CHARACTERISTICS, PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF MARRIED WOMEN STUDENTS AT LANSING COMMUNITY COLLEGE I965 Thesis for the Degree of Ed. D. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Beverly English Hunt 1966 [vapIRY Sun W, . This is to certify that the thesis entitled CHARACTERISTICS, PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF MARRIED WOMEN STUDENTS AT LANSING COMMUNITY COLLEGE 1965 presented by BEVERLY ENGLISH HUNT has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for ED. D. degree in Education Z l// . I: In 'fi" 1 ‘1‘. I" I . \— -( .K_ a. «A, . f f AALJ Major professor Date November 28, 1966 0-169 ABSTRACT CHARACTERISTICS, PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF MARRIED WOMEN STUDENTS AT LANSING COMMUNITY COLLEGE 1965 by Beverly English Hunt The primary purpose of this study was to describe the married women students at Lansing Community College and to discover why they were going to college, what problems they faced, and what their perceptions were of their family and friends attitudes about the dual role of student and homemaker. This information was gathered through questionnaires, interviews, and the official re- cords of the Registrar's Office. Questionnaires were mailed to one-hundred forty- one women who stated they were married at the time of registration spring term 1965. The questionnaire was constructed to gather personal and family data about the student, the problems she experienced in continuing education, family attitudes about the student's attend— ing college, and suggestions for ways in which Lansing Community College could better serve married women students. Interviews were held with forty-seven of the one- hundred twenty-three women who responded to the Beverly English Hunt questionnaire. The interview sample was selected at ramdom from four groups of respondents. The respondents were grouped according to age, students over twenty—five and under twenty-five years, and according to attendance status, students attending part-time and full-time. The official records of the Registrar's Office at Lansing Community College were used to obtain information about the number of married students enrolled at Lansing Community College and the curriculum and grade-point average of married and single women students. The major finds and conclusion of the study were: (1) Approximately twenty-five percent of the women stu- dents enrolled at Lansing Community College during the spring term of-l965 were married. (2) Seventy percent of the married women students were attending college part- time. (3) The highest percentage, sixty-eight percent, of married women were twenty-five years or older. (A) Marriage and lack of financial means were major reasons these women gave for not continuing their education after high school. (5) Almost all of the women had started their college education at Lansing Community College. (6) Those women who had children were not waiting until their children were grown before continuing their edu- cation. (7) The grade-point average of married women students was significantly higher than the grade-point average of single women when the two were compared using a t test. (8) Further education and/or definite Beverly English Hunt vocational goals were planned by eighty—five percent of the women. (9) Pressures of time were the greatest source of problems of married women students. (10) Over twenty— five percent of the husbands were currently students and were attending college on a part—time basis. (11) The friends and families of married women students were re- ported to be generally encouraging the students to continue their education. Husbands were the most encouraging family members, and mothers of the students next encour- aging. The husbands with some college training were generally more encouraging than husbands with less than college educations. (12) Early parental attitudes about education were generally encouraging, however, the decision to attend college was usually left to the daughter, and (13) The amount of education of the families of younger women was much more extensive than for older women. Recommendation made by the married women students attending Lansing Community College included the need for more counseling services, day time classes in longer blocks of time, and more parking and child care facilities. Recommendations for the counseling of women and girls included the need to help young women accept the fact that the majority of them will play a‘dual role for some period of their lives. This emphasizes the need for planning and replanning that is neither too specific or too short termed. Counseling of mature women should Beverly English Hunt help women assess their strengths and plan a realistic individual educational program considering the avail- ability of time and the demands of other responsibilities. Mature women should be asked about previous college credits that may apply to present programs. The counselor should be alert to indications of a need for financial aids information. It was recommended that further study be made of these students to determine the effects of time on their motivation, their families, and their goals. The involve- ment of the families of the students in a study would give more depth to understanding the effect of the stu- dents attending college on individual family members as well as on the family as a whole. CHARACTERISTICS, PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF MARRIED WOMEN STUDENTS AT LANSING COMMUNITY COLLEGE 1965 By Beverly English Hunt A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION Department of Education 1966 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to express her appreciation to Dr. Lucille Barber, Dr. Wilbur Brookover, and Dr. Walter Johnson for their interest and assistance in her graduate program. Special appreciation is offered to Dr. Willa Norris for her encouragement without which this study could not have been completed. Gratitude is expressed to all the students who partic- ipated in the study and to Mr. Kenneth Sproull, Dean of Students at Lansing Community College, for assistance in the collection of the data. The author is especially grateful to her husband, John, and her children, John and Andrea, for their encouragement, assistance, and patience, for they truly enabled the author to undertake and complete this study. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter I. THE PROBLEM II. III. IV. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . Statement of the Problem . . . . . . .. Importance of the Study . . . Definition of Terms Limitations . . . . . . . . . . Organization of the Remainder of the Study REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . Enrollment Trends of Married Women Students in Colleges and Universities . . . . Changing Life Patterns of Women and Women's Education . . . . . . . . . . Vocational Changes Affecting the Continuing Education of Women . . . . . . Motivation of Married Women Students Summary . . . . . . . . PLANNING AND CONDUCTING THE STUDY Introduction . . , . . . . . Methods of Procedure . . . ANALYSIS OF DATA . . . . Enrollment Trends of Married Women Students Description of Married Women Students , The Families of Married Women Students . . Students‘ Perception of Family Attitudes About the Students Attending College Implications for Meeting the Needs of Married Women at Lansing Community College 111 Page ii Kbdqunrrw ll ll l2 16 26 28 31 3A 3A 34 44 A6 50 65 72 76- Page V. SUMMARY OF PERSONAL INTERVIEWS . . . . . 80 The Women Interviewed . . 81 Reactions of the Students to the Interview . 82 Earlier Home and School Experience . . . 8A Reasons for Attendance in College . . 88 The Effect of the Dual Role on Relationships Within the Family . . . 93 Suggestions for Lansing Community College . 102 VI. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS . 104 Summary . 