1979, a study was conducted by Saleh Hindi. His study was about
the influence of the economic, social, cultural and educational factors in dropping out
from the compulsory school (Mansour, p.6). He concluded that the rate of dropouts
increases with low school performance. He also concluded that the economic, social
and cultural factors play a significant role in the student’s decision to drop out. The
lower the socio-economic situation of the family, the higher the propability of dropping
out.

Another study was conducted by Murshed Dabbor in 1982. He studied the de-
velopment of nonformal education programs in Jordan in 1977-1981. He compared
the Jordanian program to other programs in the Arab world. He emphasized the
point that dropping out from the regular education program is an important factor
in increasing the number of illiterates in the society (Dabbor, p.5).

In 1984, Hamza Mansour did a study about the problems that face the adult
education centers from the viewpoint of students and teachers. The study reveals five

problems that face the adult education students, (Mansour, p.43):
(i) No programs after the sixth grade.
(ii) Students in different educational levels are placed in one class.
(iii) Very little educational activities like field trips and hands on training

(iv) No school during the summer vacation.

These problems were pointed out by students already enrolled in the program and not

by dropouts. The study emphasizes the need for more research to study the reasons

behind dropping out from the centers.

32

Another study was conducted by Abdel Kareem Al—Momany. He studied the Jor-
danian effort to eliminate illiteracy. He reviewed the development of literacy programs
from the start and until the year 1985. In his study he reviewed the strategies usually
used to eliminate illiteracy. They are (Al-Momany(2), p.21):

(i) The Western Strategy: The basic principle of this strategy is to spread educa-

tion, make it compulsory, and to increase the years of elementary education.

(ii) the Socialist Strategy. This strategy is followed by the people of the USSR,
the People Republic of China and Cuba. The main principle in this strategy
is organizing national campaigns to teach reading and writing and link them
to the political and economic goals of the nation. These campaigns are

carried out very firmly and in a short period of time.

(iii) The strategies in the developing countries. Because of the shortage in money
and expertise, the strategies in the developing countries appear in different
forms. They range from concentrating on one geographical area or on a cer-
tain slice of the society like factory workers or finally, organizing campaigns.
Campaigns are usually organized by the government to eliminate illiteracy
in a certain period of time depending on the size of the problem and the

resources available.

Then, Al-Momany proposed a strategy to eliminate illiteracy in Jordan. His plan
consisted of (Al-Momany(2), p.30):

(i) Eliminating the source of illiteracy by providing education for all school age

children (6-15).
(ii) Making education compulsory for both school age children and adults.

(iii) Connecting formal education to adult education which means that the adult

students can join formal education after they finish literacy education.

(iv) The combination of the efforts of the government with the effort of the people

in the society in funding and teaching.

33

(v) Providing incentives for the illiterate people to join adult education pro-

grams.

2.9.2 Review of the Literature in the Arab World

The problem of illiteracy does not exist in Jordan alone, but the whole Arab World
suffers the consequences of this problem. The number of the illiterate people in the
Arab World in the year 1970 was about 49 million which is equal to 73.7% of the
population over 15 years of age. As the population increased, so did the number of
illiterate people. In the year 1985, the number of illiterates became 61 million which
equals 56.5% of the population 15 years of age and older (The International Center
for Functional Literacy(2), p.12).

Centers for Fighting Illiteracy in the Arab World

(i) The UNESCO: Provides financial support and expertise to the countries that
need them to fight illiteracy.

(ii) The Arabic Center for Literacy and Adult Education which was established
in 1960.

(iii) The International Center for Functional Literacy in Egypt.
(iv) The Center for Training Adult Educators in Bahrain

(v) The Center for Training Adult Educators in Tripuli-Lybia.

The Arabic Organization for Education, Culture, and science published a study titled
Analytical Study of Literacy Education in the Arab World in the year 1977. The
findings of the study indicated that there is a number of problems that affect the
work in the field. According to the study, the problems are (The Arabic Organization
for Education, Culture, and Science(2), p.84):

(i) The shortage of experts especially at the administrative level. Experts are
not motivated to work in the administration of adult education programs

because there is no promotion after that.

34

(ii) The small salaries and rewards paid for the workers in the field.

(iii) Difficulty of transportation especially in the rural areas which makes it dif-

ficult to supervise the centers.

(iv) The educational centers are not properly equipped.

(V)
(Vi)
(vii)

Regular schools are not able to absorb the number of all school age children
The illiterate adults are not motivated to study.

The public are not fully aware of the problem of illiteracy and its conse-

quences.

Another study was conduced by the International Center for Teaching Adults in
Egypt titled A Proposed Strategy to Eliminate Illiteracy in the Arab World. The
study reviewed the geographic, demographic, economic, social and cultural situation
in the Arab World and studied the problems there and then studied the relation

between the existence of these problems and the spread of illiteracy. Then, the study

points out the positive and negative factors that affect the efforts to fight illiteracy,

and finally, the best ways to fight illiteracy, according to the study, were organized

in the form of a strategy which consisted of (The International Center for Teaching

Adults(1), p.71):

The unity of the Arabic efforts to fight illiteracy.
The connection between fighting illiteracy and national development.

Supporting the adult and literacy education departments and the people who

work in them.

Concentrating the campaigns of literacy education on certain groups where
illiteracy is highest like women, the nomads, and the people who live in the

country side.

35

Iraq is one of the Arab countries that has studied adult and literacy education
throughly. There are a number of studies that deal with the problem. One study was
conducted by Muhsen Mansori. His study was titled A Study of the Problems that
Face Adult Education Centers According to the Teachers and Students in Iraq. The
Problems are (Mansour, p.79):

(i) The variety of age groups in one classroom.
(ii) Difficult transportation
(iii) No babysitting available.
(iv) Low teachers’ salaries.
(v) The teachers are not allowed much flexibility in their teaching

In 1981, Omar Ibrahim studied the obstacles that face adult and literacy educa-
tion programs in Iraq. He categorized them into financial problems, administrative
problems, and problems created because of the lack of coordination between the ad-
ministrators and the teachers of adult education (Mansour, p.9).

Another study was done by Abdel Fatah J alal in 1977 which examines the reasons
behind adult students’ failure to enroll in the literacy programs. The study reveals
that the reasons vary. Some students do not have enough time, others needed to rest
in their free time, and some others others wanted to increase their working hours.
The study recommends providing incentives for the adult students to enroll in the
program and helping the adults, through literacy education, to increase their income

(Mansour, p.3).

2.9.3 Review of the Literature in the United States

The problem of illiteracy received a great deal of attention in the United States.The
situation in America is different from the situation in any other country because of
the different ethnic groups that live there. Even the definition of literacy changed

as time went by. This is especially clear in a study conducted by Wanda Dauksza

36

Cook in the year 1977 titled “Adult Literacy Education in the United States”. She
made an attempt to set forth the phases through which American literacy education
has passed. She says that the history of American literacy education is charactarized
by individual efforts carried out by state and local governments. The definition of
the illiterate in the 1900 was (Cook, p.3) “any person ten years of age or older who
was unable to read and write his native language”. Illiteracy was not yet recog—
nized as a social problem during that period. But there were specific interest groups
which viewed illiteracy as a serious problem. There were a few attempts to study
the problem of illiteracy. One of them took place in Passaic, New Jersey. The study
concluded with a list of suggestions and recommendations to the State Departement
of Education. But it was years later until anything significant was done about the
problem.

The period from 1910-1919 was charactarized by the spirit of reform. Illiteracy
commissions were established, but the effort was hampered by lack of funds. Local
legislation that attempted to solve the problem appeared. It varied from restricting
the number of immigrants to providing teachers for the illiterate.

The period from 1920—1929 was a rapidly moving and changing one. There was
federal and state concern with the problem of illiteracy. At the close of the decade,
President Hoover appointed an Advisory Committee on National Illiteracy. The pur-
pose of the committee was to collect facts and make suggestions for the Committee
on Education.

The period of the depression included the years 1930-1939. Federal programs
involving illiterates were designed primarily to provide work relief. By the end of
the decade, it was clear that volunteer work in fighting illiteracy was not enough and
professional help was needed.

During the forties, there was an abundance of materials designed to teach adults.
They were produced mainly for the military.

In the fifties, the statistics for illiteracy were lower than ever before. The term
“functional illiterate” came into use and changed the definitions of literacy. The

National Commission for Adult Literacy was created.

37

In the period of 1960-1969 functional literacy was recognized as a problem of
prominent concern. The curriculum shifted from reading, writing, and arithemetic to
a more diverse one. A new curriculum designed to provide the student with the basic
literacy skills along with those skills needed to function in a modern society was used
in literacy education programs. An interest in literacy research began to emerge and
new avenues of the literacy problem were investigated.

In the 19703, funds were provided for research, teacher training, developing mate-
rials, leadership, and providing resources.

Then, Cook moved to talk about the future. She believes that attitude is a
very important but hidden value of the literacy problem.“It is this factor which will
determine the ultimate success or failure of literacy programs, for there is no program
nor legislation that can force a person to learn if he does not want to learn” (Cook,

p.122). She recommended two directions to be followed in fighting illiteracy:
(i) To provide opportunities for learning to adults who are motivated to study.

(ii) In order to eliminate illiteracy, the nation must commit itself to preventive

measures and focus its attention on elementary and secondary schools.

Another study was conducted by Carman St. John Hunter and David Harman

titled Adult Illiteracy in the United States. Their study examins data concerning

illiteracy in three areas:

0 The concepts of literacy and illiteracy and the relation between the demands

placed on people in the society and their aspirations in their society.

0 The groups in which a large number of people with literacy problems are

found.
0 The programs and services provided for illiterate people.

They reviewed some programs that are available to adults in the United States. They

organized them in three categories:

38

(i) Programs that aim at developing and increasing conventional literacy skills.

(ii) Programs that focus on functional competence or on functional concerns of

ethnic subgroups.
(iii) Programs that depend on broadcast media as a delivery system.

They concluded that a major change in national educational policy is needed to serve
the needs of illiterate adults. They recommended the establishment of community
based initiatives to help the illiterate disadvantaged people who live in that commu-
nity.

Another study was done by Jonathan Kozol. In his book Illiterate America he
described the problem of illiteracy by saying that it is more than just numbers. It is
human suffering and depression from what other people take for granted. He propsed
a plan of action. In his plan, he described a number of approaches which appear to
lie within realistic action in the years to come. Then he suggested a mandate that
can be translated into the specifics of a national campaign. He drew a model of that

program. The approaches are:

(i) To approach the illiterate people by going to them, and not waiting for them

to come to the centers.
(ii) To provide a teaching force. This force may include:

a College and high school students.
0 Elderly people and retired persons.

0 People in the community itself.
(iii) Providing nonformal places in the community for the adults to study in.

Then the author goes on to say that what is needed is “a multi-billion-dollar national
imperative that places universal literacy in the United States on just exactly the

same level as nutrition, health care, unemployment compensation and defense”(Kozol,

39

p.121). He presented a case study which can be described as a model of what he
proposed.

The National Institute of Education has a number of publications that deal with
the problem of illiteracy. One of their publications is titled The Adult Illiterate Speaks
Out: Personal Perspectives on Learning to Read and Write written by Anne Eberle
and Sandra Robinson. This publication is a document which presents conversations
and interviews with illiterate and formerly illiterate adults who talk about their expe-
riences when they were illiterate and the problems they faced. Then those problems
are analyzed. In the first chapter, the authors are interested in describing how it is
like to be illiterate, and they examine some myths of illiteracy and their effect on
the adult students. The first myth which is considered to be at the top of the list
is the “dummy image”(Eberle and Robinson, p.1). The source for this belief is that
the Federal Government and the states spend large amounts of money to provide the
best that is available to students. Many students make it to graduation, and the
ones who fail to finish are considered to be of less mental capabilities than the rest of
the students. Another assumption is that people who cannot read are incompetent
in everything. The illiterate might be at ease with him/ herself and confident in the
things he/ she is capable of doing, but when they face other literate people, the feel-
ing of inferiority arises. The authors themselves say that these myths are powerful
because the illiterate adults accept them as true and they define their expecations for
themselves and limit their ability to make a change.

In addition to these powerful myths that decrease the adult’s ability to improve
himself lies the realities of illiteracy, things that really exist and affect the lives of
the illiterates. One of these realities is the fear which is generated by the adults
vulnerability when they see everyone else dealing with the written word and they
cannot. Loss of control is another fear that adult students experience and always
worry about. They fear being in a situation where they have to do something and
they cannot because they cannot read or write. They fear dependence and having to
lean on other people to do things for them like driving a car or filling a form. The

other side is the fear of being used or manipulated. They fear that they will not be

4O

hired or that they have to compete with other literate co-workers.

The authors discuss the constraining forces that affect the adult’s decision to
become literate. The main factor was the negative past experience the students had
in regular school. Another factor was the fear of competing with other students in
the adult education program. They also feared taking the challenge to learn and have
repeated failure. They feared the pressure of the close association with the literates.
Another factor was the lack of successful experience that will give the encouragement
to study.

Some of the facilitating factors that will encourage the adult students to enroll in

adult education programs and study are (Eberle and Robinson, p.23):

0 Motivation. The adult illiterate must have a clear and strong motive to learn.
This motivation is at its strongest when it is related to understanding that

learning will be applied in problem-solving in everyday life.

0 The encouragement, not the direct involvement, of other people in the deci-

sion to enroll in the adult education center.

They believe that it is very difficult and complicated for the adult to become
literate because he/ she has to unlearn and modify the experiences he/ she bad. They
believe that the unlearning is of two kinds, cognitive and affective. Although it is not
easy to master the cognitive skills, the affective challenge is bigger. The change in
adults’ attitudes from low self esteem to believing in their abilities is a very big one.

They concluded that adult students seem to be very comfortable in one-to-one
tutoring situations because they can have their own time to master the skills. Besides,
nobody except the tutor knows their weak points and hears their errors, and they
study in an environment where competetion does not exist.

Another publication for the National Institute of Education is titled Adult Devel-
opment and Approaches to Learning. This report includes two papers that explore
adult development and its implications for adult learning. In the first paper, which

is titled Current Studies of Adult Development: Implications For Education Harry

41

Lasker and James Moore review the works on adult intellectual, moral and psycho-
logical development. They divide these works in to two groups. One group examine
the phases that all adults pass through at fixed chronological periods. The other
group views adults as growing into stages that are similar from person to person, but
different in their rate of development and level attained. The study of the phases of
adult life goes back for more than 50 years. Many of those studies were based on
clinical impression only, but only recently empirical studies were conducted on the
issue. The authors of this paper consider David Levinson and his associates the most
advanced in studying the phasic development. Their work shows adult life as highly
patterned in phases. They believe in the emergence of specific life tasks that can
be predicted accurately within a few years of chronological age. They viewed these
phases as eras. The era, as defined by Levinson and his associates, is “the setting for
important life choices and life structure construction and maintenance” (Lasker and
Moore, p.7). According to Levinson, the era is made up of many interrelated factors,

which include (Lasker and Moore, p.7):

(i) Biological aspects of aging. This means the amount of physical energy avail-

able to the person over the course of a lifetime.

(ii) Age-related changes in social relationships. This means the change in the
roles people play in life. For instance, the parents cease to provide care for
their children and become in need of care. The children grow and become in-
dependent, and then, as they mature, they become members of the dominant

generation in their society.

(iii) Age-related changes in occupational status. Youth is a time to test occu-
pational options and, as the person matures, the person has to deal with
the consequences of his / her earlier chioce. Although a person might change
his/ her career choices, the consequences of these changes are very serious

and different from those made at an earlier phase.

Levinson and his associates looked for age-related changes in their subjects’ lives.

They found this change in the form of four major eras in adult life. Within each era

42

they found certain clustering of key tasks that are involved in establishing different

life structures. These eras are (Lasker and Moore, p.8).

0 Childhood and Adolescence. The major task in this era is learning the
social skills and knowing the various types of adult activity. The person is

independent and lives within a structure created and maintained by others.

0 Early Adulthood. In the era of adulthood, the major task for the individual
is to explore possibilities in his career, personal commitments and intimate

relationships.

0 Middle Adulthood. In the era of middle adulthood the major task is to
critically evaluate the life structure established in early adulthood especially
as the individual becomes aware of his mortality and his physical decline.

The individual in this era becomes a member of the dominant generation.

0 Late Adulthood. The major tasks in this era are not yet clear to Levinson,

but he believes that old age reflects wisdom and interest in peace making.
Implications of the phasic approach for education:

0 There is a need for research that will help people understand the role of edu-
cation in their lives. This will help in discovering the contributions education

can and cannot make to the development of successful life structures.

0 There is a need for studies of the disadvantaged groups and how the educa-

tional opportunities can be changed to suit their needs.

0 There is a need for further studies that explore the expectations of the adult
learner at each developmental phase which will help educators serve the
needs of the students. This might help to shed light on the educational
programs that do not succeed. Levinson’s belief in some adults difficulty in
constructing new life structures may help understand the hesitation of some

adults to change their established life patterns and start new ones.

43

The authors believe that the stage approach differs from the phasic approach in
that it emphasizes that adults vary in their psychological capabilities. The authors
discussed Loevinger studies about personality development especially ego develop-
ment. Loevinger believes that “the ego is a process primarily concerned with making
sense of interpersonal and intrapersonal life: it is the process by which a person creates
understanding of self and others” (Lasker and Moore, p.17). She also hypothesizes
that there are four dimensions of human development: ego development, physical
development, psychosexual development and intellectual development (Lasker and
Moore, p.18). The authors believe that education enhances ego development.

Then the authors discuss intellectual and ethical development. They present
William Perry’s study of Harvard and Radcliffe college students. His findings were
that individuals varied widely in development and that these differences were associ-
ated with the way the students experienced educational situations. They believe that
the primary limitation on Perry’s findings is that his study was conducted on a num-
ber of college students at two highly selective schools. If his findings are generalized,
they mean that students at different developmental levels will respond differently to
instruction.

The authors then discussed cognitive development and the work of Jean Piaget.
They believe that the work of Piaget is still regarded as a very important exploration
of cognitive development. It was confined to the study of children’s cognitive devel-
opment. In the 1950’s, Lawrence Kohlberg, stimulated by the work of Piaget, studied
the moral development of adults. He focused on people’s conception of justice and

human rights. Kohlberg’s stages of moral Judgment are: (Lasker and Moore, p.25)

(i) Stage 1: Obedience and punishment orientation. The moral values reside in

external quasiphysical happening rather than in standards and persons.

(ii) Stage 2: Naively egoistic orientation. The right action is the one that satisfies

the self ’3 needs and occasionally other’s needs.

(iii) Stage 3: “Good-boy” orientation to approval and to pleasing and helping

others. The moral value resides in performing good roles and maintaing the

44

expectancies of others.

(iv) Stage 4: Authority and social—order maintenance orientation. The orienta-

tion in this stage is to show respect for authority and maintain social order.

(v) Stage 5: Contractual, legalistic orientation. The moral value resides in con-

formity to shared standards.

(vi) Stage 6: Conscience or principle orientation. The orientation to principles

of choice involving appeal to logical universality and consistency.

Moral development involves understanding the process and principles through
which social relationships are created and maintained. The authors believe that moral
development theory can inform education programs in different areas like political
science and social studies. They also believe that understanding moral development
theory can enable the educators to create environments that support and enhance
moral development.

Then, Lasker and Moore discussed the implications of stage theory for education.
They believe that there are two points of view about the educational relevance of
stage theories. The advocates of the first view believe that matching instruction to
the learner’s stage of development facilitates learning because the educational material
is presented in a way that is suitable for the student’s system of thinking and stage of
development. The advocates of the second view believe that education has not been
designed for development and that is why stage change is infrequent. Rather than
matching education to the developmental stage of the students, it is believed that the
main aim of education is development. Education should be used to push learners to
the next developmental stage.

The second paper in this publication is titled Adult Learning Theory: A State Of
The Art written by Edwin L. Simpson. Simpson attempts to “blend consideration of
learning theories with the practical demands of how to design and develop learning

experiences for adults” (Simpson, p.45). The author says that a basic question that

45

interested the thinkers is “How does learning take place?” (Simpson, p.45). Simp-
son mentions that Hill explained the nature of learning theory in relation to three
functions it performs. Hill states that, “first, theory is an approach to the area of
knowledge- a way of analyzing, communicating, and conducting research. Second, a
theory of learning is an effort to summarize a large amount of knowledge concerning
the laws of learning in an economical fashion. The third function of a theory of learn-
ing is a creative attempt to explain what learning is and why it works as it does”
(Simpson, p.46).

Simpson believes that in reviewing research on adult learning, three areas surface:
(i) Learning orientation research.

(ii) Learning ability research.

(iii) Learning style

Simpson points out that one of the first who studied the orientation of adult learners

was Houle. Houle discovered three distinct classifications of learners:
0 Goal oriented learners. They use education to achieve clear cut objectives.

0 Activity oriented learners. They take part in the learning activity because

of the meaning of participation as opposed to being drawn by content.

0 Learning oriented learners. They are the ones who seek knowledge simply

for the sake of learning.

Then, Simpson says that many studies have been devoted to the learning abilities
of adults and that “ among the findings from the research on adult abilities, one
major generalization about adult learning best describes ability throughout the life
span. Fluid intelligence, which includes perceiving abstract relationships, engaging
in short-term memory, forming concepts, and becoming able to reason abstractly- de-

clines from adolescence throughout adulthood. Conversely, crystallized intelligence-

46

consisting of perceiving relations, formal reasoning, and abstraction, and based pri-
marily on acculturation resulting from formal education pursuits- tends to increase
throughout most of the life of adults” (Simpson, p.53).

Simpson then indicates that one of the most exciting but minimally explored areas
of research related to adult learning is learning style research. Smith indicates that
“the term is used to refer to techniques, as well as to mental processes and dichotomies
such as teacher versus self-directed learning” ( Simpson, p.53). Simpson believes that
cognitive style seems to have received the most attention by researchers as a promising
area of investigation. Cawley defines cognitive style as “ways in which an individ-
ual selects, organizes, and processes the educative experiences in the environment”
(Simpson, p.53). Knox refers to cognitive style as “ The individual’s typical modes
of information processing as he or she engages in perceiving, remembering, thinking
and problem solving” (Simpson, p.53). Knox has subsumed the various styles within

nine dimensions: (Simpson, p.53)

(i) Tolerance versus intolerance for incongruity.

(ii) Reflectiveness versus impulsiveness.

(iii) Constricted versus flexible control.

(iv) Focusing versus scanning.

(v) Leveling versus sharpening.

(vi) Complexity versus simplicity.
(vii) Conceptual differentiation versus description.
(viii) Analytic versus global.

(ix) Breadth versus N arrowness of categorizing.

In a discussion of concerns about lack of theory and practice integration, Gibb
suggests that the adult educator should be aware of several obstacles to the application

of learning theory to adult learning: (Simpson, p.54)

47

Limited population upon which theories are based.

Overgenerality in the statement of theories.

Necessary oversimplification at this stage of theory building.

Special problems of the adult learner.

Contradictory and conflicting elements of theories.
0 Mass of writing in scattered sources.

In order to overcome the obstacles mentioned, Gibb presents principles of adult learn-

ing as an interpretation of the basis of theories of learning. These are: (Simpson, p.54)

0 Learning must be problem-centered.

Learning must be experienced-centered.

Experience must be meaningful to the learner.

The learner must be free to look at experience.

The goals must be set and the search organized by the learner.
o The learner must have feedback about progress towards goals.

Simpson then indicates that the most distinguishing ingredients of adult learning
emphasized by adult education theorists are the autonomy of direction in the act of
learning and the use of personal experience as a learning resource.

Erick Erickson was one of the first and most influential theorists to chart the
course of development over the entire life span. He took a psychoanalytic approach
and stressed the importance of cultural influences on development and outlined eight
psychosocial stages, periods during which all individuals must confront a common
crisis, caused in part by the new demands posed by different phases of life. The

individual who resolves such a crisis improperly will, according to Erickson, have

48

later problems as a result. Erickson’s first four stages are similar to Freud’s oral,

anal, phallic, and genital stages; the last four were added by Erickson to provide a

fuller account of the entire life cycle. Here is an outline of what Erickson called “The

eight Ages of Man” (Elkind, p.11)

0)

(iii)

(“0

Trust verses mistrust: in the first year of life, the infant must gradually learn
to trust his mother or other caretakers to satisfy his basic needs. This can

help lead to a more general sense of trust in society and in himself.

Autonomy versus shame and doubt: The second year brings a new source
of conflict between the child’s growing independence and his need to depend
on adults. As he becomes capable of walking and talking, the child is faced
for the first time with important distinctions between good and bad and yes
and no. Parental firmness and consistency can lead to a sense of autonomy,

but too much criticism can burden the child with lifelong sense of shame and

self doubt.

Initiative versus guilt: In the third and fourth year, the toddler begins to play
at being an adult. He can initiate his own activities to a greater extent than
before. Conscience begins to develop, as the child measures himself against
external standards. if the parents are overly harsh and restrictive, the child
may lose the desire to initiate new activities and instead be overwhelmed by

guilt.

Industry versus inferiority: From the age of 6 or 7 to puberty, school children
are faced with the task of learning what their culture expects of them and
how to achieve it. One danger of this stage is that the child may conclude
that his own skills or status are inadequate. This can establish a lifelong
pattern of feeling of inferiority. More often, the child learns to become an

industrious and productive member of society.

Identity versus identity confusion: Around puberty, dramatic physical and

emotional changes lead the adolescent to question his / her own identity, and

49

to wonder who he/she is. Failure to integrate all the different roles each

person must fill can lead to identity confusion, with no firm sense of self.

(vi) Intimacy versus isolation: The major challenge of young adulthood involves
commitment to relationships and to a career. The person who is secure in
his / her identity can make the compromises necessary for an intimate partner-
ship with another person. The alternative is to remain isolated from others.
The isolated person may have different affairs, or even a single long-term

relationship, but always avoids true emotional closeness.

(vii) Generativity versus stagnation: In middle age, the major crisis involves a
sense of making a contribution to society. Generativity is a concern for
establishing and guiding the next generation. It may be expressed in a
variety of ways of giving to others, whether it be to children of our own
or of careers and activities designed to help younger people find their place
in society. The generative person leads a productive life that can serve as
a model for the next generation. The other side of the coin is stagnation-
a selfish concern with one’s own goals that can lead middle-aged people to

become insensitive to the needs of others or to live in the past.

(viii) Integrity versus despair: Finally, in old age, some people achieve integration.
They look back over life with a true long-term perspective and a sense of
satisfaction, accepting the bad as well as the good. For those with a sense of
integrity, death loses some of its final sting. Others despair that there is no

time left to pursue new paths. They face death with bitterness and regrets.

Alan B. Knox edited a book titled Adult Development and Learning that contains
literature that explains adults and their development. Knox believes that clear un-
derstanding and sound proposals regarding adult performance entail attention to
individual, societal, and transactional aspects of adulthood. He also believes that
one of the main challenges to practitioners concerned with adult development is “to

understand the major influences that the social context has on adult development, to

50

help clarify public policy issues and to propose changes in programs and services that
are likely to improve adult productivity and satisfaction” (Knox, p.80). He thinks
that the increasing rate of change, complexity and geographic mobility that characta-
rizes the American society is undermining people’s sense of security and community,
and is increasing the importance of adult capacity for adaptation and learning for an
uncertain tomorrow. He believes that personality stability and change is influenced
by charactaristics that are universal, charactaristics that are widespread, and char-
actaristics that are unique. As adults interact with their environment, interactions
among biological, experiential, societal and historical systems influence personality
development. He says “The sense of self during adulthood is affected by the in-
dividual’s resolution of childhood and adolescent crises related to trust, autonomy,
initiative, industry and identity ” (Knox, p. 399). He believes that in most instances
in which adults purposefuly engage in systematic and sustained learning activities,
their intent is to modify performance. Then, he presents the various types of cog-
nitive learning as presented by Gagne. Gagne believes that they are prerequisite to

higher order types as the individual attempts to master any area of content. These
are: (Knox, p.409)

(i) Signal: The person learns to make a generalized response to a signal as in

classical conditioning.

(ii) Stimulus- Response: The person acquires an instrumental response to a dis-

criminated stimulus.

(iii) Chaining: The person acquires a chain of two or more stimulus-response

connections.

(iv) Verbal Association: The person learns and assembles verbal chains that are

assembled from a previously learned repertoire of language.

(v) Multiple Discrimination: The person learns to make differentiated responses

to varied stimuli.

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(vi) Principle: The person learns and is able to apply a principle that consists of

a chain of two or more concepts.

(vii) Problem Solving: The person internally thinks through the combination of
two or more previously acquired principles to produce a new capability that

depends on a higher order principle.

Then, Knox says that learning and intellectual performance are modified by vari—
ous charactaristics of the individual and of his or her context. Some of these modifiers
are: (Knox, P.410)

(i) Condition. Physiological condition and physical health can affect learning
positively or negatively. In order to facilitate learning, the adult learner
should be in an environment that minimizes the extent to which physical

condition and health can interfere with learning.

(ii) Adjustment. The effective assessment and facilitation of learning is less likely
when there is substantial personal or social maladjustment in the learning
situation. Support and assistance are especially important for adults with

few recent educational experiences.

(iii) Relevance. The adult’s motivation and cooperation in the learning activity

is more likely when the tasks are meaningful and of interest to the learner.

(iv) Speed. Especially for older adults, time limits and pressures tend to reduce

learning performance.

(v) Status. Socioeconomic circumstances are associated with values, demands,
constraints, and resources that can affect learning ability. Level of formal
education tends to be the status index most highly associated with adult

learning.

(vi) Change. Social change can create substantial difference between older and

younger age cohorts regarding the experience and values internalized during

52

childhood and adolescence. This makes it difficult to compare two age co-
horts regarding learning performance and conclude that the diffeences are

the result of age.

(vii) Outlook. Personal outlook and personality charactaristics can affect the way

in which an adult deals with specific types of learning situations.

Then, Knox says that there are clear indications of some deterioration of problem-
solving performance in old age. He presents some of the factors that seem to con-
tribute to a deterioration of problem- solving performance along with ways in which
practitioners can help older adults compensate. He believes that“ generalizations
about physical condition and health enable the practitioner to identify and interpret
aspects of condition important to the individual. Such generalizations also suggest
the types of assistance that will help the client achieve and maintain healthy and
satisfying performance” (Knox, p. 310).

According to Knox, practitioners can assist adults to develop a more positive
approach to education in several ways. One way is to help them successfully do
intentional learning activities to cope with adjustments. Major role changes can
produce heightened readiness to learn and focus attention on needed competence. A
second way is to help adults become aware of role models who have already acquired
the competence to which they aspire. A third is to create settings in which adults
have the freedom to explore within democratic limits both the achievement of this
current educational objective and the discovery of additional desirable objectives.

Knox moves to talk about women’s roles. He believes that as a woman moves
from one role to the other or performs both concurrently, conflicts can occur in role
expectations and the sense of self. In the developmental process, variables related to
personality, learning, condition, and context interact as well. Knox says “the career
development patterns of working women are distinctive because of the accommoda-
tion that is required between their dual roles in family and work” (Knox, p.512).
He believes that practitioners can assist women with such transitions by providing

relevant educational programs and counseling services and referring them to mutual

53

support groups, so that the process contributes to career and educational development
and personal growth.

Knox believes that practitioners can help adults in many ways to deal better with
change. They can encourage the adults not to panic or assume that there is a quick
and easy solution, but instead to use the change event as an opportunity for growth.
Adults can be helped to broaden their perspective on alternatives and the process of
change.

In the State of New York, the Senate Committee on Investigations and Taxation
has conducted a study of the problem of adult illiteracy there titled Adult Illiteracy
in New York State— A Hidden Disgrace. The goals of the study were to estimate the
extent of the problem and to evaluate existing efforts to deal with it and to develop
new approaches to reduce it.