10A Implication for Meeting the Needs of Married Women Students at Lansing Community College . . . . 115 Recommendations for the Counseling of Girls and Women . . . . 116 Recommendations for Lansing Community College . . . . . 118 Recommendations for Further Study . . . . 119 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 iv Table 10. 11. 12. LIST OF TABLES Percent of Married Students Enrolled in Colleges or Professional Schools in the United States: October 1956— October 1963 . . . . . . A Comparison of the Total Number of Married Women Students with the Number of Married Women Student Respondents to the Questionnaire The Interview Sample Randomly Selected from the Respondent Group . . . . . Married Men and Women Students Enrolled at Lansing Community College Since Spring Term 1963 . . . . . . . . . . A Comparison of Female College Students in the United States with Female College Students Attending Lansing Community College. . . . . . . . . . Characteristics of Married Women Students Enrolled at Lansing Community College Spring Term 1965. . . . . . . . The Number of Children in the Families of Married Women Students. . . . . . Age Level of the Youngest Child of Married Women Students . . . . . . Major Curriculums of Women Students Enrolled at Lansing Community College Spring Term 1965. . . . . Employment Experience of Married Women Stu- dents Since Their Marriage . . Educational Goals of Married Women Students. Future Vocational Plans of Married Women Students . . . Page IA 39 39 A7 A8 52 5A 5A 56 59 6O 61 Table Page 13. The Participation of Married Women Stu- dents in College, Community and Recreational Activities . . . . . . 6A 1A. Socio-economic Grouping of Occupations of the Husbands, Fathers, and Fathers-in— law of the Married Women Students. . . 66 15. Socio-economic Grouping of Occupations of Married Women Students, Their Mothers, and Mothers-in-law. . 67 16. Sources of Educational Funds of Married Women Students . . . . . . . . . 69 17. Financial Resources of Married Women Stu— dents . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 18. Level of Education of the Husbands of Married Women Students . . . . . . 71 19. Attitudes of the Families and Friends About Married Women Students Attending College . . . . . . . . . . . 73 20. Assignment of Major Household Responsi- bilities o o a o c o o o o o o 75 21. Problems Expressed by Married Women Stu— dents . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 22. Hours Preferred by Married Women Students for Attending College Classes . . . . 77 23. Recommendations from Married Women Students for Lansing Community College . . . . 79 vi CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Introduction This is a study of married women students at Lansing Community College. It is an attempt to investigate the characteristics of these students and explore their moti- vations and their adjustments as they pursue their dual role of student and homemaker. When higher education was first considered for women, the controversy which ensued was concerned with the question of whether or not women could physically and psychologically handle a program of higher education. It has been accepted that women should be educated. The controversy which con- tinues among educators, sociiogists, psychologists, psy- chiatrists, and others interested in women's education and role in society centers around when a women should be edu- cated and what she should be educated for. The fact that women's life patterns change significantly at different stages in their lives poses the problem for this study. During the early years girls have equal educational opportunities and experiences along with boys. For girls more than boys their education is interrupted by marriage and early child-rearing. When young children are in the home, women are generally there, too. A third of them are tempted or required by circumstances to seek employ— ment generally after the children are in school. After the children have left home still a higher percentage are available for employment, volunteer civic work, new patterns of family living or continuing education.1 Some social and economic forces behind these changes are: easing of household tasks by the use of modern ap— pliances and equipment; need for the services of educated and talented persons in a variety of challenging occu- pations and services; changes in traditional attitudes toward women's work outside the home; higher standards of living desired by our society; and, a greater desire of men and women in all age groups to develop their under- standing of the complexities of modern life and the reali- zation that additional education can bring greater personal enrichment as well as useful job skills.2 The American women today has more freedom of choice regarding how she will live her life than earlier women had. Anne Roe has written about the many different life lOpal D. David (ed.), The Education of Women, Signs for the Future (Washington: American Council on Education 1959), p. 16. 3 21962 Handbook on Women-Workers, United States Department of Labor, Women's Bureau Bulletin 285 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1963), p. 5. 3 In our democracy there are patterns pursued by women. broad and ever-changing choices where decisions are made by the individual woman with many possible educational and vocational choices available, including the decision not to choose. There is no one pattern of education suit- able for all women. Education is an individual matter.“ For many women who wish to continue their education,‘ the community college affords the means by which they can attend college. The relatively low tuition, the geograph— ical convenience, the small classes, and the breadth of courses, which includes occupation-centered business and technical courses, enhance the opportunity for further edu— cation for adults as well as recent high school graduates.5 Public schools, four-year colleges, universities, and community colleges are beginning to study more intensively the many perplexing issues confronting American women. The Commission on the Education of Women stresses the need for more research to be done and the findings disseminated to give tangible aid to individuals and to educational insti- tutions.6 The President's Commission on the Status of 3Anne Roe, The Psychology of Occupation (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1956), p. 233. “Althea K. Hottel, How Fare American Women? (Wash- ington: Commission on the Education of Women American Council and Education, 1955), p. 7 and 19. 5J. W. McDaniel, Essential Student Personnel Egactices for Junior Colleges (Washington: American Association of Junior Colleges, 1962), p. 7. 6Hottel, op. cit., p. 26. Women stated that because of differences in life patterns of women as contrasted with men, the counseling of girls and women is a specialized form of the counseling pro- fession.7 Developmental research with special emphasis on the second half of women's lives is becoming in- creasingly necessary. Statement of the Problem The purpose of this study of married women students is fourfold: (l) to describe these students, (2) to ex- plore their motivations for attending college, (3) to explore their perceptions of the effect of attending college on themselves and their families, and (A) to draw some implications for facilitating the education of married women students at Lansing Community College. The first part of the study will provide a de— scription of married women students who are living with their husbands. The second part of the study will answer the follow- ing questions: 1. Why are these students attending college? 2. What have married women eXperienced at school and at home as they pursue their dual roles? 7American Women, Report of the President's Com- mission on the Status of Women (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1963), p- 13. 8Hottel, op. cit., p. AS. 3. What effect has attending college had on the stu— dents' perceptions of relationships in the home? A. What were the attitudes of the students' parents toward education? What types of experiences did these students have in elementary and high school? How did these experiences affect the students' attitude about education? 5. What educational and vocational plans do these students have? The third part of this study will seek to answer the following questions: 1. What implications does this study have for counseling women students? 2. What implications does this study have for college and community planning for married women students? 3. As a result of this study, what further study is indicated? Importance of the Study An increasing number of married women at all ages are entering or returning to colleges and universities. These women come with varying motivations, family respon- sibilities, and needs. Many of these women will begin or continue their education in community colleges to prepare for transfer to other colleges or universities, to prepare for a vocation, to upgrade present job skills, and/or to contribute to their personal and creative fulfillment. There has been a growing awareness, as shown by the U.S. Department of Labor, that only through higher educa— tional attainment can individuals reach their cultural and economic sphere. Special impetus has been furnished by the increasing demand for workers in occupations which require a higher level of skill and training.9 Present and projected labor statistics point out continued growth in the number of married women who will be working and a continued increase in the educational level of these women.10 As more married women enter community colleges, the responsibility of the college to provide full guidance services and improved college planning rests upon research which grows out of the problems of the married woman student as a learner, as a member of society, and as a person.11 In order to facilitate the education of married women, re— search is needed concerning: (1) the implications for the family when the woman returns to school or takes employment, (2) the career patterns and choices of women who continue their education, (3) the types of financial assistances needed to continue education, and (A) information about the incentives and motivation of women who return to school.12 A study of married women students at Lansing Com— munity College may prove helpful in clarifying these issues —_ 9Trends in Educational Attainment of Women, United States Department of Labor, Women's Bureau (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1965), p. 1. lOIbid., pp. 2—3. 11 . l2Lawrence Dennis, Education and Woman's Life (Wash- ington: American Council on Education, 1963), p. 136-138. David, op. cit., p. 126. for these students. Certainly it should yield some im- plication for the program at Lansing Community College. Definition of Terms Married women students.-—In this study, married women students were those married women who were not widowed or divorced. Full—time student.——These were students who were en- rolled in twelve quarter hours or more of college course work. Part-time student.-—These were students who were en— rolled in less than twelve hours of college course work. Older married women students.-—In this study this phrase refers to women twenty-five years of age and older. Younger married women students.—-These are women twenty-four years of age and younger. Community college.--A two-year college offering a variety of educational programs of an academic and an occu- pational nature, day and evening, for full-time and part- time students.13 Interview.--In this study the term interview means a purposeful directed conversation. The interview has a known established purpose. It is based on a knowledge of, ”—- l 3Leland L. Medsker, The Junior College: Progress and Prospect (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1960), p. 203. human nature and human behavior and an ability to apply that knowledge in human relationships.lu Limitations of the Study The limitations in general are related to the sampling, limited registration information, the question- naire responses and the interview method. 1. Students participating in this study were married women students enrolled at Lansing Community College during the Spring term of 1965. A questionnaire was dis- tributed to all married women students. The interview sample was selected from the married women students living with their husbands who returned the questionnaire. Four sub—groups within this group were identified on the basis of: full-time attendance, part-time attendance, age twenty- five or over, and age twenty—four and under. One—half of the number of each of these sub—groups were randomly se— lected for interviews, except the group of part—time students age twenty—five and over. Because this group was over twice as large as any of the other groups, one- fourth of the number in this group was selected for inter— views and the reSponses were doubly weighted. Using this method of selection, forty-seven married women students were interviewed. -___ l“Elizabeth DeSchweinitz and Karl DeSchweinitz, Interviewing in the Social Sciences (Washington: The National Institute for Social Work Training, 1962), p. 9. 2. The statistics available from the official records of the Registrars Office at Lansing Community College were limited to figures for some terms but not every term since spring term, 1963. As a result, enrollment trends were difficult to assess and comparisons of enrollment at var— ious times of the year could not be made. 3. The time and interest of the questionnaire re- spondents affected the type and thoroughness of their responses. These responses were the basis for the general descriptive picture of the population. A. The amount of time of the interview (average time-~one hour), the student's perceptions of the inter- viewer, and the interview situation, and the rapport which was established affected the amount and depth of material related during the interviews. Organization of the Remainder of the Study The materials and data for this study are presented in the following order: Chapter 11 presents a summary of the literature per- taining to enrollment, life patterns, vocational changes, continuing education, and motivations of married women students. This chapter seeks to present an overview of changes which are taking place and the effect of these changes on the education of women students at all ages. Chapter III deals with the methods and procedures used in the compilation and treatment of data in this study. 10 This chapter describes the gathering of data by the use of questionnaire, interview, and official records. Chapter IV reports the results of the questionnaire survey of married women students giving a general de- scription of these students, their concerns, and sug- gestions. Chapter V presents a summary of the interviews con- ducted with forty-seven married women students. This chapter attempts to present the feelings of these stu— dents as they pursue their dual role and to emphasize the underlying motivations for the students and the effect of being a student on the individual and her family. Chapter VI contains a general summary of the study together with conclusions and recommendations. The Appendix is made up of the following: A. Registration form B. Enrollment questionnaire C. Letter accompanying questionnaire D. Questionnaire CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Introduction There is a growing literature about the needs of educated women, continuing education for women, the changing life cycle of women, and realistic counseling of women. Many observations and Opinions are available on these and related topics; however, there are few research studies that deal directly with married women students. The studies that have been made were concerned with married women stu— dents at four year higher educational institutions. Studies of students at junior or community colleges have been pri- marily