The state of New York pays great attention to the problem of illiteracy and is
committed to fighting adult illiteracy because “it is clear that New York State has
a great financial interest— apart from a deep moral obligation—in the fight against
adult illiteracy. Millions of taxpayers’ dollars are spent to support illiterates who are
unemployed, on the welfare rolls, or in prison. Huge sums are also lost each year by
businesses as a result of illiteracy among their employees” (the Senate Committee, p.
1)

The findings of the report are: (the Senate Committee, p. 3)

(i) According to the New York State Department of Education, there are 2,040,000

New York State residents over the age of 18 who are functionally illiterate.

(ii) Adult illiteracy costs the state many millions of dollars in welfare payments

and unrealized tax revenues.

(iii) Adult illiteracy among employees costs businesses in New York State many

millions of dollars each year.

(iv) The State of New York budget fails to allocate the necessary funds to permit

local boards of education and other community based organizations to attack

(V)

(vi)

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meaningfully this large-scale problem. New York spends 72 cents per pupil
on adult illiteracy programs.

The State Board of Regents, which is responsible for setting educational
policy and priorities in the State of New York, has largely abnegated its
responsibilities in this critical area. Its adult illiteracy programs are given

low priority and its allocation of funds is inadequate.

There are more than 20,000 New Yorkers on waiting lists for entry into

literacy training programs.

The Senate Committee came up with several recommendations to solve the prob-

lem of illiteracy: (The Senate Committee, p. 4)

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

(W)

(V)

The New York State Board of Regents should assign a high priority to com-
batting adult illiteracy. As the principal educational policy setters for the
state, the Board must design a serious, broad scale initiative to teach over 2

million adults how to read.

New York State should fund within its $6 billion education budget no less

than $10 million in each of the next 3 school years for an all out war on adult

illiteracy.

The State Department of Education should work in close cooperation with
the New York Public Library, other state public library systems, and com-
munity based voluntary organizations to utilize their excellent and effective
programs to combat illiteracy. Often, a non-school setting with its informal

environment is less threatening to the already battered self-esteem of the

adult illiterate.

Colleges in the state should provide financial aid in the form of work-study

grants to students in return for their tutoring adult illiterates.

Colleges in the state should grant academic credit to students who tutor

adult illiterates.

(vi)

(vii)

(viii)

Gail

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The State Department of Education should develop a “mentor system”, en-
couraging retired professionals, senior citizens with teaching skills, and others

with a talent for teaching to tutor adult illiterates.

School administrators should increase their efforts to identify students with
reading problems while they are still in the school system and provide them
with special intensive tutoring. This program can be financed out of available

funds.

The State Department of Education should develop new programs using
computer-teaching techniques and public access cable television to augment

existing literacy training efforts.

Sheehy wrote in her book Passages that the years between 18 and 50 are

divided roughly into two cycles. She identified the personality changes common to

each of these cycles and examined the crises that can be expected that one encounters

each stage. She believes that if the tasks to resolve the crises presented by each

cycle are accomplished the individual then progresses into the next cycle. To further

complicate the picture, male and female are apt to have different tasks in each cycle,

many of which are not conducive to the maintainance of a marriage with the same

partner.

(0

According to Sheehy these stages are:

Pulling Up Roots (roughly 18-22) - Developing autonomy is the main task
of this age group. The tasks of this passege are to locate oneself in a peer
group role, develop a sex role, find an anticipated occupation and develop

an ideology or world view.

The Trying Twenties (approximately 23- 29) - The problem is trying to take
hold in the adult world. The tasks include shaping a dream, or that vision
of oneself that will generate energy, aliveness and hope. One also needs to
prepare for a lifework, find a mentor if possible and form the capacity for
intimacy, without losing in the process whatever consistency has thus far

been mastered.

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(iii) Catch 30 (roughly 30-37) - The problems faced here result from outgrowing
career and personal goals held in the 20’s. Male and female have different
roots through this passage which often presents difficulty in a marriage. A

shift to being more self concerned develops here and is necessary.

(iv) Deadline Decade (approximately 37-45) - Contemplating the halfway mark
one has the chance to rework the identity of the first half of life. If one makes
full use of this period, one encounters a fullout authenticity crisis comparable
to adolescence. Again, men and women have different tasks at this stage if

they are to reintegrate an identity that is truly their own.

(v) Renewal or Resignation (starts about 45) - If the tasks of the 40’s were
adequately met these may be the best years of life (Renewal). If not, a sense

of staleness resulting in resignation occurs.

After reviewing the literature in Jordan, the Arab World, and the United States,

there are some observations that seem to surface:

0 The literature in Jordan and the Arab World did not cover the situation of
women in specific except for the work done by Ghada J abi. Although illiter-
acy among women in the Arab world is widespread, many studies were done
on both men and women which makes generalizing the results, sometimes,

misleading.

o The literature in the United States focuses in on other segment of the pop-
ulation. It is not women in particular who face the problem of illiteracy but

a big number of minority groups in the United States.

0 Although the problem of functional literacy is being attacked in Jordan and
the Arab World, the main objective is to fight illiteracy and make people
able to read and write, whereas functional literacy is considered a priority in
the United States.

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0 Many of the studies that concentrated on adults and their development have
influenced the programs prepared for the adult students. Many countries
in the world have used these theories to guide them in preparing programs
for the adult students. I believe that these theories have been used where
difference in lifestyles, culture, religion, and even life expectancy make the

application of these theories unsuccessful and inadequate.

In the next chapter, a description of the data collection procedure, the audience,

and the participants will be presented along with the theory and methods.

Chapter 3

 

Theory and Methods

3.1 Ethnographic approach

This is an ethnographic study which is built on participant observation, conduct-
ing interviews, and taking field notes. Ethnography is “one social research method,
albeit a somewhat unusual one, drawing as it does on a wide range of sources of infor-
mation. The ethnographer participates, overtly or covertly, in people’s daily lives for
an extended period of time, watching what happens, listening to what is said, asking
questions, in fact collecting whatever data are available to throw light on the issues
with which he or she is concerned Ethnography is the most basic form of social
research.” (Hammersley and Atkinson, P.2). Interpretive fieldwork has been used
and recognized as a research method in the social social sciences for about seventy

years. Erickson identifies fieldwork research as :
(i) “Intensive, long-term participation in a field setting.

(ii) Careful recording of what happens in the setting by writing field notes and
collecting other kinds of documentary evidence (e.g., memos, records, exam-

ples of student work, audiotapes, videotapes).

(iii) Subsequent analytic reflection on the documentary record obtained in the
field, and reporting by means of detailed description using narrative vignettes
and direct quotes from interviews, as well as by more general description in

the form of analytic charts, summary tables, and descriptive statistics.

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59

Interpretive fieldwork research involves being unusually thorough and reflecting and
noticing and describing everyday events in the field setting, and in attempting to
identify the significance of actions in the events from the various points of view of the
actors themselves”(Erickson, p.120).

Many people believe that it is through ethnographic research that the meanings
of the form and content of the social process can be understood. Erickson believes
that participant observational fieldwork is appropriate when researchers are dealing
with:

o The specific structure of occurrences rather than their general character and

overall distribution.
0 The meaning-perspectives of the particular actors in the particular events.

0 The location of naturally occuring points of contrast that can be observed
as natural experiments when we are unable logistically or ethically to meet
experimental conditions of consistency of intervention and of control over

other influences in the setting.

0 The identification of specific casual linkages that were not identified by ex-
perimental methods, and the development of new theories about causes and

other influences on the patterns that are identified in survey data or experi-
ments (Erickson, P.121).

Erickson believes that fieldwork is best at answering these questions which he para-

phrases from Erickson, Florio, and Buchman’s work in 1980

(i) What is happening, specifically, in social action that takes place in this

particular setting?

(ii) What do these actions mean to the actors involved in them, at the moment

the action took place?

60

(iii) How are the happenings organized in patterns of social organization and
learned cultural principles for the conduct of everyday life. In other words,
how are people in the immediate setting consistently present to each other

as environments for one another’s meaningful actions?

(iv) How is what is happening in this setting as a whole (i.e., the classroom)
related to the happenings at other system levels outside and inside the set-
ting (e.g., the school building, a child’s family, the school system, federal

government mandates regarding mainstreaming)?

(v) How do the ways everyday life in this setting is organized compare with other
ways of organizing social life in a wide range of settings in other places at
other times? (Erickson, P.121)

The ethnographic method was chosen because it gives direct contact with people
and gives the researcher the ability to understand their feelings and see the world
as they see it. Ethnography starts from where the people are and not from where
the researcher is. It gives accurate information(as told by the subjects) about what
affects them and doesn’t force false ideas or include weak reasons. There are five

charactaristics of qualitative research:

(i) The setting is the direct source of data and the researcher is the instrument.
When researchers want to conduct fieldwork research, they go to the setting,
whether it is a school, a neighborhood, a house or a center. Whatever kind of
instruments they use to collect the data, like video or audio tapes or writing
field notes, it is the researcher’s insight that is considered the key instrument

for analysis.

(ii) Qualitative research relies on description rather than numbers. In qualitative
research, the data collected are rich with quotations, pictures, transcripts
of interviews, fieldnotes, tapes, and documents. It is those instruments of
description that bring out the details which play a significant role in analyzing
the data collected.

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(iii) Qualitative research emphasizes process rather than the outcomes. In con-
ducting quantitative research, the result might be that something occurs.
But in conducting qualitiative research it shows how and why this thing
occurs. The rich description and the detailed observation of day to day

interaction can explain the circumstances under which the result occurs.

(iv) In qualitative research, the theory is built during and after the data is col-
lected not before. In other words, the data are not collected to confirm or
contradict preset hypotheses. Rather, the theory is built after collecting the
data.

(v) Qualitative approach is concerned with learning the perspectives of the par-
ticipants. Qualitative researchers like to understand people from where they
are, not from where the researcher is. They try to capture the participant’s
understanding of his / her situation and the way they make sense of their lives.

(Bogdan and Biklen, P.27)

These are the charactaristics of fieldwork research. In the next section, there will be a

description of the data collection procedures used in conducting this research project.

3.2 Data Collection Procedure

In order for a researcher to get to know the perspectives of the participants in the
study and to understand their attitudes and beliefs, he/ she must use different data
collection strategies. By varying the data collection methods used, the researcher will
be able to capture the investigated issue from more than one angle. In describing
the process of data collection Erickson says “One approach to data collection in the
field is to make it as intuitive, or as radically inductive, as possible. The conviction
is that with long term, intensive participant observation in a field setting, begun
with no prior conceptual expectations that might limit the fieldworker’s openness
to the uniqueness of experience in the setting, an intuitive sense of relevant research

questions and conclusions regarding pattern will emerge by induction. From this point

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of view, fieldwork is seen as an almost mystical process, essentially unteachable. The
best preparation is solid grounding in substansive courses in anthropology and/or
sociology. After learning relevant substansive theory and after reviewing empirical
results of fieldwork research, the novice researcher proceeds to the field and does
fieldwork” (Erickson, P.139). This study involved the following procedures:

(i) Interview.

(ii) Participant observation.

(iii) Field notes

3.2.1 Interview

The interview procedure is defined as “a purposeful conversation, usually between
two people (but sometimes involving more) that is directed by one in order to get
information The interview is used to gather descriptive data in the subject’s own
words so that the researcher can develop insights on how subjects interpret some piece
of the world” (Bogdan and Biklen, P.135). Interviewing was an important means in
this research project to get the participants perspective on what was happening. Both
formal and informal interviews were conducted with the teachers and the students
either before or after class. The adult education administrators were interviewed
in their offices in the Ministry of Education. Interviews were arranged with the
participants according to their schedule. During the interviews, both the teachers and
the students were open and friendly, especially when they knew that the researcher
lives in the United States of America and that the research was done there. They
did not feel that the goal of the research was evaluating either the students or the
teachers. This is very important in conducting fieldwork research. Erickson believes
that “trust and rapport in fieldwork are not simply a matter of niceness; a noncoercive,
mutually rewarding relationship with key informants is essential if the researcher is
to gain valid insights into the informants points of view. Since gaining a sense of the

perspective of the informants is crucial to the success of the research enterprise, it is

63

necessary to establish trust and to maintain it throughout the course of the study”
(Erickson, P.142). All of the participants in the study were given forms that assured
their freedom to participate or not in the research or to withdraw their participation
at any time. They also were assured that their identity will remain anonymous.
The researcher interviewed four adult education administrators in the ministry of
Education, the four teachers in the centers, some of the students already enrolled
in the program and all the dropouts. During the interviews,the participants were
asked a set of questions that were helpful in revealing the reasons behind dropping
out. The interviews gave the researcher the chance to explore the beliefs, attitudes,
values, and the perspectives of the participants. The interviews gave the researcher
the opportunity to look for evidence that will either support or contradict the research

hypotheses.

3.2.2 Participant Observation

Another method used for collecting data was participant observation. In face to
face interaction with the participants the researcher was able to get more unbiased
information. Information gathered by participant observation provides a comprehen-
sive picture of the events. Erickson explains the method of participant observation
by saying that “The participant observer, present in particular spaces and times in
the field setting, waits for particular types of recurrent events to keep happenning....
The researcher may seek out particular sites within a field setting where a particular
type of event is most likely to happen. This gives the participant observer a situation
analogous to that of the subject in a learning experiment, the opportunity to have
multiple trials at mastering a recurringly presented task. In this case, the task is that
of learning how to observe analytically a particular type of event, and how to make
records of the actions that occur in the events, for purposes of more careful study
later” (Erickson, R144). The teachers and the students in this study were observed

during and after classes. They were observed in formal and informal settings.

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3.2.3 Field Notes

Field notes can be defined as “The written account of what the researcher hears,
sees, experiences, and thinks in the course of collecting and reflecting on the data in
a qualitative study” (Bogdan and Biklen, P.74). The researcher describes everything
he/she sees in the site like the participants, the activities, conversations between
people, and events. The researcher also records his / her feelings, ideas, and hunches
he/ she has. In this study, the notes provided a rich and detailed description of the
events and of the people in the study. The factors that are believed to influence the
students’ decision to drop out are ranked according to the number of times each factor

was mentioned by the participants.

3.3 General Description of the Participants in the Study

The participants in this study were female adult education students ,both who
were in the program and those who dropped out, from the Oasis school district in
the school year 1988-1989. The study also included the teachers in the centers and
the adult education administrators in the Ministry of Education. The study was
conducted in the four adult education centers in the school district. The age of
the students in the centers ranged from 12 to 55 years. Among the 73 students
in the centers, 40 students had no school experience prior to the center, two of the
students had to leave school for health reasons, and the rest dropped out from regular
school. All of the students in the centers, except for two, were Jordanians. The two
non—Jordanian ladies were middle aged. One of them was from a neighboring Arab
country, married to a highly designated official in their embassy in Jordan. The other
lady was German married to a Jordanian. Among the 73 students in the centers, one
was divorced, three were widowed, thirty five were married and the rest were young
single girls. The students who agreed to participate in the study were 15 students
enrolled in the program and 11 dropouts. Ten of them were older ladies and sixteen
of them were young. The youngest student in all the centers was 12 years old, and

the oldest was 56 years old. Almost all the students lived in the neighborhood of the

65

center or a few blocks away. All of the students, except for one, were from blue collar
families. Some students lived in middle class areas, and a big number of them lived
in low class areas. All of the students, except for one, came to the centers on foot.
Only one student had a luxurious car and a driver to take her to and from the center.

The students were categorized, according to their line of work:
0 House wives.
0 Females who helped their mothers at home.
0 Working ladies.

The students in the centers study the first and the second grade in one year, and
the third and fourth in another. The fifth and sixth grade are studied separately
each in one full school year. So, the students have to spend four school years in the
center in order to finish their elementary education. Studying in the centers is free
until the students finish the sixth grade. Although education is compulsory in Jordan
until the ninth grade, adult and literacy programs cover only the first six grades. If
the student wishes to continue his/her education, he/ she has to enroll in nonformal
education programs. The student has to pay an amount equal to $120 a year. In the
classrooms, the students were grouped according to their abilities. This is based on
tests given to the students at the beginning of the school year in Arabic language and
mathematics. So, one can find a very young student in the same grade with an older
student.

Four adult education teachers participated in the study. The first teacher, Amal,
was in her mid thirties. She was married and had three children. She lived near the
girls’ school and taught in it in the morning, then she returned in the afternoon and
taught in the adult education center. The teachers who work in the centers are not
volunteers. They are paid for the hours they teach in the centers. The motivations
for the teachers to teach in the centers vary. Some teach because they need the extra
income, others because they have nothing to do and need to do something to keep

them busy, and a few others teach because they feel responsible about helping others.