descriptive surveys of students' characteristics. Studies which are pertinent to understanding the need and sc0pe of continuing education for women and trends in this area will be reported in this review. The studies and opinions reviewed in this chapter are divided into four parts. The first part deals with the enrollment trends of married women students obtained from census reports, and reports of studies of enrollments at junior or community colleges. The second part presents studies and opinions concerning the changing life cycle of women and the effect of these changes on the education 11 12 of women. This section will provide a summary of con- tinuing education programs for women, including the his- torical development of these programs and an overview of current programs at colleges and universities. The third part presents a summary of current and projected vocational information affecting the continuing education of women. Studies and opinions about the motivation of women who continue their education will be presented in the fourth part. Enrollment Trends of Married Women Students in Colleges and Universities During World War I the President of the University of Washington gave a reception for the first married couple on campus, "Not to celebrate the event, but to avoid misunderstandings which might arise from such an 1 unusual relationship between two university students." Before World War II marriages of students in colleges and universities were quite uncommon. It was the general Opinion that marriage should be postponed until the student had completed college. This attitude has changed in the past twenty years, and now it is common to combine college and marriage. Since 1956, as shown in Table 1, approximately Svend Riemer, "Marriage on the Campus," American §ggiological Review, 3:802-815, December, 1952. 13 one out of four students in the nation's colleges and professional schools were married. An index of the marital status of junior college students from six public junior colleges reported in 1960 showed that twenty—three perCent of the junior college students-were married.2 From the” A,336,000 college students enrolled in American colleges in 1963, 971,000 or twenty-two point four percentkue married. Breaking this number down by sex, twenty-six point one percent of the male college students were married and sixteen percent of the female college students were married. Married college students were more likely to attend on a part—time than on a full-time basis. About one in eight was a full-time student, while approximately three out of every five persons who were attending college part-time were married and living with their spouses. Table 1 presents census figures showing the number, per- centage, and enrollment status of married students enrolled in colleges in October for the years 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, and 1963. Comparable figures for earlier dates are not available.3 2 Medsker, op. cit., p. A5. 3Current Population Reports, U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census Series P—20, No. 129 (Washington: Government Printing Office, July 24, 196A), pp. 11-12. 14 .nmnww DOC mLmDESZQ .Amofimmo wcflpcflnm pcmEcno>oo "Coumsa unmazv some .sm ease .mmma .em mensweamm .mema .HH sees .Hema sass .ooma .mm as: .mmma «mm gonna .mmma .ma ammsnnmm .mmma .om Hend< nmamcoo mo smonsm .monoEEoo mo pcoepnmdma .m .D «mofiumfihopomnmso coeumHSQOm Awesommm coflpmHSQUm pudendum m.m: med :.mm ma: m.sm Ham msasnpnmn mefiecmppa m.o we m.:a :om e.HH 0mm msepiflase mcacemppa o.mH mmm H.0m mag :.mm Hem meme Remorse m.m: OHH H.Hw oz: m.mm omm mElepnmd weeocmpp< H.m mm 5.3H emm H.HH mmm msepuaesc meeecmpce A.HH wee m.em ems e.am mom mama espouse m.mm om 3.5m Ham m.ms an: aseptshmn weeeemssa m.w me m.oa woe m.m mam psepuaasn meeecmcse a.HH men a.nm gem m.an ago Home tenosoo o.m: maa m.mm mo: m.mm 0mm oEleppmd mnencmpu< m.» on H.mH mmm m.mH smm oseplaazm msflocepww m.wm 00H won :0: momm OHm QEflPIDEQQ WQHUCGPU< a”: as e.efi mam m.mH eom mernHHsMQMewmmowoo $.MM NJH 0.0m ONm m.:m me mmmd QOQODOO i mm H in inn m.HH III H.om III 0.2m III mema Len ( II. .IIIIIIIIIIIIII encoded penasz unwound amassz unwound sonesz omSOQm sue; on: d d as mm o m 5p 3 ewe o mmso m nu. oaaoo Ca Umaaoncm CH Wmaaonww w mmoaaoo CH eoflaoncm e when a .omflnpmz .wcfi>aq mpCdUdum mamsmm I! wcfl>flq .Uofinnmz mcfi>fiq mesonsom noes mucopzpm can: use: no amassz Hmpoe mmxmm EWMMHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHU 0 CH is a m . .flbmmwm UQUHCG Ql. WQmiE .maooc A UCmmSOSB Ca mampsszv mmoma LmQOpoOIom©H LmQOBoO . I. l ncmohcmt H o - . m HmQOHmmmmonm no momeaaoo Ca omfiaosnm mpcmnsnm pies: mHmEmm mam: ””“HHHNHNHHHHI _, 1' m: L0 15 Although these figures show a relatively large pro- portion of married persons among the college students, the proportion married was far higher among persons of com- parable ages who were not enrolled in college. Among persons 20 to 34 years old about three—fourths of those not in college were married.“ Nearly all married students have passed their teen years. In 1963, two point one percent of the women students 1A to 19 years of age were married, while thirteen percent of the women students 20 and over were married.5 The Committee on Publication and Research of the National Association of Women Deans and Counselors conducted a "simple survey" of the undergraduate married women enu rolled in higher education in 1960. One hundred insti— tutions were selected for study.. The results of the survey did not include junior colleges, because only one junior college replied to the questionnaire. The survey Yielded a total of more than 5,000 undergraduate married women students. Of these 5,000 individuals, nine percent were under 20 years of age, forty percent were between 20 —g uIbis. (April 30, 1957), p. 1. 5Ibid. p. 1. 16 and 24.9, thirteen percent were from 25 to 29.9, eleven percent from 30 to 34.9, twelve percent from 35 to 39.9, 6 and fifteen percent were over A0. Changing Life Patterns of Women and Women's Education Much has been written about marriage and family for- mation as the most important of all the forces that con- dition the education of women. The trend of the past two decades toward early marriage and the early bearing of reasonably large families has operated to interrupt the education of a large number of women.7 Other factors which have interferred with the education of women are economic pressures upon the parents, work Opportunities available after graduation from high school, and failure of parents to encourage girls to aspire to attend college. These are linked to the assumption that because a girl will marry soon, there is less reason to educate her.8’9 Thus, the pressures resulting from biological needs, the urge for freedom, mobility, and prosperity in our 6Frances DeLisle, "Survey of Undergraduate Married Women," National Association of Women Deans and Counselors, 25:91-A2, October, 1961. ‘ 7Lawrence Dennis, Education and Woman's Life (Wash— ington: American Council on Education, 1963), p. 30. Ibid., p. 31. 9W. W. Ludeman, "Declining Female College Attendance, Causes, and Implications," Educational Forum, 25:507, November, 1960. w— "r': ' .._. —'_ __ 17 society remove the girl in many cases from school often when she is eighteen, nineteen, or twenty years of age.10 Studies of the expectations of girls and young women reflect short-range planning for life goals. One study of adolescent girls reported that these girls had ambivalent attitudes about their educational and vocational future. The majority of the girls aspired to short-range vocational plans and although their educational aspirations were high they looked to college mainly for personal and social ful- fillment.ll Another study of role expectations of young women reported that these women almost unanimously expected that they would marry immediately if not before graduating from college and would have several children in close succession after this. Beyond this their expectation was to "live happily ever after." However, they were vague as to how they thought their ensuing lives might be spent. Marriage and family came first with these young women and they loRebecca Neuman, "When Will the Educational Needs of Women Be Met? Some Questions for the Counselor," Journal of Counseling Psychology, 10:378, Winter, 1963. llMargaret M. Bott, "Feminine Identity & the Edu— cational & Vbcational Plans & Preferences of Adolescent Girls Attending Parochial Schools: A Pilot Study" (un- published Doctoral dissertation, Michigan State Univer- sity, 1962). 18 planned somehow to deal "later" with the expectations and needs that their education and society may have created in them. A survey of the life plans of six hundred seventy- seven women in fifteen colleges revealed that all but one respondent planned to marry, and all six hundred seventy— six who planned marriage also planned to have children. The students expected their college and university edu- cation to prepare them for marriage and motherhood, as well as for employment, in the event of emergency situations. The students tended to see a career as an activity which will take place in the one to two years interim between graduation and marriage or before the birth of their first child. Only sixteen of the respondents planned to work outside the home when their children were small and fifteen percent planned to return to work when their children were in high school.13 In the study of the Commission on the Education of Women the shift in roles which occurs at different life stages was described as "one of the sources of greatest difficulty for individual women."lu 12Ester Lloyd-Jones, "The Commission on the Education of Women Since 1955," Educational Record, 38:255, July, 1957. l3Jane Berry, "Life Plans of College Women," Journal of the National Association of Women Deans and Counselors, 18zA2, 1955. luHottel, op. cit., p. A6. 19 As a young mother a woman is kept busy from soon after marriage until all her children are in school. Her release comes, however, earlier than one might expect. The average mother today is twenty-six when her last child is born. She starts to regain her freedom at the age of thirty-two when her youngest child enters the first grade.15 This period is followed by a new phase of life in which home is still central, but the pattern of roles and”emphasis among multiple responsibilities are almost sure to go through 16 a succession of shifts. As the children become increas- ingly independent many women create new careers for them— selves, some re—enter the labor market, others increase their involvement in less formal and less remunerative but often no less satisfying careers in community affairs, and still others seek readmission to college.17 President Simpson of Vassar thinks our culture offers many opportunities to women and that the traditional 15Easton C. Rothwell, Mills College (Alumni Magazine, October, 1961), p. 2. 16 Lloyd-Jones, o . cit., p. 255. l7Bernice L. Neugarten, "Women's Changing Roles Through the Life Cycle," Journal of the National Association 92 Women Deans and Counselors, 27:163, June, 1961. 2O controversy over marriage and/or a career should be re“ placed by the concept of "a life lived in phases, each with its own opportunity for fulfillment."l8 For women who choose to continue their education after marriage, the factor of timing becomes important. For today's world and tomorrow's changes, women have been en— couraged by some writers to continue their education during and immediately following the child-bearing and toddler years to prepare for the three decades that lie ahead when the children are older.19’2O Many women would like to follow this pattern. A survey of student wives and married women students at the University of Illinois in 1963 showed that of the responding group, eighty percent desired to continue their education with a specific goal in mind. Seventy-two percent of this group was between the ages of twenty to twenty—nine. The majority of these women did not plan to wait until they were thirty-five before going on with their education.21 l8Women's Education, 4:2, March 1965. 19Rothwell, op. cit., p. 10. 20Ruth Hill Useem, "Changing Cultural Concepts in Women's Lives," The Education of Women (Washington: Commission on theIEducation ofIWomen of the American Council on Education, October, 1960), p. 1. 21"First Report on New Surveys," Women's Education, 2:3, September, 1963- 21 However, many other women do choose to wait at home as long as the children are there and the "empty nest" is the point at which they often enter or re-enter the labor market or seek further education.22 This accounts for the increasing group of "retreads", mature women returning to college as undergraduates.23 Many references focusing on women's education refer to the need for higher education in a form which is usable by large numbers of young women who marry in their late teens and early twenties and by women in general with family responsibilities.. The development of present college and university programs for the continuing education of women started in 1951 with the establishment of the National Manpower Council under a grant from the Ford Foundation. This was done to study significant manpower problems and to contribute to the improved development and utilization of the country's ' 24 human resources. In March 1957, the Council published Womanpower, which focused on the role of women in the working population. Three recommendations Of-the Council on the Education of 22Neugarten, op. cit., 24:163. 23Cora H. Myers, "Special Problems Encountered by Mature Women Undergraduates," National Association of Women Deans and Counselors, 27:137, Spring, 1964. - 24Patricia Tautfest,-"Continuing Education Programs and Their Implications for Counselors," National Association 9f Women Deans and Counselors, 27:194, Summer, 1964. 22 Women included the need for improved guidance services for young women of high ability, research on the impact of increased employment of women and provision of adequate facilities to help mature women who want and need additional education. These recommendations were more directly re- lated to the participation of women in paid employment; however, the publication of Womanpower initiated much of the thought and discussion which eventually resulted in continuing education programs for women. The Commission on the Education of Women of the American Council on Education in 1958 began publishing its bulletin, The Education of Women. The focus of this pub- lication was a broadened concept of education for women to include self-expression and personal enrichment for them- selves rather than for material gains alone. The Commission's earlier bulletin established in.l953 served as a line of communication between research workers and administrators of colleges and universities with women in attendance. The result of focusing on the many aspects of this complex problem helped to make many people aware of the need for greater flexibility in educational offerings for women and the need for more realistic preparation of women for coping with the problems of homemaking and com— munity responsibilities. The Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor estab- lished regional offices in the 1950's and stepped up its 23 publications in the areas of employment and vocational information. This provided college and university per- sonnel interested in women's education with more data to emphasize the fact that a substantial number of adult~ women were anxious to seek new modes of personal deveIOp- ment and social contributions. In 1961 The Commission on the Education of Women went out of existence. The American Association of University Women then began publishing Women's Education. This quarterly continues to serve in the same capacity as its forerunner, The Education of Women. In the meantime, President Kennedy established his Commission on the Status of Women which in November 1963 published their findings in American Women. President Johnson has appointed a number of women to important governmental posts. Non-credit courses, workshops, and seminars for adults have been offered for many years through evening and ex- tension courses. However, Patricia Tautfest gives 1959 as the beginning of what is currently referred to as continuing education programs for women. There have been substantial increases in the number of such programs each year.25 One of the most comprehensive programs for facilitating the continuing education of women has been the "Minnesota Plan." This plan was designed to provide the nation with _ fi— 25 Tautfest, op. cit., pp. 194-195. _______.