66

Amal was serious and did not try to establish any kind of a relationship with the
students in the centers. To her, it was work; she wanted to get it over with and go
back to her family and children.

Another teacher, Sara, was also in her late thirties. She was single and lived with
her mother and her sister in a building they owned across the street from the center.
She also was a teacher in the girls’ school in the morning. She wanted to teach in the
center because she had plenty of free time and she had nothing to do at home.

The third teacher, Fatima, was in her early thirties and single. She worked as
a teacher in a school in eastern Amman and lived there. The transportation from
eastern to western Amman was difficult and time consuming, but she loved her work
very much and had a very warm and friendly relationship with the students.

The fourth and last teacher, Nadia, was single and in her late twenties. She lived
in a low socio-economic status in eastern Amman. She developed a good relationship
with the students, but was very busy and occupied in her personal life. She could
not wait to visit her friends in the university after school. She would not talk to the

students about their lives and problems, but was friendly with them.

3.3.1 The Site

When choosing a site for the study, the researcher chose a school district where
the population is stratified. People from ,upper, middle, and low socio-economic
classes live in that area. People with white and blue collar jobs live in the same
neighborhood. This research project was conducted in four female adult education
centers in the Oasis school district in western Amman, Jordan. Three of these centers
were located in a girls’ school and the fourth was in another boys’ school. The girls’
school was located in a rather middle class location in the school district, whereas the
boys’ school was located in a low socio-economic area. This was reflected in the kind
of people who attended school. The students in the girls’ school were a combination of
high, middle, and low socio—economic status, whereas the students in the boys’ school
were from a lower socio—economic status. The first building was a middle school. The

school children usually left school at 1:15 p.m., and the adult education centers classes

67

started at 2:30 p.m.. The classes where the students met were the same ones used
by the school children with no special arrangements for the adult students. Even the
way the seats were arranged was similar to the way they were arranged for young
students who attended the building in the morning. The students sat in rows behind
each other. The desks on which the students sat were the same ones used by the
school children. The students spent two hours daily in the school with no break. The
school was in their neighborhood, so many of them walked to school and back home.

In the previous section, the participants in the study were described. In the next
chapter the data gathered will be analyzed and the findings of the study will be
stated.

Chapter 4

 

Findings and Analysis

4.1 Introduction

The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons behind dropping out from
female literacy programs in the Oasis school district in Amman, Jordan. Factors
associated with dropping out from the adult education program have been studied in
the attempt to provide information which could assist the administrators to organize
and maintain programs of literacy education.

Conducting interviews, taking field notes and observing participants gave the re-
searcher the opportunity to understand the reasons that make the adult student leave
the program. The students were interviewed and given the chance to talk about their
feelings and attitudes towards literacy education.

Although the researcher experienced teaching high school students for two years
after graduation from college and is familiar with the school setting, conducting re-
search in adult education centers was a new experience in many ways. First of all,
living in the United States of America for seven years gave the researcher the chance
to view the Arab society in general and the Jordanian society in particular in a differ-
ent way. Being exposed to a different culture, religion, language, values and way of life
made me think more about our society and appreciate or criticize things previously
taken for granted. In the United States, the great emphasis on the fact that each
individual has certain rights and duties and a certain role to perform in the society
no matter what his/her social status is, made the researcher think more about the

distribution of power in the Jordanian society and how some individuals are deprived

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69

of their rights just because they are poor or powerless. In the United States, people
are governed and protected by the law, and they understand their rights and demand
them. In Jordan, laws that protect people and govern their behavior also exist, but
many people are not aware of them. So, many times, people accept certain situations
just because they think that this is the way things are supposed to be. For instance,
when I talked to Mr. Saleh Ali, an administrator of adult education programs in the
Ministry of Education, he said “ when eight people would express their interest in
studying and continuing their education, the Ministry would open a new center for
them in any public place in their neighbourhood like a school, a mosque, or a com-
munity center but they do not ask” . Then I asked “but do the adult students know
they have this right?” He replied “ I am not sure, although the availability of adult
education programs is advertised in the media” . When I asked the students if they
knew that they have this right all of them answered by “no”.

Another reason that made this research project a new experience to the researcher
is the fact of going back to the school setting with new information about teaching,
learning, and the adults and their development. The researcher’s first experience was
as an English language teacher for high school students. But studying the field of
education and the experience of the United States in this field gave the researcher the
opportunity to know other educational systems and the way they operate. Although
the differences in religion and culture between the United States and Jordan will
affect the application of different educational methods there, it is always important
to understand different educational methods and try to choose the ones that best suit
the society’s needs.

A third reason concerns conducting field work study in lower middle and low
socio economic neighnbourhoods, and getting to know the people who live there and
understand their problems. It also made the researcher compare class structures in
Jordan and the United States, and gave the researcher the opportunity to get to know
the American efforts in trying to solve the social problems.

In ethnography, it is important to “make the familiar strange”, and the researcher

believes that those aspects helped in achieving that.

70

4.2 Analysis of Data

Although it is difficult to define a typical student at the Oasis Literacy Educa-
tion Center, two larger groups include the older students and the traditional school
dropout occured. The model dropout is a low school achiever usually below grade
level for her age. No matter what the social status is, the students have special
pressures or outside commitments that influence their attendance at the centers.

After reviewing the data and reading the notes, the factors associated with drop-

ping out can be divided into these categories:
(i) Social factors.
(ii) Psychological factors.
(iii) Economic factors.
(iv) Educational factors.
(v) Factors that deal with the school environment.

Each factor will be discussed seperately.

4.2.1 The Social Factors

In order to understand the social factors that affect students’ attendance at the
centers, it is important to understand the social structure of the Jordanian society.
There are different forces that shape the Jordanian society. There are some internal
forces as well as external ones (as illustrated in Figure 4.1). The difference between
the internal and external forces is that the internal ones have always been there and
will continue to exist, whereas the external forces are not permanent in the society

and may change when the situation changes. The internal forces are:
(i) Religion.

(ii) Culture.

71

    

Religion

l
Cu ture 9 Economy
Tradition

  
 

Politics

  

Immigration
Migration

Figure 4.1. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Forces that Shape Jordanian Society
(iii) Tradition.
The external forces are:
(i) Politics.
(ii) Economics.

(iii) Immigration and Migration

Islam is the dominating religion in the country. A large number of people are
religious. The teachings of Islam with their emphasis on family unity are very re-
spected there. There are certain rules that govern people’s behavior. The role of each
member of the family is explained, and the rights and duties of the individuals are
set. Therefore, people perform their duties and exercise their rights with no stress or

emotional problems. The parents are the ones responsible for their children and they

72

keep on carrying this responsibility even after the children are grown up and married.
The children do not leave the parents home until they get married. There is no pre-
marital relationship between males and females. So, different aspects of family life

are defined and controlled by religion.

Culture

Another aspect that shapes the Jordanian society is culture. The Jordanian so-
ciety is homogenious. Many of the Jordanians come originally from nomad tribes.
Their value system is very strong. They are brave and generous. Many of the tribes
are very rich. They own land and sell it for a very high price. They also believe
that the family is the man’s responsibility. Marriage also is a very important part of
family life. It is very important for a girl to get married when she is in her twenties,
and for some families, earlier than that. Even if the woman does not get married and
stays single, she could never leave the family home and live in her own place by her
self. This is not acceptable socially. She will continue to live with the family.

Another aspect of the Arab and Jordanian culture is having large families. Al-
though the trend now is to have fewer children, many families have a large number of
children. Although the father is usually the provider in the family, the responsibility
of raising the children and attending to their needs is usually the women’s responsi-
bility. If a woman has a career or does any kind of work outside the house, she still
has the same big responsibilty at home. This kind of situation limits the women’s
ability to handle the responsibility and stress both inside and outside the house.

Living with extended families rather than nuclear ones is also another cultural
aspect that shapes the Jordanian society. Although this phenomenon is not wide
spread in large cities, it is usually the case in rural areas. When different members of
the family like the grandparents, the uncles, and the aunts live together in one house,
problems are certain to occur. These problems become serious when conflict about
who makes the decision arise. Many women suffer from this situation mainly because
they have families of their own but still can not make their own decisions.

Another aspect is that the Jordanian society, like many societies in the world, is

73

male oriented. Although Islam emphasizes the fact that both sexes are different but
equal, the Arabic culture is a male oriented one. This has its roots in the history and
origin of the Arabs. They used to live in tribes, and they needed men to work, fight,
travel and look for a new place to live in when they wanted to move. Because of the
weak physical nature of women, they were a target for the enemies. So, men were
prefered for their strength. Although the life style of the Arabs changed dramatically,
their love for having male children still exists. Women now in Jordan are educated,
but this aspect still affects their lives especially among the nomad tribes and in the

rural areas, where the priority is given to the males rather than the females.

Tradition

Tradition is the way cultural aspects are displayed. Both religion and culture
shape the Jordanian tradition. In fact, it is very difficult to separate religion, culture,
and tradition. They all combine together to shape the Jordanian society.

There are external forces that shape the Jordanian society, these are:

The Economy

The economic situation in any country affects people’s values and attitude. The
priorities in their lives change according to their financial situation. If the financial
situation of the people is high or, at least, acceptable, people will start thinking about
other things in their lives such as education. But if the people are poor or have to
struggle every day to provide food, then education is not their priority.

In Jordan, education was very important to people and still is to some classes
in the society. Everybody used to view education as a means of social mobility. It
meant financial security and independence. But, nowadays, the rewards of getting a
high school diploma are very little if any. A college diploma is not enough to provide
the financial security people want. Except for certain professions, unless a person
gets a higher education diploma, his/her diploma is worth very little. For instance,

school teachers do not earn enough money, in fact, they earn the least amount of

74

money compared to other occupations. Nowadays, it is not necessary to be educated
to earn a large amount of money. Skilled workers in blue collar jobs can earn a huge
amount of money. This fact made people from lower middle and low socio-economic
classes think of education as time consuming with little rewards. So, the rate of school

dropouts among those groups is very high.

Politics

The political situation in Jordan, as in many countries in the Middle East, is
very complicated. Jordan lies on the east bank of the River Jordan. The West Bank
which is known as Palestine is an area characterized with upheaval and unrest for
more than 40 years. Many of the Palestanians came to live in Jordan as an escape
from the situation there. Although those people have settled in Jordan, their roots
are still in Palestine. Because Jordan is on the border of Palestine, the country is
affected by the ups and downs there. Jordan is affected by the situation in Palestine
in many ways: political, economic and social. The situation the Palestinians face,
either in Palestine or Jordan, makes it difficult for them to lead a normal relaxed
life. They have many problems to face and complications to overcome. This in turn,

has its reflection on the priorities in their lives and therefore, on the way they view

education.

Immigration and Migration

Immigration and migration have an important effect on the society. Immigration
to and from Jordan plays an important role in changing the social structure and the
familial structure there. Usually, the father or the male provider in the family is
the one that goes to another country to work. When the head of the family leaves
this creates a problem in the household. When the father is absent, many times the
mother finds it difficult to control the older sons. So, many of them leave school.

They either start to work in low paying jobs or do nothing which creates a social

problem.

75

Migration to and from different parts of Jordan also creats a problem. The people
who usually move are people who live in tribes and keep changing their place of
residence. They do not have a specific place to live. Their children have to quit
school because of the constant moving. Those people create a problem because they
are difficult to track down, and they do not have a permanent address in which they
can be reached.

After reviewing the data, it was found that different aspects of the social fac-
tor play an important role in decreasing attendance and increasing the number of

dropouts from the adult education centers. These factors are (illustrated in Figure
4.2):

(i) Disapproval by the spouse or family members.

(ii) The attitude towards adult and literacy education program.

Disapproval by the spouse or family members to the woman’s enrollment in the

literacy program.

The majority of the students in the program are women from low socio-economic
backgrounds. In most cases, the men in the families did not finish their education.
The rejection is caused, in most cases, by the male ego. Jordan is a male oriented
society. In many families, being a “man” means being the most knowledgeable, the
decision maker, the provider, and the head of the family. In many cases, men do
not like their wives to be educationally superior to them. They believe that if the
woman is educated she will have everything going her way. They believe that they
no longer have the power to lead the family as they used to. This attitude may ruin
the relationship between the man and his wife and destroy the family. One student,
Shadya, who was still enrolled in the program but was about to drop out because she
was not sure how things will go in her family, said “I want to learn, I want to be
able to make decisions for myself. I want to be able to face my in-laws and tell them
what I want for my family and what I don’t. I want to feel confident in what I say” .

I asked her to explain what she meant and she said “Sometimes, when I am in the

76

company of other people and would like to say something and express my opinion I
stop because I am never sure that what I am going to say is right”. This shows that
women feel more confident in themselves if they are educated. They feel that people
respect them and their opinion more. To some men who are not educated and used
to their wives agreeing with them on everything, this might be threatening.

Living with the in-laws in the same house causes problems because the parents
try to interfere with their son’s life. They try to control him as if he was not married.
Shadya, who lives with her in-laws said “At first, I asked my husband if I could enroll
in the program and he agreed because he is away from home most of the time. He is
a truck driver. He wanted to keep me busy, and going to the center was a chance for
me to get out of the house while he was away. But, after enrolling, his parents began
feeding him ideas about educated women and how I am going to change, and that he
will not be able to control everything as he used to. So, he became insecure about
my education. Now, I think that in a short period of time I will leave the center”.
Some men might not be direct about showing their feelings like what happened with
another student, Mona. Although both of her parents are alive, her brother is the
one who makes the decision in the family. He refuses to allow his sister to continue in
the program. He keeps telling her that they are doing just fine and that they do not
need education to improve their lives. At the same time, he cannot afford to buy his
sister or wife new clothes and they live in a very low socio—economic neighborhood.

Another reason for the families to reject their daughters’ education is their belief
that women do not need education. They believe that the woman will get married
and be supported by her husband. So, why bother and study? Financially, women are
secured by religion. Their financial rights are preserved. The woman is not expected
to earn her own living in order to live a decent life. But some people misunderstand
this security and think that their daughters do not need education because they are
not going to work. This belief comes from an illiterate generation who survived
without education. The life style in early Jordan did not require literacy skills, so
a great number of people remained illiterate. The communities were small, life was

simple, and people did not need to read and write. They forgot that the world

77

has changed, and that their children will find it difficult to live their daily lives as
illiterate people. This is further explained by Paulo Friere. He says (Friere, p.14)

that a peasant told him “ one cannot say that the indian is illiterate because he lives

in a culture that doesn’t recognize letters. To be illiterate you need to live where there

are letters and you don’t know them”. This attitude is apparent in those excerpts

from an interview with Mrs. Ahmad who is an older married student in her fifties:

Q:

E9???

?@

Why did you decide to come to the center?

I want to be able to read and write so as to be able to read the Holy Quran.
Are you going to continue to come to the center until you finish the program?
I would like to be able to read and write. I don’t care about getting a diploma.
Do you have school age children?

My three sons work with their father in the auto shop and my 2 daughters stay at

home.
Did any of them finish their education?

No, they left school before finishing their education.

: I’Vhy, if you believe in the importance of education didn’t you encourage your

children to continue theirs?

: Well, you see, my husband needed help in his auto shop. He also wanted to

teach our sons how to run our business in order for them to take over in
the future. They make so much money that they are doing better than some

college graduates.

: Do they think about continuing their education?
: Why, they are doing great. Why waste time?

: What about your daughters?

78

A: Well, you see, girls do not need education. What do they need it for? We do
not like our daughters to get a job and work. Even if they get married, their
husbands must take care of them and attend to their needs. That is what
happened to me and I have had a very nice life, and hopefully, my daughters

will, too.

The families sometimes reject their daughters’ education because they are very con-
servative and worry a lot about the females in the family. Many of these families
live in low socio-economic neighborhoods. Although they might not be religious in
particular, they set strict rules for the females in the family. One of the girls in the
center, Nada, said that her brother spends lots of time outside the house with his
friends. She saidzhe is not religious; he does not pray or perform the religious rituals,
he does not go to the mosque, and I do not believe that he has a clear understanding
of the religion, but at the same time I am forbidden to do what many religious women
take for granted.