__. ’tz96t ‘Jeqwaoad ‘£:g ‘uorqeohpg SIUBWOM h‘SwGIqOJa Kjtiuepl sdIeH qoaeesegug8 ________ ‘E96I ‘voaew ‘Sza ‘UOIssonpa s,uemoM ”‘uemoM eaniew no; sweJSoag IEIDadSuA 8 'I96I ‘aaqoaoo ‘ora=an ‘pJooaa Teuotqeonpg "‘iaodeg sseJBoad v :uotieonpg Surnuriuoo s,uamoM JOJ uetg eqoseuurw sum“ ‘saepues '1 .A98 is uorsrnaedns IIEU eouaprsea pus Ieuuosued quapnqs u: uamom uIEJq—ea ‘Iieuutouro JO Kitsaantun and is sesanu ureJi-ea ‘qusaantun sueSing is soriemeuqem u: uemom urea; -aa 01 pausrrqeqse ueeq eAeu SESJB pezrteroeds ut uemom eSeIIoo jo Surureaiea eui JO} smeJSoad uotqeonpa-ag 88¢L8'Kpnis amused oq USIM oqm uamom eanqem oi aoueptnS SUIJSJJO saequao eoueptnfi epIAoad ‘ueStqorw jo Kirsaeh —Iun eqi pue aoueaneq ueaes se uons ‘sIoouos Jeuio °weaBoad Kitsaenrun-IIe as ea quoddns pus eoueueiutem sit sue “uetg eqoseuurw“ sun 30 SSIdIOUIJd SutptnS aqL 98°peztseudme sesseto Jeurwes pue Suttnpeuos {steeds qqrm ‘uemon eaniem eui JOJ eoueptnS Ieuosaed pue Ieuotieoon (g) pus SJauqom pue ejrm SunoK eqq JOJ peaotreq Attenptntpur uotieonpe Butnutiuoo (a) {saris elenpsafiaepun eqq is seIoa etdrqInm s,uemom no; uorieaedaad pus uorssnostp (I) :seseud eeaui seq uetd 891 'qqmoaS pus iuamdoIeAap—jtes uSnoauq ssaurddeq Ieuosaed pUIJ uamom dteu oi pue (uemon peieonpa) demoduem teuorqrppe he 25 the University of Illinois, and to train women as research assistants at Hofstra University and the University of Missouri.29’3o’31 These are but a few of the specialized programs de- velOped for continuing education of mature women. Many colleges and universities have encouraged both college graduates and non—graduates to undertake teacher-training programs. A large number of seminars and workshOps have been conducted emphasizing the changing life pattern of women and its effect on education. These workshOps have encouraged women to explore educational, vocational, and civic Opportunities and needs. The University of Wisconsin, Boston University, University of Washington, Roosevelt University, Temple University, and many others have spon— sored such seminars, symposiums, and workshops for women.32 Large numbers of colleges and universities have established committees to examine possibilities for improving educational opportunities for women on their campuses.33 New programs 29Ibid. 0 "Special Programs for Mature Women," op. cit. 31"New Dimensions in Continuing Education for Women," ngen's Education, 4:3, June, 1965. 32Women's Education, 2:3, September, 1962; 2:3, May, 1962; 3:3, December, 1964. 33"Focus on Mature Women, New Projects are Estab— lished," Women's Education, 3:3, March, 1964. 26 are being planned and put into operation throughout the United States and Canada.3u Vocational Changes Affecting the Continuing Education of Women It is important in this study to show that vocational preparation is one of the major motivations for men and women to continue their education. Therefore, a review of the literature concerning changes in the number and per- centage of women who obtained employment, changes in the average age and educational level of employed women, and studies of the reasons women work has been included to show social and economic changes which have encouraged the con— tinuing education of women. A growing number of married women have been and will be dividing their time between home and a job. The 1960 census reported a total of about 22 1/2 million working women, as contrasted with 16 1/2 million in 1950. Approxi— mately two—fifths of the six million increase was attributed to the larger number of women in the population and about three-fifths to the greater tendency for women to enter the work force.35 In November 1964, the 26.2 million women —_ “Eleanor F. Dolan, "Women's Continuing Education: Some National Resources," Journal of the National Assoc- iation of Women Deans and Counselors, 29:34-38, Fall, 1965. 35Why Continuing Education Programs for Women (Wash- ington: United States Dept. of Labor, Women's Bureau, 1963), p. 2. 27 fourteen years of age and over in the labor force repre- sented thirty-five percent of all workers. The latest pro- jections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that the labor force may grow from 77 million in 1964 to 86 mil- lion in 1970 and 101 million in 1980. POpulation increase will be responsible for about 21 million or eighty—seven percent of this change. The rest was attributable to the projected continuation of rising labor force participation rates for adult women.36 The median age of all women workers rose from thirty— six years in 1950 to forty.years in 1960. The sharpest gain was recorded in the group of women forty-five to fifty—five years of age. The proportion in this age group engaged in paid employment rose from twenty-three percent in 1940 to forty-seven percent in 1960.37 The greatest increase in job Opportunities will be found in occupations that require the most education. The rate of growth of the professional and technical group will be twice that of the labor force as a whole, over forty 38 percent in the next ten years. 36Special Labor Force Report, Department of Labor, No. 49 (Washington: G6vernment Printing Office, 196“), p. 129. 37Jane Berry, "Life Plans of College Women," Journal 2: the National Association of Women Deans & Counselors, 18:43, January, 1955. 38Eva B. Hansl, "Patterns of Womanpower: A Pilot SPUdY," Jgurnal of theflflational Association of Women Deans §_§Ounselors, 25:81—87, 1962. 28 Even now the more education a woman has the greater are the chances of her working. According to a 1962 survey made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the proportion of women working outside the home was more than fifty' percent .for college graduates. The number declined with the amount of education of the women. Among high school graduates, about two-fifths worked, and about one-fourth of the grammar school graduates worked.39 These figures remain firm despite the fact that the probability of a woman's working is shown to decline as her husband's income rises. Motivations of Married Women Students Married women who return to school do so facing many obstacles and added responsibilities. Their motivations for returning are widely varied.”0 The prevalent motives include the desire to prepare for a career, the desire for growth and self—improvement, the pressure of society to develop intellect and skills, the need to fulfill an educational goal which began in elementary and secondary school, and an insurance 39Berry, op. cit., p. 43. “OH. Lichtenstein, "The Middle-Aged Co-ed in Evgning College," Adult Education, 13:234, Summer, 19 3. 29 against loneliness when the children are grown and the "next is empty."41,42,43,44,45,46,,47 A study of the characteristics, motivations, and problems of married women students at George Washington University revealed that, even though there are wide variations in the individual characteristics, moti— vations, and problems of married women students, these students desired personal growth and self-improvement and believed the need for intellectual development does not end with marriage. These women were described as "learn- ing oriented." They were high achievers in high school, found reading a favorite leisure activity, and "enjoyed learning." In the student role, few of the mature stu- dents encountered resentment from younger students or ulNeugarten, op. cit., p. 163. u2Shirley Wright Fuska, "Some Masculine Components Are Desirable," Women's Education, 4:5, March, 1965. u3"Mature Women's Career Aspirations and the College," Women's Education, 3:1, March, 1964. “Eleanor Dolan, "Education of Women: A Mid- Century Evaluation," Educational Forum, 2:225, January, 1956. “5Lichtenstein, op. cit., p. 234. 