In Jordan, as in many countries in the Arab World“ the lower the socio-economic
status of the family is, the more women are deprived of their rights provided to them
by the Islamic religion and the law. This is noticed by observing the large number
of dropouts from school and the high percentage of early marriages. Those occur
mostly in low socio-economic classes. People who are educated value education a lot
and insist that their daughters get theirs” (Jabi, P.21).

Family related factors are important in causing and increasing adult illiteracy.
The physical environment of the disadvantaged adult home does not facilitate his / her
school work, and also, his / her educational involvement may have put a strain on the
family. The homes of many disadvantaged persons are apt to be extremely crowded
and noisy, and there is little opportunity for concentration on school related matters.
An example of this is the situation of the school janitor. She also was a student
in the literacy program in the center where she worked in the morning. She was a
widow and the only supporter of a family of six. During an interview with her she
described the environment in her home by saying “I rarely if not never had a chance

to study at home. It is always late in the afternoon when I reach home because of the

79

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Social Factor

Disapproval of the spouse or The attitude towards adult
family members and literacy education program

I l l l'
-Male ego

' ° Stud t' ' '
-I..iving with the in-laws Family 5 en 5 Socrety s

’1’” “1‘“ ““t “m" Attitude Attitude Attitude
do not need education

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LThe families are con-
servative.
-Family related factors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Older Widows
Married and
Students Divorced

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4.2. Social Aspects Associated with Dropping Out from the Adult Education
Programs

difficult transportation between work and home. When I go there, the kids are always
fighting. I have to prepare dinner then do some house work. We live in a very bad
and dangerous neighbourhood. Recently, my oldest son engaged with a group of other
young men in a fight and one man was killed. My son was accused of the killing but
not found guilty. The problem now is that the family of the victim wants revenge and
they are threatening to kill my son. 30, we moved from that neighbourhood, and we
are on the run ever sense. We do not feel safe for my son’s life”

The Attitude Towards Adult and Literacy Education Programs

Another reason associated with the social factor is the attitude towards adult and

80

literacy education programs. this attitude can be divided into:

(i) The family’s attitude.
(ii) The students’ attitude (single, married)

(iii) Society’s attitude

Each of these will be discussed separately.
The family’s attitude

The female adult student comes, in most cases, from low income families where the
parents have low educational attainment. Many of the males in the family dropped
out from school. Nowadays, it is becoming the case that people with white collar
jobs don’t make as much money as people with blue collar jobs in Jordan. Besides,
education is no longer viewed as a means for class and social mobility. Having a degree
does no longer mean prestige and high income. It is viewed by many people from low
socio-economic background as a waste of time. They need the money, and there is a
great demand for mechanics and skilled workers and they make lots of money. They
cannot afford spending many years studying, so they drop out and work. When I
talked to the older married ladies in the center they told me that their husbands and
sons don’t feel a need to get a diploma.

It seems that although the males deny and hide their need to read and write, the
females are quite convinced that the males don’t need education. The men in those
families carry all the responsibility. They are the providers, the ones who take care
of other family members, the ones who solve the family problems and the decision
makers. The women mainly stay home, provide a comfortable family environment
for the other family members. They do not feel the pressures that exist outside the
house. So, when everything they need is provided, and they hear their husbands
and sons say that they are happy with their present situation, they become really
convinced that there is no need to learn.

The Students’ Attitude
The students in this study can be divided into four categories according to their

marital status (as illustrated in Figure 4.3), they are:

81

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

fl
36—
34..
Number
of
Students
3 ..
1 ~ A Marital
Divorced Married Single Widowed r Status

 

Figure 4.3. Number of Students According to Their Marital Status

(i) Young single students.
(ii) Young married students.
(iii) Older married students.
(iv) Widowed and divorced students.

The attitude of the students towards adult and literacy education differ according
to their marital and family circumstances, and according to their goals for attending
the centers. The differences in attitude are directly connected to their expectations
from the program. The motivation of the illiterate female students to study is very
important for the program to succeed. Many of the young single students were not
serious about enrolling. They were not academically oriented and not highly moti-
vated. Many of them told me that they were going to leave school as soon as they
get married. They came from very conservative families who would not let them go
out often. The society in Jordan is, in general, conservative. Combining religion with

culture, dating does not exist. Pre marital relationships between males and females

82

does not exist either and is not acceptable at all. It is considered a sin and is pun-
ished. So, going to the center is a chance for them to leave home and socialize with
others. It is also a chance to change the environment especially for students who
live in low socio-economic neighbourhoods. As soon as the students’ status in the
family changes, and they get more freedom to run their own lives, they would leave
the program.

The study seemed to reveal that the students who dropped out from
regular school because they hated school, the teacher or because they
couldn’t do well in school had the same negative attitude about the liter-
acy education program. Those students told me that their attitude didn’t
change and that they still hate school. Those students had a bad expe-
rience in school and that experience is reflected in their attitude towards
literacy education, whereas the students with no school experience or the
ones who had to leave school for familial reasons came to the center with
a positive attitude. One student called Ilham who was 19 years old and in the
third grade level was different from the others. If I had seen her walking down the
street, I would have thought that she was a college student. She was elegant with a
very nice appearance. She didn’t look look like the average student in the literacy
education program. When I asked her about her previous school experience during
an interview she said that she studied until the fifth grade in the traditional school
before she dropped out. This is part of the interview I had with her:

Q: Why did you leave school when you were young?
A: I hated it very much.
Q: Why?
A

: The teacher was very mean to me. I was afraid of her, and I became afraid of

going to school.

Q: How did your parents agree to you leaving school?

83

A: I remember that I used to cry a lot and tell my parents that I didn’t want to go to

school, besides, my grades were bad.
: Do you regret taking that decision now?
No, not at all.

Why are you back in school then?

>.o;g>.o

: Because a very close friend of mine enrolled, and I wanted to do like her and be
with her.

:0

: Will you continue with the program?
A: I do not think so, I will leave as soon as Iget married.

Another student, Nada, who was 18 years old and lived in the refugee camp was
very much different than Ilham in appearance and in attitude towards education in
general. She believed in the importance of education, not because of the obvious
reasons like getting a better understanding of life, having a job or earning money, but
in the importance of education as a means for social mobility. She believed that being
educated insures a better chance for marriage to the right person. She said that a
number of young men asked for her hand in marriage, but she refused because their
socio-economic status was the same as hers. She felt really disappointed because her
chance to improve her life was very small. During the interview, I asked her many
questions. Her answers to some of them were important in revealing her attitude

about going to the center:
Q: Did you have a school experience when you were young?
A: Yes, I attended school until the third grade.

Q: Why did you quit?

84

A: At that age I could not make a decision. My family decided that I should quit
school because they were very conservative and that year the school had boys

and girls in the same class.
Q: Do they object now especially this center is for ladies only?

A: Yes, my brother does. He doesn’t like me to go out of the house everyday. He
says that he is worried about me, but the fact of the matter is that he wants
me to stay home to help his wife. He is married and has 3 children. His wife

complains if she sees me going out and she is left with the house work and

the children.

Q: So, what will you do, are you going to continue with the center?

A: Even if I continued coming to the center, I will not be able to study farther than
the sixth grade. To continue, I have to enroll in informal education program,
and the tuition is 40 Jordanian Dinars a semester (which is equal to $120).
My brother says that he can’t afiord that. So, it is useless.

Q: What does your father say about that?
A: Nothing. My brother is the decision maker in the family.

Although the aspect of familial responsibilities exists in the lives of the older married
students because they have their husbands and children to take care of, it is also
present in the lives of the young single students. Many of them have to help their
mothers at home. They told me that coming to the center was a chance for them
to relax and not do house work. This was further proven whenever a class was
cancelled. The married and older students would rush home, whereas the younger
students would stay in the center and talk for the whole session.

The motivation for the young married students to enroll in the program was
stronger than that of the single students. Most of them came from lower middle class.
Although some of them had no school experience prior to the center, many of them

had a successful school experience but had to quit for familial reasons. The higher the

85

social class, such credentials of schooling as diplomas and number of years completed
in school are considered important in affecting a person’s job and income prospects.
Being young encourges them to study. They had time because their husbands were
at work most of the day and their children were in school. Their children play an
important role in motivating them to learn. One of the students whose name was
Nora told me that the reason she enrolled was her 11 year old son. He once came to
her asking for help with some math problems, and so, she helped him. The next day
he came from school crying and told her that his teacher punished him because the
solutions for all the problems were wrong. She felt that she destroyed her son’s faith
and confidence in her. So, she decided to learn and help her children.

The young married students seemed to be eager to study. Despite their responsi—
bilities at home, they rarely missed the class. They tried to organize their schedules
and meet the demands of the family members and then go to school and try to find
time to study at home when they get back. During classroom observation, the young
married students were the ones who participated the most. They always did their
homework and volunteered to solve math problems written on the board. All of those
students, except for one, told me that they were going to continue in the program and
then move to the informal education program. They seemed to have more control of
their lives than the single students. The one exception was Shadya, who lived with
her in-laws and was not sure about her family circumstances.

Although the younger married students were eager to study, it was difficult for
some of them to come to the center because there was nobody to leave the children
with. Even if the children went to school, this would not solve the problem. Some
young children’s schools have two shifts, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon
to accomodate the high number of school age children in the district. The students’
schedule vary. One month they go in the morning, and the following month they go
in the afternoon. So, the mothers’ scheduls also changes. When the children go to
school in the morning and return home in the afternoon, many mothers couldn’t go to
the center because they couldn’t leave the children alone at home. Once I saw some

children playing in the school yard, and when I wondered who they were, a lady told

86

me that she had to bring her children with her because there was nobody to babysit.

The age of the older married students in the center ranged from 40 to 60 years.
All of the older married ladies in the centers, except for one, came from low socio-
econmic status. They lived in poor neighbourhoods. Although some of the families of
the older married students earned large amounts of money, they lead poor life styles.
Almost all of these students were motivated by one thing: to read the Holy Quran.
They wanted to learn more verses than they did. They wanted to be able to read
books about religion. They said that their husbands and children were too busy to
teach them about religion. The belief that education will provide them with a better
life style was not behind their enrollment in the program. They were satisfied with
their current situation. Mrs. Ali, who was in her fifties, told me that her daughter
in-law is a dropout. She lived with her in the same house. When I asked her if her
daughter in-law came to the center she said: “ No, she doesn’t study anymore. She
quit school after marriage. She leads a very comfortable life. When I go home, she
usually helps me practice.” The older students’ attitude towards literacy education
was a means to satisfy an immediate need. After achieving the goal or goals they had
in mind they would leave the center. Almost all of them told me that they didn’t
need diplomas and that is why they do not need to continue. The teachers in the
centers knew that and were treating the students in the centers accordingly. They
did not try to convince them to change their minds.

There was a descripant case which was an older married modern lady in her early
fifties. She was a friend of a younger married student in the center. Both of them
came from a higher socio-economic class than the rest. This lady had two sons. One
was a doctor and the other was a business man. She said that she had to leave school
because she got married at a young age. Then she was so busy raising her two sons
and taking care of her husband that she couldn’t find time to study. But now, she
has a lot of free time. So, she wanted to study to fulfill a need she was prevented
from earlier. She said that she believed in the importance of education and that
was the reason she encouraged her sons to continue theirs. Those two ladies didn’t

interact with the other students in the class. They came to the center together and

87

left together. In the center, It was apparent that communication between different
socio-economic classes did not exist.

Aside from their immediate family responsibilities, there are family problems that
face the students in the center and cause them to drop out, like death of a child or
the spouse or a parent. One Palestinian lady told me that she had to quit because
her brother was killed during the unrest in Palestine. He had a wife and five children.
Her father died a long time ago, and her late brother was the oldest. She couldn’t
concentrate on studying because she kept on thinking about her brother’s family,
and was plannng to go to Palestine and take care of them. She said that she might
bring his family back with her to live in Jordan. So, the problems they face, and
the situations they encounter play an important role in affecting their decision to
continue with their studies.

In general, the motivation of the older married students to enroll in the program
was to find out more about subjects that interest them, and to be able to write to
friends and relatives and read their letters, rather than to obtain advancement or to
read books of general interest.

Three widows and one divorced lady in the center participated in the study. Al-
though they were similar in sharing a single life style, they differed from each other a
lot. The widows were older students (50 and over). They were independent and free
to choose the life style they wanted. Two of them had grown up children, and the
third was the only supporter and provider for a family of six. Although it is common
and encourged that the children take care of their parents when they are older, there
was one case in the center that didn’t apply to this rule. Islam and the Arabic culture
and tradition emphasize taking care of the elderly. For instance, in Jordan and in the
Arabic and Islamic world in general, it is rare that a person would send his / her parent
to a nursing home. Except for certain cases where the physical or emotional condition
of the person requires special care, this is religiously and culturaly unacceptable. The
parents and grandparents are supposed to enjoy their children and grand children,
their needs and wishes are supposed to be fulfilled and their lives are supposed to be

satisfying. But this was not the case in this lady’s situation. She was very poor and

88

neglected by her son and brother. When I asked her why she didn’t live with her son,
she said that he was poor with four children and that his wife was not nice to her.
Then, when I wondered why she didn’t live with her brother, she said “No way. I
do not want to impose. Sometimes, when I visit them and it is time to eat and I am
starved, I would eat just a few bites so as not to say that I impose or come to eat.”
This lady led a very hard life. It was difficult for her to make ends meet. When I
asked her about her attitude towards literacy education she said “For me it is too
late now to start all over again. I can’t wait years to get the diploma. Even if I want
to, I can’t afford it.” When I asked her about the reason she dropped out from the
center, she said “I had to work”. I asked her about the kind of work she did, she said
that she worked as a cleaning lady. She said that although it was not a steady job, it
was the only thing she could do. It was a very hard and demanding job for her. She
got so tired and exhausted that she couldn’t come to the center, or sometimes, her
working hours were in conflict with the center hours.

One of the two remaining widows was taken care of by her sons and was still
enrolled in the program. She wanted to learn to read the Holy Quran in order to pray
better. She had plenty of leisure time and the center was the perfect place for her.
The third lady had to quit because she had to work in order to support her family.

The attitude of the divorced lady was different. She was young, in her early thir-
ties. She had a boy and a girl. Although Islam gives the mother custody of young
children, her children lived with their father for reasons beyond her control. She
seemed to be heart broken when she talked about her children. She said “After the
divorce I took my children to live with me in my father’s house. We live in the refugee
camp and our lives are very diflicult. My family is poor, and my parents could not
tolerate my children or aflord their expenses, so, they made me send the children to
live with their father, especially as my ex-husband had not paid the almony. I am very
mad at my parents. I want to study and continue my education so as to work and be

able to support my children and get them back.”

The students’ goals in attending adult education programs vary, and the study of

89

the attitude of the students in the center brings out results similar to Houle’s findings
in describing the kinds of learners that can be found in the classroom. He divides

them into:

(i) Goal oriented learners. In this study, the goal oriented learners are the older
married ladies who join the centers to be able to read the Holy Quran and

to be able to read and write so as to read letters from their children abroad.

(ii) Activity oriented learners. In this study, the activity oriented learners are
many of the young single students who came to the center to escape from
the environment in their homes and to enjoy themselves with their friends
autside the house. They wanted to meet new people and experience life

outside their low socio-economic neighborhoods.

(iii) Learning oriented learners. The learning oriented learners in this study are
the students who joined the center and they were uncertain that they will be

able to continue, but they wanted to gain knowledge and become educated.

Society’s Attitude

The older generation in the Jordanian society is mainly illiterate, especially the
females. It is common to find that the grandparents and the parents of a middle aged
person are illiterate. Sometimes, a wrong message is transmitted to the children, and
they think that it is all right for them, too, to be illiterate or quit school.