6"Research Helps Identify Problems," op. cit., 2lrzAdams, "Mother is a Co-ed," Women's Education, “=3, March, 1965. 3O discrimination because of age or marital status or found themselves unable to compete with younger students. The conflict between the importance of women remaining at home, preparing for a career, or developing intellectual potentialities bothered thirty percent of the women studied. Further indication that this conflict exists appeared when some husbands failed to encourage wives to seek degrees, and some parents, in-laws, and friends failed to understand why degree programs were under- taken.“8 A report on a special program for women at the University of Akron summarizes data collected during a ten-week non-credit session. Findings indicated the majority of the women enrolled in this course were motivated for further study for "personal fulfillment.”9 A report of a study exploring the reasons why mature women return to college indicated that intel- lectual growth was as significant to them as economic and professional objectives and that "the hardest part about returning to school is getting started."50 uBHenry Carroll, "Mature Women, Career Aspirations and the Colleges," Women's Education, 3:1, March, 1964. ugResearch Helps Identify Problems," Women's Education, 3:3, December, 1964. 50Adams, op. cit. 31 A study of the motivations of middle-aged women students in evening college at the University of Nebraska described the underlying motivation of preparing for a career as a (1) defense against loneliness and emptiness which women fear may ensue when the children are grown and the household responsibilities are fewer, (2) partly a need to prove worth as something other than a housewife and mother, and (3) partly a desire to earn additional income for the individual and her family, either in the form of necessities or extras which her family has never been able to afford. Closely related to the above motivations were the conflicts in motives revealed by the study. Many of the middle—aged students were anxious about being able to learn when they returned to school and many had feelings of guilt about neglecting their families because of their added school 51 responsibilities. Summary Approximately one—fourth of the students on college campuses are married. The limited information about junior college students indicates the same general distribution. Women more than men leave school because of marriage. Because of the early age of marriage and child rearing, longer life, better health, more labor saving devices, and —_ l . 5 Lichtenstein, Op. c1t., p. 236. 32 changes in attitudes about employment and increasing oppor— tunities for employment, and increasing interest in edu— cational deveIOpment, more women are continuing their education. Young women often have a limited view of their future. They Often see higher education as a social Opportunity and a preparation for a brief work experience before marriage, possibly to be continued after marriage until the first child is born. Statistics show, however, that more women are working after age thirty—five than ever before, and the more edu— cation a woman has the greater likelihood that she will work. The greatest number of Opportunities for employment and community service are in areas requiring college training. Because of the availability of time, the needs of the individual and society, and the increasing availability of higher education, more women are continuing their edu— cation at various stages in their lives. Studies dealing with the motivation of women returning to school have found the main motivations are the need for self—development, insurance against loneliness, concern about intellectual obsolescence, and a need for meaningful experiences which are rewarded. Programs to enable the continuing education of women have been and are being developed at numerous colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada. 33 Liberalized policies of credit transfer, part-time attend— ance, and curriculum requirements have been a part of these programs. Specialized training programs at the graduate level in shortage areas such as nursing, research assistants, and teaching were reported. At the undergraduate level seminars, workshops, non-credit and credit courses, along with counseling services and individual planning have been combined in numerous ways to provide women with educational Opportunities. The review of literature presented in this chapter reflects the effect of changes within the lives of indi- vidual women and society which have resulted in increased interest in women's education and in efforts to provide educational opportunities for women. CHAPTER III PLANNING AND CONDUCTING THE STUDY Introduction The primary purpose of this study was to eXplore the status of married women students at Lansing Community College, including their motivations, their problems, and their perceptions of the attitudes of their families and friends toward their dual role of student and homemaker. The secondary objectives were (1) to describe the married women students attending Lansing Community College, (2) to compare enrollment trends of married women students nationally with community colleges in the state of Michigan, and with Lansing Community College, (3) to present infor- mation related to the changing patterns of women's lives and the effect of these changes on the plans of women educationally and vocationally, and (4) to present a summary of continuing education programs for women students at colleges and universities. Methods of Procedure The pOpulation was drawn from questionnaires filled out by all woman students during registration for spring 34 35 term during March of 1965. Six hundred and eighty-five woman students filled out the questionnaire asking their marital status.1 This procedure was carried out for day and evening students and for full-time and part-time students. A question designed to give a general description of married women students, their educational and vocational goals, their perceptions of family attitudes about their attending college, their problems and concerns as a stu- dent and homemaker and their recommendations for Lansing Community College was pre-tested on twenty-five married women students in February of 1965. In April of 1965 the questionnaire was mailed to all married women attending Lansing Community College spring term 1965.2’3 Seventy-seven replies were received. Two reminders were mailed, one in May and one in June 1965, to those students who had not returned the questionnaire. An additional thirty-three responses were received after the May mailing and the final thirteen responses were received after the June mailing. Questionnaires were returned by one-hundred twenty-three or eighty—seven point two per— cent of the women. The distribution of the returned questionnaires is presented in Table 2. 1A copy of the questionnaire is in the Appendix. 2Anne M. Lee, "A Study of Married Women College Students," Journal of the National Association of Women Deans and Counselors, 24:132, April, 1961. 3A copy of the questionnaire is in the Appendix. 