The male behavior, sometimes, transmits the message that illiteracy is acceptable.
Some men, driven by their male ego, don’t like to marry educated women. They prefer
to marry women with lower educational achievement than theirs. Some of them even
like to marry women with no high school diploma at all so as to feel superior to
them. Many examples can be seen by observing the families that come to study in
the United States. Many ladies whose husbands have Ph.Ds or are graduate students
are high school dropouts. The reason for these cases might be that the woman is
from a middle class family but chose not to finish her education, or that the man is

originally from a low socio-economic class who moved up by education, but still can

90

not marry an educated middle class woman. This gives some females the message
that it is all right to leave school, especially in a society that doesn’t care much about
women’s achievements. For example, if there are two lawyers or doctors, one is male
and the other is a female, many people trust the male lawyer or doctor more than
the female.

Living in a male oriented society, many females are deprived from their rights
especially in the country and among the nomad tribes. Almost all the attention,
education, and money is given and spent on the males. The females are supposed
to get married and join another family, so if valuable resources are spent on them,
it is considered a waste. In Jordan, the family remains the main provider for the
children until they get married. Even after marriage, the males are still considered a
part of the original family, whereas the females, especially in the financial aspect, are
considered outsiders. The situation gets very bad when a woman is deprived from
the rights given to her by the religion and the law, and at the same time prevented

from pursuing her education to achieve by herself what she has been denied.

4.2.2 The Psychological Factors

The range of the students’ age at the centers differ. Therefore, the stages of their
psychological development differ. It is very important to understand the psychological
stages that a human being passes through over the entire life span. This will help the
educators deal with the students and the problems they face.

The students who participated in the study were interviewed individually, and
their problems were discussed in private so as to eliminate or, at least, reduce em-
barrassment and protect privacy. It was apparent to the researcher that no matter
what the motivation to enroll in the literacy program was, or how strong it was, the
students felt some embarrassment about enrolling in the centers. To them, it was
like admitting to the public that they, whether young or old, lack education and need
help. It meant dissatisfaction with their present situation and needing the help of,
sometimes, a younger teacher. After analyzing the data, the psychological reasons

came in second after the social reasons. They were:

(0

(iii)

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People’s attitude towards adult and literacy education: Many students in
the center told me that the idea of enrolling in the program was met with
irony and sarcasm. Members of the family and friends did not encourage
them to enroll. On the contrary, they used to make fun of them and joke
about their wish to learn. Some of them told me that nobody other than the
immediate family knew about their enrollment in the center. It seems to be
socially more acceptable for the young people to enroll than the older married
ones. This attitude was apparent when observing the people who pass by
the center while the students were standing at the entrance or going in to
the building. People used to stare at the students, and sometimes pointed at
them. Sometimes I was embarrassed when I waited for the students to arrive
to the center because some students in the traditional school would talk to
each other and point at me, or people who pass by the center would stare.
The young students were very embarrassed when they came to the center
and students from the formal school were still there. They would avoid them
by going inside the building. It was especially embarrassing to the students
who came from low socio-econmic areas and met with students from middle
and upper socio-economic areas. Even if the other student was younger, the

adult student would not initiate any pattern of interaction with her.

Another reason is the fear of making mistakes in front of the peers in the
classroom. Many students thought that they were too old to make a simple
mistake in reading, writing or mathematics. They felt embarrassed when
they made a mistake. This was especially clear when the teacher would ask
a question, and nearly one or two students only would volunteer to answer.
The others were afraid of trying and making a mistake. I heard some students
after the response was given to the teacher say “I knew that” , and “ I was

right, my answer was correct”

Another reason is suffering from a handicapping condition that prevents the

student from learning, decreases her ability to learn, or makes her shy or

92

uncomfortable attending school. One student called Huda who was 18 years
old had to quit school when she was young because she had an accident and
needed care. She fell on her back and injured it. The treatment took a long
time. But the consequences of the accident were permanent. Her physical
growth became very slow. Although she was 18 years old, she looked as if
she was 12 years old. She was very self conscious about her condition. She
seemed withdrawn and isolated from the others. She dropped out from the
center two weeks before the research in the center was started. When I asked
her about the reason she quit she said“ I do not like coming to the center.
The teacher does not like me and neither do the students. They treat me in
a different way than they treat each other . They think that I am difierent
just because I am ill. I might be ill, but I have the same feelings as them.”
Another student called Fatima , who was 12 years old, told me that the
reason she had to quit regular school 4 years ago was that she could not
speak well. The teacher was never patient with her. She used to make fun of
her reading. The teacher’s constant remarks, and the students’ bad attitude,
combined with the fact that her family was poor and could not afford to treat
her, made it impossible for her to stay in school. So, she quit school. Now,
after a few years, she decided that she wanted to continue her education.
Although she was still unable to speak well, the teacher, and her peers in the
center, who were all older married students, encouraged her a lot. Once, one
lady in the center made a comment about Fatima’s progress in studying by
saying “ Fatima is a very good and intelligent student. We hope that she will
continue her education because she can do it.” The attitude of the peers and
the teacher encouraged Fatima to study and continue her education. When
I asked her about her plans for the future, she said “ I will continue with
the literacy program until the sixth grade, then hopefully I will go back to the
regular school.” When asked if her condition will affect her as it did in the

past, she said “No, now I know my abilities and know what I want. I will

try to do my best.”

93

Even though the teacher in the adult education center was patient with Fa-
tima, her situation proves that the attitude of some teachers towards the stu-
dents with handicapping conditions can affect students’ enrollment whether

in the regular school or the adult education center.

(iv) Another reason is the students’ inability to remember all that has been taught
to them. Some older students told me that it was very difficult for them to
remember everything the teacher taught them. They had so many things on
their minds, and being older increased the likelihood that they would forget
many things taught to them. Then, when they came to class and the teacher

asked them questions, they found it embarrassing not to know the answer.

Another student said that it took her longer than the other students to
understand the subject taught, especially math. The teacher explained the
lesson, and then she and the students tried to solve the problems. Some of
the students said that they could not apply what the teacher said to the
problems in the text. What bothered them the most was that sometimes
some students, often younger than themselves, came up with the solution.
Some students said that this bothered them when the people who would
know the answer were their children. They said that although it made them
happy and proud to see their children able to do the work, they were ashamed

that they did not know the answers themselves.

These reasons which were mentioned by the students are similar to what Eberle and

Robinson call as “the constraining forces”. Some of these forces are:
(i) Negative past experience in regular school.
(ii) Fear of competing with other students in the adult education program.

(iii) Lack of successful experience that will give the students the encouragement

to study.

94

Although these factors affect the students psychologically, the source for all these
problems may not be the students alone, but the teachers and the educational system.
The next section discusses the economic factors which came in third in affecting the

students’ decision to drop out.

4.2.3 The Economic Factors

The literature indicates that the illiterates are often handicapped and often help-
less in today’s job market in finding any kind of job, much less a job that provides
adequate income. Usually, they are the last ones hired and the first ones fired. Peo-
ple who lack literacy skills are often virtually unemployable, so, they must rely on
unemployment and welfare assistance.

In this research project, the economic reasons came in third after the social reasons
and the psychological reasons in increasing the number of the dropouts. According to
their economic status which is illustrated in Figure 4.4, some students were employed
and the majority were not working. The employed students were two widows who
had low skill jobs such as part time maids, cleaning ladies or school janitors. The
financial situation affected the students’ attendance in different ways. For the older
ladies who were widows, they had to work to support themselves. One of them had
school aged children that she needed to work to take care of. She needed to work in
order to support her children. After work, she was usually tired and could not spend
more time outside the house, especially with no one to take care of the children at
home. When I asked her about her goals for attending the center, she said “I did not
want to get a diploma. All I wanted is to learn to read the Holy Quran. But I could
not aflord quitting my job, so I left the center”.

When I discussed with the teacher in the center about the availabilty of financial
assistance to the students in general from the Ministry of Social Affairs, she said that
she knew nothing about their financial situation, or the way they run their lives. So I
decided to ask the students themselves and I did. The lady told me that she applied
for assistance, but she was denied. It was not easy to get assistance especially because

she had a job, and there were more severe cases that needed help.

95

 

36‘
34-

 

Number
of

Students

2 d
I l = Occupation

Housewife Helping Mother Have a job
in house work

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4.4. Number of Students According to Their Occupation

96

Another lady who worked as a part time maid said that she had to quit the
program because, sometimes, she had to work in the afternoon and could not go to
school. Although her work was not permanent or guaranteed, she saved all she earned
in order to pay for the rent. She lived alone in an almost condemned apartment. She
did not get any outside help except for a small amount of money given to her each
month by a man who gives to charity.

Although the economical reasons were found to be third in place after the social
reasons in this research project in affecting the enrollment of female students in the
adult education program, the situation would likely have been different if the research
was conducted on male students or in the rural areas. In general, it is the male’s
responsibility to provide income for the family. Except in some cases where the woman
is the single provider for the family, it is rare to find women with high salary jobs
or careers in low socio-economic classes because the women are not highly educated
and their role is believed to be at home. In the rural areas, the role of women is
different. They usually help in doing work on the farms. Although they do not work
outside the house and earn money, it is still a time and effort consuming job. So, the
definition of women’s work is different in the city and the country.

The study revealed that educationally disadvantaged persons who are employed
are apt to be engaged in jobs which are physically demanding, and so they cannot
join evening classes because they will be exhausted. Frequently, the employment of
the illiterate is insecure. Their worry about their work and the fact that they are
last hired and first fired may disturb them to the point of losing concentration on

educational matters.

4.2.4 The Educational Factors

There is more than one aspect of the educational system that affects the atten-
dance of the students in the centers, like the teachers, the curriculum and the exams
given to the students. Although the ones affected the most by these aspects are the
students themselves, it seems that they are the ones neglected in making the deci-

sions about the curriculum or the method of teaching. The students themselves did

97

not feel that they had any role in making the decisions. If they were not satisfied
or happy with a procedure, they would not try to improve the situation by talking
to the teachers. Rather, they avoided the problem and ran away from it by quitting
school. The academic progress of students is illustrated in Figure 4.5. “ The fact
that educational programs are controlled and extended by affluent outsiders to poverty
means that the programs reflect other concerns of the educators than the provision of
education. The poor are also taught to be docile and not endanger public safety or
the public treasury. In other words, a major object in educating the poor is to, control
them, while the purpose of education of affluent adults is their self-realization. But so-
cial control from outside interfere with enabling poor adults to assume self-responsible
adult roles and thus reduce their motivation to become educated at all”. (Haggstrom,

p.147). The educational factors are:

e The teachers in the centers where the study was conducted, unintentially,
made mistakes that were significant in affecting the students’ satisfaction
with the program, and therefore, their attendance. During many observation
sessions, the researcher noticed that “some students made mistakes and even
cheat and the teachers did nothing about it. The teachers pretended that they
did not see anything. They would accept the students’ work as if they did
not copy from the book or cheated by looking at another student’s solution.
The teachers did not try to forbid the students from cheating, or try to know
what areas they needed to understand or needed help with.” When I talked
to the teacher about that she said “ I know that the subjects are difficult for
the students, so I try to make things easier for them. I do not want them to
be discourged from coming to the center. If they feel that they are doing well
they will be motivated to come.” When I tried to get the students’ opinion
about their progress in the center they did not blame the teachers on their
slow progress. They believed that the teacher knew what the students were
doing. Rather, the students thought that they were slow learners or hopeless

and haven’t had a big chance to succeed.

98

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The begining of the year
i I
Adult students with no Adult student with a previous
school experience school experience
l
Slow or very little mastery Gradual mastery of the
of subject matter subject matter
I
Active participation with
Passive] Do not participate the mm
sons
cises
teeming-more mastery of
subject matter
= Dropping out

 

 

 

Figure 4.5. Academic Progress of Students in the Adult Education Centers

99

0 Another reason is the lack of interaction and communication between the
teachers and the students. One teacher, Amal was tough with the students.
During class observation, I have never seen her smile to any of the students.
Even the relation between the researcher and this teacher was very serious.
Amal used to come to class, explain to the students the math lesson, and then
solve some problems with them on the board. Even if nobody volunteered
to solve the problems, she would do them herself without trying to help the
students understand. This attitude was not apparent in the other teachers,
but this teacher taught the highest grade in the center, and relatively, the
subjects she taught were getting tougher for the students.

0 The teachers never used any instructional aid or method to help the students
understand especially in language and mathematics. The teachers did not
use instructional methods that are suitable for older students. The teachers
worked in the traditional schools in the morning and taught young children.
The methods they used were not different from the methods they used with
the young students.

0 The material that was covered in the literacy education curriculum was not
interesting for the students. The reading curriculum dealt mainly with life
in the country. It talked about farmers, their unions, and their agricultural
co-operations. The curriculum in all the educational levels in Jordan is
standardized, and so is the curriculum for literacy education. Although the
available curriculum might be interesting to a portion of the adult students
in the country, especially those who live in the country, it is not likely to be of
interst to females who live in the city. Life in the city is much more different
than life in the country, especially in Jordan where the difference between
the city and the country is very big. Facilities that are taken for granted in
the cities are considered luxuries in the country. Everyday life essentials are
rare in the villages in the desert or in the south. Although the Jordanian

society is homogenous, and the population is small (3 million), there are big

100

differences in people’s life styles in the country and the city. Although the
students never complained frankly about the lack of instructional material,
this aspect has a lot to do with the level of their achievement in the center

and their satisfaction with their progress there.

Another reason is the sudden shift in the complexity of subjects taught es-
pecially in math. In the literacy and adult education program, the first
and second grades are taught together in one year and so are the third and
the fourth grades. But the fifth and the sixth grades are taught separately.
There is a sudden change in the level of material covered. The teachers agree
that this sudden transition from easy to difficult is too much for the students
to handle. With no special preparation or training, the teachers can not do
much to help the students, especially those with no previous school expe-
rience, to understand the subjects. The students in the center, especially
the older ones, seemed to concentrate more on learning how to read and
write more than mathematics. They seemed to ignore mathematics because
it was difficult for them to understand. During classroom observation, the
researcher noticed that “The older students in the class came to the math
class without doing their homework. The teacher did not check whether the
homework was done or not. She immediately began asking for volunteers to
go to the board and solve the problems. Only one student volunteered. She
went ahead and solved the problem. The teacher did not do any further ex-
planation of the the problems and their solutions, instead, she went ahead to
solve the following problem, and the students did not ask her any question.”
This is an important factor that might discourage them from continuing
their education because they do not feel that their progress is satisfactory.
This is very important because the adult students, and the people in general,
might get the impression that adult education is difficult or useless for older

students, therefore the potential students might be discourged to enroll.

101

e Combining the first four grades in two increases the pressure on the students.
The students in the program are taught every two years together and they
only come to the center two hours a day five days a week. In addition to
the pressure the students face, they cannot concentrate fully on the subjects
taught in such a short period of time. One student may be well beyond the
second grade level, whereas another student have not mastered the subjects
taught in the first grade. The result at the end of the year is that both stu-
dents will go to the next level because the teachers do not want to discourage
the students by failing them. The teacher who is in charge of the center said
during an interview “We do not want the students to fail. We want them
to succeed and feel capable of studying in any way we can even if they do
not deserve that success. We do not want them to quit.” So, what really
matters to the teachers is having the center open with students enrolled so
as to secure another income no matter what the expenses are. So, the teach-
ers make it easy on the students, and the students feel that they are not
gaining much. The stages that the students pass through are illustrated in
Figure 4.6. Some students have had a previous school experience, whereas
for others, the literacy education center was their first encounter with school
and studying. The students are usually placed in grade levels according to
their ability to read. So, some poor readers who have had a previous school
experience were placed with students who have never been in school, and
therefore, cannot read. This practice was not fair to the students with no
school experience. They felt that they did not belong there, so their interac-
tion with the teacher and the other students became less and less. Teachers,
unconsciously, ignored them and concentrated more on the students who al—
ready knew something. In this situation, the difference in the student’s age
was significant, too. When an older female student with no school experience
was surpassed by another younger student, the embarrasment of the older
student increased. Mrs. Omar, an older student in her fifties said during an

interview “ I do not think that I am going to continue coming to the center.

 

Dropouts

 

 

 

 

102

 

 

No School
Experience

 

 

 

 

 

 

Illiterate Students

 

 

R ding
Pla cment
SI

 

 

 

Third and Forth
Grades

 

 

 

 

 

l Fifth Grade

 

 

 

I

 

j Sixth Grade

——-—> Q“it

 

 

I

 

 

Informal

Eucation
Programms

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First and Second
Grades

 

Figure 4.6. Stages of the Adult Education Program

 

103

I have tried, but I am very slow and I know nothing. It is useless. Education
is not for me, it is for young people who still have the energy and the ability
to study and achieve, not for me, an older lady whose mind is not performing

well enough.”

The carelessness of the teachers in performing their jobs is also another factor
in discouraging the students from continuing in the center. This carelessness
was displayed in different ways one of them was neglecting to take the at-
tendance. This gave the students the message that it did not matter if they
attended or not. Some students missed many classes and lost track of what
was taught in class, and therefore found it difficult to understand the sub-
jects, and therefore quit. An older student, Mrs. Fathi, said “ it is easy
here in the center. Nobody asks you why you are absent, and nobody counts
the days that you do not come. Men I have certain things to do at home I
do not care about coming to the center.” This carelessness about attending
is also apparent in the teachers’ behavior concerning their punctuality and
starting school on time taking into consideration the short time the students
spend in the center. The classes in three of the four centers were scheduled
from 2:30 pm. until 4:30 pm. Mr. Ali, an administrator in the Departement
of Adult and Literacy Education in the Ministry of Education said “the
students and the teachers are free to schedule their meetings at the centers
as long as it is two hours a day five days a week. After deciding on the time,
the teachers should notify the Department about it.” But the classes were
rarely started on time. Because the teachers were late most of the time. But
they would leave the center on time and never compensated for the time
they wasted. In the forth center, the situation is worse. The center consists
of one room located at the basement of a regular boys’ school. Once I went
and waited for a long time but nobody showed up. When I asked the reg-
ular school principal if he knew anything about the class that day, he told

me that the teacher cancelled the class because only two students showed

104

up and they left a few minutes before I arrived. Another aspect which was
very irritating to the students is the absence of the teacher with no previous
notice. One day I went to the center to spend the day with Sara’s class.
Usually, at that time, everyone would be in her class and the hall would be
quiet. But, there was students’ noise coming from the hall which meant that
one class hadn’t started yet. So, I went outside to see what was going on and
found that Amal had not arrived yet and her students were outside waiting
for her. They waited for a long time, then after 35 minutes, some older stu-
dents began to leave. They were angry because they came to the center on
time to find that the teacher was absent. They said that this was a waste of
their time. Mrs. Ahmad said “I had a million things to do at home, and I
left everything to come to the center. I wasted time here waiting, and by the
time I get home the two hours will be over with nothing accomplished. ”. No
one of the other teachers knew that Amal was not coming prior to the time
of the meeting, nor they knew why. One student was exceptionally upset
because she could not go home on foot because she lived in Western Amman
and had to wait for her driver to come and pick her up at 4:30. There was
no phone to call him and she had to wait the two hours in the center. She
had children at home and felt that what happened wasted valuable time for
her. The following day the students went to their rooms and classes were
started as usual except for Amal’s class. She did not come to the center the
next day either. The students were waiting and wondering about the reason
for her absence. Then Sara came from her classroom and told the students
that Amal’s brother-in-law died and will not be able to come to the center
the following day either. The students were very upset because they wasted
another day. they were complaining about the teacher’s irresponsibility to-
ward the students. She did not even bother to send them a message or leave
them a note. And Sara did not come to them directly after she arrived in
the center and tell them what happened. Rather, she only came when she

heard the noise in the room. There was no substitute teacher coming. This

105

situation and others similar to it convey a message to the students that they
are not important and not considered a priority in the situation. This is re-
flected in their negative attitude about continuing to go to the centers. This
also seemes to prove that the teachers’ priority is not teaching the illiterate

students as much as having another job with extra income.

Another reason for dropping out can also be imposed on the students when
the center gets closed because of the insufficient number of students in it.
Fatima, a teacher in the center, told me that she used to teach in another
center where the number of the students who registered was 14, then at
the beginning of the school year it dropped to 10, and a month later the
number dropped to 3 and the Ministry had to close the center and the other

3 students were asked to join another center if they wanted to.

Another reason that was very important to the students and played a major
role in their attitude towards continuing their education, especially for young
single students, was the tuition paid for the enrollement in informal educa-
tion. The students have to pay 40 Jordanian dinars which are equal to $120
dollars a semester in tuition to continue their education. Adult and literacy
education covers until the sixth grade only. Some students are independent
whether married, divorced, or widowed and generally they do not find the
tuition a problem either because they do not intend to continue their edu-
cation or because they can afford the tuition. But it is a problem for the
young single students who still depend completely in their financial support
on their families. Sometimes, when the families are poor, the members have
other priorities in their life than paying for education. When the students
know that they are not going to continue their education, they lose their
motivation to study. Nada was an example of this situation. When we were
talking she said “ I feel that there is no use in attending the center. I will
not be able to continue my education higher than the sixth grade. My brother
says that he will not pay the tuition. He refuses to pay for anything I ask

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him for. He has his own family, and it is his priority. Even my father listens
to him. He is the decision maker because he is the one working.” Tuition
for informal education is not viewed as a problem by the Ministry of educa-
tion. When I talked to Mr. Mohamad and discussed the problem with him
he was surprised. he said “ But it is only 40 dinars a semester. It is not
much. ” It was clear that there is a gap between the Ministry of education
and the students. This gap exists in the ministry’s lack of understanding
the situation of the students. The administrators want the students to make
education their priority, and at the same time they do not give them the

chance to accomplish that.

The findings of the study confirm with Mansour’s findings that combining more
than one grade in a single classroom and the unavailability of adult education classes

after the sixth grade are important factors in affecting the students’ decision to drop

out.

4.2.5 Factors that Deal with the School Environment

It is very important to provide a comfortable environment if the students are to
benefit from their experience at the center. Although people in the Ministry are
committed to solving the problem of illiteracy, they seem to neglect some details that
affect the success of the program. They believe that if the school building is good for
the young children to study in it is good enough for the adults. The problems with

the environment of the schools are:

0 Lack of facilities that are important for the adult students. For example, the
center is not heated in the winter although it can get very cold in some days in
the winter. The weather in Jordan, like many countries in the Mediterranean,
is mild. It is hot and dry in the summer, and cold in the winter. It snows
for only a week in Jordan. So, central heating is not available in every
home. People use portable heaters. In the centers, the teachers are allowed

to use the heaters in their lounge, but not in the classrooms. So, it gets very

107

cold and uncomfortable for the students. In the summer, the situation is
not much different. Air conditioners are not available and neither are fans.
So, weatherwise, the situation is not comfortable for the adult students.
Although the same situation affects regular school students, but school age

student are forced to come to school, whereas the older students are not.

Although all the classes are held in the late afternoon, The days in the winter
become very short, and the sun disappears. The centers are not equiped to
deal with this kind of situation. The light in the center is very weak and
the students, especially the older ones find it difficult to read. Many of
the students have poor eye sight, and combined with weak lights, it is very
difficult for them to read.

Telephones were not available in the center. In the regular school, there was
a phone in the principal’s office. Although the regular school and the adult
education centers were located in the same building, they were considered
separate schools. When the regular school day was over, the school janitor
would close the principal’s office and nobody could go in until the following
morning. Even the teachers in the center could not use the telephone. On the
two days when Amal was absent, the situation was difficult for the students,
especially Mrs. Fares who needed to call her car driver to come and pick her
up. But because there were no telephones in the center, she had to wait for
two hours before her driver arrived. There were no public phones in the area,

and the nearest store where she could use the phone was far from school.

Public transportation, to and from the center, was not available to the stu-
dents in the centers. The students had to walk or drive to come to the
centers. Since most of the students have low socio-economic status, they did
not own cars. So, they had to walk to school. For many of the older adults,
it was difficult to walk a few blocks every day back and forth to the center. It
was both tiring and time consuming. For the younger students who enjoyed

to walk, it was dangerous to walk alone, especially in the winter when it gets

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dark very early in the afternoon. During an interview, the older lady who
worked as a maid said “ I rarely find time to rest after my work is over. I
used to come to the center immediately after work. I had to walk because

there was no transportation to the center. I used to get exhausted.”

0 Another problem was the location of the centers. Although it was convenient
for the Ministry of Education to assign school buildings to be adult education
centers, many students found it difficult to come to the centers because,
sometimes, they were embarrassed, and many times, the school was too

noisy for them to be able to concentrate on their studies.

The findings of the study done by the Arabic Organization for education, Culture,
and Science which is titled Analytical Study of Literacy Education in the Arab World
indicate that difficulty of transportation and the poorly equiped adult education
centers are important in affecting the students decision to drop out.

The study revealed that although the factors that affect dropping out from school
vary, sometimes it is difficult to set them apart and treat them individually. The
factors are combined together and the students may be affected by more than one
reason at a time. The reasons are illustrated in Figure 4.7. Although the people
directly affected by the problems of illiteracy are the students, solving the problem
requires the combined efforts of the students themselves, the people in the Ministry

of education and the society.

4.3 Summary of Findings

Many of the students in the adult education centers have special circumstances
and life situations that affect their attendance at the centers. The conditions of the
centers like their organization, location and the availabilty of public transportation
to and from the centers combined with the lack of co—ordination between different

ministries in the country, play a significant role in affecting the students’ attendance

at the centers.

109

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Factors for
Dropping out
. . . School
Socral IPSYZZIO‘ Ecomorruc Educational Environment
ogr
Factors Factors Factors Factors
Factors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4.7. Factors Associated with Dropping Out from the Adult Education Pro-
grams

According to the data collected in this study, the factors associated with dropping

out can be categorized as follows:
(i) Social factors.
(ii) Psychological factors.
(iii) Economic factors.
(iv) Educational factors.
(v) Factors that deal with the school environment.

There were other questions related to the main question, and the findings of the
study addressed them. The first question was about the relation between the level of
the teachers’ qualifications and dropping out from the centers. The response to this
question was a little interesting because it could be answered by yes and no at the

same time. When the students were asked directly whether the teachers were good

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or not, almost all of them said yes. Then when they were asked about the reason
they said yes they all complemented the teachers’ efforts in teaching them. To the
students, being able to read and write and teach those skills to others was considered
something to be proud of and a high achievement. But participant observation and
taking fieldnotes revealed the other face of the coin. The students with their simple
knowledge and experience in the field of education were not able to understand the
implications of the teachers’ behavior on their decision to drop out. Teachers’ lack
of understanding of the different developmental stages of the adult students made
them, sometimes, unable to deal with the students. This is very important because
students from different age groups can be found in the same class.

The teachers knew the information they were teaching to the students, but they
seemed not capable of delivering it to the students. They did not seem successful
in making the students understand the information taught. The students ended up
thinking that it is their fault that they did not understand, or that they are unable
to learn, so, they dropped out.

The second question asks about the kind of instructional material and methods
the teachers use in teaching the adult students. The curriculum used in the centers
is a number of books prepared by the Ministry of Education. No instructional aid
methods were used in the classroom other than the text. The teachers used the
lecturing method in explaining the lessons to the students. The interaction in the
classroom was always teacher initiated. The students sat in rows at the same desks
used by the school children in the morning. No class discussion or group assignments
were present. The teachers did not divide their attention between all the students.
They concentrated only on the students who participated or volunteered to answer
the questions asked.

The third question deals with the students’ attitude towards studying in school
buildings used by young children in the morning. In three of the four centers studied
in this research project, the students were not bothered by this fact, because they
usually came to the center after the other students had left. They were more concerned

with the attitude of the people who live in the neighbourhood and who pass by the

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center. Those three centers were located in a middle class neighbourhood where the
areas was not very crowded and the streets were quiet. People who lived in that area
knew each other very well. So, when the students, who live in other areas, came to
the center, they were noticed immediately. The fourth center was located in a low
socio-economic neighbourhood. It was in a school that works two shifts, one in the
morning, and the other in the afternoon. It was a boys’ elementary school. It was
very noisy and very poorly equiped. The class was held in a room down stairs on the
children’s way to the play ground. It was very noisy and the door could not be locked
because the lock was broken. It was a dark and damp room. The students in that
center came from the same neighbourhood. They knew each other or, at least, felt
equal to each other. So, they did not feel embarrassed coming to the center because
everybody was the same. But they felt uncomfortable in the presense of the children.
The young students used to make fun and comment about the ladies coming to the
center to study. The language of the boys was not polite, and they did not respect the
ladies. Besides, the noise they used to make in their lunch hour made it very difficult,
if not impossible for the students to concentrate. Although the older students could
choose the time they want for their meeting, this specific school building was occupied
the whole day, so, the adult students did not have much choice.

The next question asked about the husbands’ attitude towards their wives studying
at the center. This turned out to differ according to age, goal and the social status of
the wife. The young students’ husbands were reluctant to allow their wives to study
because they were afraid of losing the authority in the house. Only one student’s
husband encouraged her to study because he was so successful in his business and
made lots of money that he felt very secure. She said “In fact, he was the one who
encouraged me to continue my education. He wants me to achieve something in my
life. I do not think that I will be able to work because of my home responsibility,
besides my husband is very successful and makes lots of money from his business”.
The husband spent most of his time at work. The wife came from an educated middle
class family, and was eager to continue her education and to achieve something she

was prevented from because of her mother’s sickness. The husbands of the older

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students did not seem to care much about their wives’ education and did not seem
to take it seriously because the students themselves did not. They wanted to study
just to learn to read the Holy Quran. So, their goal was not threatening. One older
student was serious about studying and was encourged by her husband. He held a
high ranking job at his country’s embassy in Amman, and it was embarrassing that
his wife was illiterate, so, he encourged her to study.

This study revealed that the education of the children in the family plays an
important role in affecting their mother’s decision to enroll in the adult education
program. If the children were still in school, this would encourage the mother to
study in order to help her children do their work, or at least, so as not to feel inferior
in her knowledge. If the children were educated, they would encourage their mother
because they realized the importance of education and did not want their mother
to be prevented from it. The illiterate children and the school dropouts did not
encourage their mothers to study because if they did, it would look as if they admit
their mistake of not continuing their education.

The women’s need to work appeared in the study in two categories of students;
the widows and the divorced. Two of the three widows in the study needed work
because they were the only supporters and providers for their families. Because of
the contradiction between school hours and their jobs, and because they got exhausted
from work, they had to quit school. The one exception was one lady who did not have
young children to support, and was living comfortably with her son. The divorced
lady needed to work and be independent because she wanted to be able to support
her children.

The effect of friends and relatives on the woman’s decision to continue her edu-
cation was significant. The pressure of peers and cohort groups affected the women’s
attitude towards education. The study revealed that many students who were enrolled
in the program, whether related or not, tried to keep their enrollement in the center
confidential. They did not tell everybody they knew about their decision because
they were worried about other people’s attitude.

Although many of the adult students did not complain in so many words about

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the quality of education, many of them could not read or write very well or solve
mathematical problems. They did not know what the reason for their failure was.
They know that they were not doing very well at school. The teachers tried to make
things easy for them, but this turned out to decrease the students’ satisfaction with
the program except for a small number of students who were doing well. Those
students had a successful school experience in the past but for some reason had to
quit. The students with no school experience did not show as much progress.

The data revealed that although a large number of students in the centers were
older ladies, they were the ones most likely to dropout after their goals were achieved.
Usually their goals did not include continuing their education or getting a diploma,
rather, they were only concerned with being able to recognize the letters and being
able to read. They lacked motivation to continue their education. But, on the other
hand, the young students who were highly motivated to finish their studies and get a
diploma, in many cases, had to leave the program because of different reasons. The
study revealed that there is no direct correlation between age and dropping out. In
other words, it cannot be claimed that the young students stayed in the program and
the older ones dropped out.

The experience of the adult students in the center did not seem to have a big effect
on the decision of other students to enroll. Except in a very small number of cases,
most of the students in the center did not know each other. The social and familial
pressure on the students from the outside was greater than the encouragement they
got from their peers in the centers.

The study also revealed that the school environment played an important role in
affecting the students’ decision to drop out.The availability of transportation to and
from the centers was, according to the majority of students, a very important factor
in affecting the students’ willingness to continue coming to the center. Those students
lived a few blocks from the center. Although they could walk to and from the center,
and many of them did, especially at the beginning of the school year, many of them
said that they were not sure they would be able to keep it up in the winter. Some

older ladies said that they got tired from walking all that distance. They were poor,

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so, they did not have their own cars and could not afford to take a taxi every day.
Besides, the bus did not pass near the school. So, it was considered a problem for
both the older ladies and the younger ones who felt it was dangerous to walk alone
especially at night.

The centers were located in traditional school buildings. This was considered an
inconvenience to the students because, sometimes, the adult education classes were
held at the same time when the young students had recess or during their lunch
hour. It would be very noisy for the adult students to concentrate on what was being
taught.

The seats in the classes were not comfortable for the adult students. They were
the same seats used by the young students in the morning. They were arranged in
rows which limited the students’ interaction with each other and did not encourge
whole group discussions. The lecturing method was the one used and the teachers
did not give the students any large group activities or assignments.

The students were not given a break to relax in the two hour period. They were not
allowed to use the telephone, in fact, there was no telephone available for emergencies
in any center.

The data showed that the although the centers were opened for the benefit of the
adult students, they were not equiped to provide the desired comfortable learning
environment for the students.

The last question in the research study was about the kind of pressures the stu-
dents experience after enrolling in the program. The study showed that the pressures
vary according to the age of the student. For instance, the single students faced family
pressure and interference in their lives from different family members, and were under
the influence of the decision maker in the family. The married students had familial
responsibilities and had to take care of other members of the family. The widows
had to work in order to support themselves and their children and the one divorced
lady had personal problems with her family about the custody of her children that

diverted her attention from education. It seemed that no matter what the degree of

115

students’ commitment was, they had outside pressures that interfered with their edu-
cation. Although these pressures might have existed before the students’ enrollement
in class, their effect in interfering with their future plans was not apparent to them
until they enrolled in the program.

The study also revealed that although the people in the Ministry of Education
think that they are doing their best in advertising the availabilty of the adult edu-
cation programs, the message does not reach all the potential students. So, there is

a need to change and improve the methods used to announce the programs to the

public.

Chapter 5

 

Summary, Conclusions, and
Recommendations

5.1 Introduction to Problem

Successful development of any nation cannot take place without the development
of the people. Development must take place among the people to increase their social
and cultural experiences in order to help them gain a greater understanding of the
world around them.

The adult illiteracy problem is considered to be the most significant concern in
any nation in the world, whether in developed or under developed countries. Much
effort has been made to reduce illiteracy among the illiterate people and to raise their
standards of living. Many different ways are conducted and expanded to reach the
people in both rural and urban areas in the world.

It has been assumed that literacy education programs for female students should
be an important segment of the total educational system in Jordan. Although the
Ministry of Education and the Department of Adult and Literacy Education establish
and supervise many literacy education centers, the high rate of dropouts affects the

success of literacy education programs.

5.2 Purpose of Study

The purpose of this study was to determine the reasons behind female students’

decision to drop out from the adult and literacy program in a specific school district.

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117

It was believed that information of this kind will enable the Ministry of education to
provide programs that will be acceptable to the adult students and encourage larger
enrollement and regular attendance and decrease the number of the dropouts.
Previous Jordanian studies related to adult education have examined the programs
available and the problems adult students face. No special attention was given to the
problems adult female students face. This is especially important considering the

important role women play in the society.

5.3 Procedure

In this study, ethnographic methods were used to explore the reasons behind
dropping out from female adult and literacy education programs in a school district
in Amman, Jordan. The data for this study was gathered by conducting interviewes,
taking fieldnotes, and observing the participants. The particpants in the study were
eighteen students enrolled and eleven dropouts. The four teachers in the centers and
four adult education administrators participated in the study, too. The study was
conducted in four adult education centers in the Oasis school district in Amman,
Jordan. The study was conducted for five weeks in November and December of 1988.
The participants were given forms that indicated that participation in this study was
voluntery, and the identity of the participants will remain anonymous, and that the
information gathered will not be used to evaluate either the students’ progress or the
teachers’ performance. The students who participated in the study were categorized
according to their age, occupation, and marital status. The names and adresses of
the dropouts were obtained from the schools, and after consulting with the teachers,
it was found out that the best way to get in touch with the dropouts was to ask them
to come to the center. Upon the teachers’ request and the help of other students
and neighbours of the dropouts, the researcher was able to meet with the students
and ask them to volunteer in the study. The information given by the students
was compared with the field notes, notes gathered by participant observation, and

information provided by the teachers in the center to test its validity. The questions

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asked to the students were the research questions stated at the beginning of the study.
The researcher analyzed the information given, and the situation of the students was
analyzed case by case to find patterns to categorize the problems the students face

and the reasons behind their decision to drop out.

5.4 The Findings

Although the study was limited to a small number of participants in one school
district, the results can be generalized to understand the problems the adult female
students in Jordan face because the population there is small, (3 million), and ho-
mogenious. The success of literacy education programs can largely be achieved by
understanding the factors that make the students drop out. These factors were cate-

gorized as follows:
(i) The social factor.
(ii) The psychological factor.
(iii) The economic factor.
(iv) The educational factor.

(v) Factors that deal with the school environment.

5.4.1 The Social Factors

(i) Disapproval of the spouse or family members.

(ii) The attitude towards adult and literacy education programs.

5.4.2 The Psychological Factors

(i) People’s attitude toward adult and literacy education.

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(ii) Suffering from a handicapping condition that prevented the student from
learning, decreased her ability to learn, or made her shy or uncomfortable

attending school.
(iii) Students’ inability to remember all what has been taught to them.

(iv) Being surpassed at school by younger students or one’s own children.

5.4.3 The Economic Factors

(i) Engaging in a job that is physically demanding which makes the student too

exhausted to attend school.

(ii) Having to work at the same time when classes are held.

5.4.4 The Educational Factors

(i) Ignoring the input of the students when making educational decisions.

(ii) Teachers’ ignorance of the methods that would encourage the students to

learn and achieve.

(iii) Lack of interaction and communication between the teachers and the stu-

dents.
(iv) Using the text as the only instructional method.
(v) The material covered in the text was not interesting to the students.
(vi) The sudden shift in the complexity of subjects taught especially in math.
(vii) Combining the first four grades in two.
(viii) The carelessness of the teachers in performing their jobs.
(ix) Closing the center because of the small number of students in it.

(x) The tuition students have to pay to enroll in the informal education program.

5.4.5
(0
(ii)
(iii)

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Factors that Deal with the School Environment

Lack of facilities that are important for the adult students.
Inavailability of public transportation to and from the centers.

Locating the centers in noisy school buildings.

The qualitative data suggest that there are many interrelated factors that affect

the students’ decision to drop out from the adult education centers. What seemed to

be important is not the quantity of the subjects covered in the centers or the hours

spent there, rather, the relationship the students form with the teachers in the centers

and the quality of the education they receive play an important role in their attitude

towards the centers. Further, the study suggests the importance of understanding the

motives behind enrolling in the centers as well as the reasons behind dropping out.

5.5
(i)

(ii)

(iii)

Recommendations

A more serious application of the compulsory education law which is sig-
nificant in eliminating or, at least, reducing the sources of illiteracy. This
implies keeping record of school age children in each school district and forc-
ing the parents to send their children to school even if it means using the

police force or court orders.

Cooperation between the different ministries in the country is essential in the
implementation of the Educational Laws. For instance, the Ministry of Labor
prohibits the employment of youngesters under 16 years of age where in fact
the majority of unskilled labor is composed of young children in that age

range. The possibility of getting work is tempting for some needy students

to leave school.

Improving the elementary school. This means hiring qualified teachers who

are prepared to teach elementary school children. Usually, the university

 

121

graduates are assigned to teach preparatory and secondary school children,
whereas community college graduates teach the elementary school children.
Improving classroom instruction is essential in improving the achievement of
the students. Whole group instruction is the only method used to teach the
students. Combining this method with ability grouping and special education

for children who need it will increase the achievement of the students.

(iv) Making education meaningful to the students. This will happen if the stu-
dents can find jobs after they graduate, and if they feel that education con-

tributed to the improvement of their lives.

(v) Canceling the tuition usually paid to enroll in informal education programs in

order to give the adult students a chance to continue their higher education.

(vi) Improving the curriculum designed for the adult students, making it more
interesting, and making it compatible with the curriculum taught in regular

school.

5.6 Reflections

One of my professors at Michigan State University once said “When you want
to choose a topic for your research, choose a topic you can live with because you will
spend a long time thinking, breathing and living your topic, ” and he was right. During
this research project, I faced many difficulties and experienced many emotions, the
greatest of which was the joy of getting my research organized and written.

I believe that conducting a fieldwork research requires a big effort and demands a
great responsibility. The researcher is not only responsible for organizing and analyz-
ing the data collected, but also has to be objective and acqurate in pointing out the
places where the data failed him / her or where it contradicted some of the hypotheses
he/ she had.

When I was thinking about choosing a topic for my research, I knew that I wanted

to do something that concerns and affects women in Jordan. Jordan is a young country

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and is developing in many areas, one of which is providing education for all members
in the society including illiterate men and women. Being a woman, and having the
responsibility of a wife, a mother, and a student made me feel close to the adult
female students and able to relate to them and the problems they face in pursuing
their education.

Although I had some research questions in mind before entering the site, new
questions came to my mind as I was conducting the study. The reason for these
questions to occur was that I did not have a full and clear picture about the whole
situation of adult and literacy education until I got to the centers and talked to the
teachers and students there. A major question was the definition of the adult student.
A definition in terms of who the students in the centers are, where do they come from,
what is their age range, what are there goals, and what motivated them to enroll.
When I used to think about the adult students, I never thought of them in diflerent
categories like single, young married, older married, widows and divorced students as
they turned out to be in the centers where I conducted the research. I used to think
of them as a one unit.

My main concern during the study was to find out the reasons behind students’
dropping out from the center, but what I found relevant and very important is finding
out the reasons behind their enrollment. This was very important because, as it
turned out, most of the time, when the students’ goals were achieved, they would
leave the program without finishing it. Although it is very important to encourage
the students to enroll in the program, it is equally important to understand their
motivation to enroll if the problem of adult education dropouts is to be solved.

Another point that came up during the research is that the success of adult ed-
ucation programs is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Education alone, but it
is a social issue and needs the help and concern of the different governmental insti-
tutions. I used to think that the Ministry of Education is the one responsible, but
what I saw and heard about the problems the adult students face in their lives made
me wonder about the role of the other ministries, like the Ministry of Transportation,
the Ministry of Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Labor.

 

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I used to think that living in a homogenious society with a small population means
sharing the same values and beliefs with the other members of the society. I realized,
during the study, that this is not necessarly true. There is a very big difference in the
life styles of the haves and the have nots. What surprised me the most was the family
structure of the poor. In general, in a nuclear family, it is the parents who make
the decisions in the family. Even if one of the parents is dead, the other one takes
the whole responsibility. But the situation is different in most low socio-economic
families. The parents give this responsibility to the older son or to the one who is
working and supporting the family. Sometimes, the parent, especially the father loses
his authority if he does not work any more.

Although many families, especially the ones from low socio-economic status, in
the Jordanian society are male oriented, I used to think that the older women in those
families, especially the mothers, try to change this attitude and give their daughters
the rights they deserve. But I found that the older women, too, share this attitude and
they favor the male over the female. In many cases the reason is that the mothers can
depend on their sons to work and support the family and protect the other members,
whereas the females cannot do that.

Another point that came up during the study which I never thought of before,
was the relationship that exists between literacy education and informal education
and its effect on the adult students. Literacy education covers grades one through
six. Students who wish to continue their education beyond the sixth grade, have to
enroll in another program called the Informal Education Program. This is different
from the literacy program in the sense that students have to pay tuition. This was
considered a problem because many students could not afford to pay tuition. Another
point relates to this matter is that all of the teachers in the female literacy education
centers were females. But many teachers in the female informal education centers were
males because there were not enough qualified female teachers who would want to do
extra work in the afternoon. The informal education program prepares the students
for the General Secondary Education Examination. The subjects that are taught in

the informal education centers are the same as the ones taught in the regular school

 

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program. They need highly qualified teachers to teach subjects for the secondary level.
So, the Ministry cannot recruit any person who is willing to teach as what happens
in the literacy education program. The Ministry has to hire qualified teachers to
teach in the informal education centers to be able to serve the increasing number of
students enrolled in the program. The problem arises when many very conservative
families object to the situation and refuse to let the females join the program. Many
girls in the literacy education centers expressed their disappointment because their
families would not allow them to enroll in the informal education program for this
reason.

Those were some of the new questions and ideas that emerged while conducting
the study. They helped me in getting a broader perspective about the study, its
subjects, and implications.

Before entering the site, and conducting the study, the researcher had a number
of hypotheses about the study. One hypothesis was that there was a gap between the
teachers and the adult students. The data suggested that this was true. The teachers
were not trained or qualified to teach adult students. They were graduates from
two-year community colleges with no special training in teaching adults. They knew
nothing about the different developmental stages of the adult students. They did not
treat the adult students different than the way they treated school age children. The
teachers were from a higher social class than most of the students. They knew nothing
about the students and the special problems they face, and they did nothing to help
solve these problems. The relationship between the teachers and the students would
end as soon as the students leave the center in the afternoon. The motivation for
the adult students to enroll in the program was to get better at reading and writing,
whereas the motivation for the teachers to teach in the center, in most cases, was to
increase their income. The commitment of the two parties was not equal.

Another hypothesis the researcher had was that the standardized curriculum
would not be suitable for all the students around the country. The needs and in-
trests of the students vary according to their gender, age and background. The

standardized curriculum limits the creativity of the teacher. The study confirmed

 

125

these hypotheses. The material covered in the reading text was not interesting to the
students in the centers. The material discussed life in the country, and the problems
the farmers face there. The students knew almost nothing about that. The curricu-
lum provided for the female adult students lacked subjects that might be interesting
and important for the adult students, subjects that might help them become better
mothers and housewives, since many of them lack these skills. The curriculum was
designed to teach the students the basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics.
Functional literacy was not stressed. Subjects that teach the students the skills and
gives them the information about the way to run there daily lives were not available.

Another hypothesis was that if family members rejected the enrollment of the
female students in the program, they would be likely to drop out. The study confirmed
this hypothesis. The attitude of the other family members turned out to be significant
in affecting the female’s decision to drop out, especially if the students was single and
living with the family.

One hypothesis was that the need to work and find a job was not significant in
the students’ decision to enroll in the program. The study revealed that the students
goals for enrolling in the program varied according to age and socio- conomioc status.
Almost all of the older married students, except for two, wanted to learn how to
read and write in order to read the Holy Quran. They were not concerned about
getting a diploma. The other two students wanted to finish their education and get
the diploma to improve their self image. The need to work was not apparent in their
goals. The goals for the young married students for attending the program were to
feel more confident in themselves, and to be able to help their own children do their
school work. There was one divorced student, and her goal was to get a diploma so as
to be able to work and find a job. The young single students’ goals were to complete
their education so as to improve their life styles, gain more respect from other, and
have better chances in life like being married to the right man.

The researcher had a hypothesis that many old people do not need to work in order
to support themselves. But the study revealed that sometimes, when the husband is

dead, and the mother is the only supporter of the family, she has to work in order

 

126

to support her children. One discrepant case was the widow who had to work as a
cleaning lady in order to support herself. This case contradicted the general norm
that the children would take care of their elderly parents when they grow up.

Another hypothesis that was contradicted by the findings of the study stated that
the the older the student was, the more likely it would be for her to drop out from the
program. The study revealed that age is not very significant in affecting the number
of the dropouts. Although it was clear that the enrollment of the older students is, in
most cases, a short one, the number of young students who leave the program before
finishing it is quite large, too.

The study revealed that the psychological factor was significant in increasing the
number of the dropouts, especially when the students were embarrassed by going
to the centers. But there was a discrepant case where one of the students was a
foreigner. She was German married to a Jordanian. She seemed to be from a higher
socio-economic class than most of the students. She was not embarrassed about
going to the center because it was apparent to everybody that she needed to learn
the language because she was a foreigner and not because she was a school dropout.

Those were some of the new ideas and thoughts that occured during the study,

and some of the facts that confirmed or contradicted some hypotheses the researcher

had before conducting the research.

 

127

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