36 Since the description of married women students and the selection of students for interviewing were af- fected by the enrollment status and the age of the stu— dent, it was significant that the group of students that responded to the questionnaire closely resembled the total pOpulation. A comparison of the full-time and part—time married women students who returned the questionnaire with the total population of married women students is shown in Table 2. In the total popu— lation, thirty percent of the students were full—time students and seventy percent of the students were part- time. Of the respondent group, thirty—two percent of the students were full-time students and sixty-eight percent were part—time students. Comparing the age distribution of the two groups, of the total population sixty-eight percent were twenty-five years of age or over and thirty—two percent were twenty-four years of age or under. In the respondent group sixty—seven per- cent were twenty-five years of age or over and thirty- three percent were twenty-four years of age or under. The data from the questionnaires was tabulated following the return of the questionnaire. This in— formation was presented in table form. Three free response items were included in the questionnaire. 37 These were: 1. What are the practical problems which you feel have arisen from your double responsibilities?' 2. Would you recommend that a girl go on to college? If yes, before or after marriage? Why? 3. How could Lansing Community College serve you better as a married woman student? Responses to these open—ended questions were compiled and classified according to categories which were developed from the types of responses made to the questions. These responses provided areas which were pursued in more detail in the interviews. The responses also indicated some implications for the counseling Of married women students and ways Lansing Community College could better meet the needs of married women students. Only married women students living with their husbands were selected for interviews. The respondents to the ques— tionnaires were divided into four groups. The groups con- sisted of the following: (a) full—time students twenty- four years of age and younger, (b) full—time students twenty— five years of age and older, (c) part—time students twenty- four years of age and younger, and (d) part-time students twenty—five years of age and older. One half of groups a, b, and c were selected at random for interview by the use of a table of random numbers. Because of the size of group d, one-fourth of this group was selected at random for 38 interviews by the use of a table of random numbers, and the results were doubly weighted. The number selected for interview and the total number of respondents in each group are shown in Table 3.“ The interviews with each of the forty-seven students in the sample was conducted, whenever possible, in a counseling office setting. Two of the women in the sample no longer attended Lansing Community College and because of their schedule of work, could only be interviewed by telephone. Each interview was approximately one hour in length. The students were told that a study was being made of married women students at Lansing Community College to determine if the college could be of additional help to these students. The appropriateness of the interview in an explor- atory study was summarized by Gorden Hamilton in her book Theory and Practice of Sppial Casework, "Because a human being can think and talk as well as feel and experience, what he can tell us of his situation becomes the chief medium for exploration, discussion, explanation, and estab- lishing a positive relationship."5 4 Table 3 is on page 39. 5 Gorden Hamilton, Theory and Practice of Social Casework (New York: Columbia University Press, 19517, p. 51. 39 TABLE 2.--A Comparison of the Total Number of Married Women Students With the Number of Married Women Student Respondents to the Questionnaire. Age 25 & Over Are 24 & Under Total Num— Per— Comparisons of: Number Percent Number Percent ber cent Full-time students Total population 27 19 16 ll 43 30 Respondents 25 20 15 12 40 32 Part-time students Total population 69 49 29 21 98 70 Respondents 57 47 26 21 83 68 Totals Total population 96 68 45 32 141 100 Respondents 82 67 41 33 123 100 TABLE 3.--The Interview Sample Randomly Selected from the Respondent Group. Full-Time Students Part-Time Students Age Group Randomly Randomly Total Selected Total Selected Age 24 years or less 16 8 26 13 Age 25 years or more 25 12 57 14 Total 20 27 40 The interviews were partially structured, but the students were free to express themselves on all topics. Whenever a response invited deeper questioning, this was explored further. It was during these moments of insight that the student was able to revealmore of herself and her motivational structure. A 7 So that the interviews would provide similar types of material,an outlinewas prepared by the interviewer. However, the same order was not used in each interview. The order evolved with each interview. The interview was used to.gather information about the student's earlier educationa1.experiences, past and present family attitudes about education, motivations for starting college, and problems encounted as a college student at school and at home. During the forty—seven interviews the following general outline was followed: I. Background A. Place of birth. B. Number and ages of the student's children. C. Husband's occupation. D. Number Of terms at Lansing Community College E. Number of credits presently carried. F. Curriculum major. II. History A. Why didn't the student go on to college after high school? 41 B. What was the student's general achievement and experience in elementary school and high school? How did the student feel about school? C. Where did the student learn to value education? D. What were the attitudes of the student's par- ents toward education? 1. What was the educational level of the parents? 2. Did the siblings in the family go on to school? (Number of siblings, sex, and position of student in the sibling re- lationship.) 3. Student view of parents and primary family. a. Were any conflicts revealed? b. Did the relationship seem comfortable or strained? E. After high school, what did the student do? (work, marry, etc.) 1. Does the student seem comfortable with her choices? III. Motivation A. When and why did the student decide to return to college? B. Was the student apprehensive about starting college? IV. 42 C. What has she experienced as a student in the classroom? D. Discuss future plans for education and vo- cations. Family A. How does the student feel her husband feels about her return to school? B. How does the student feel the various children feel about the student's return to school? C. How does the student feel her parents and friends feel about her return to school? D. Does the student feel a conflict in the roles of housewife and student? What con- flicts and guilt seem to be present? How does she handle these feelings? E. How has going to school changed the stu- dent's life? (Relationships in home, use of time, feelings, and interests.) F. How has she handled these changes? General Information A. What educational plans does the student have for her children? Does the student feel there is a difference in the importance of education for her sons and daughters? 43 C. What hobbies and community activities does the student take part in? VI. College A. What suggestions does the student have for Lansing Community College to better enable married women students' pursuit of an edu— cation? The forty-seven interviews were conducted by the same person. Each interview was summarized immediately after the interview by the interviewer using the general outline of the interview as a guide. The interviews were summarized with the aim of presenting the feeling tone and trends and trains of though expressed by the students. Selected references were incorporated into the presentation of interview material to exemplify what was said by the students. WW :Sutpntout ‘squepnis uemOM petaaem JO seoueismnoato AIIwEJ eqi jo satistaeioeueuo Ieueueg °g °siuepnis uemom pataaem jo satitntioe pus sisaaaiuI °g °sIeoS Ieuotieonpe pus Icuotieoon eaning pus ‘aouetaedxe {euotieoon :sed ‘iuemenetuoe Otmepeoe ‘smntnotaano Jofem ‘snieis eouepueqie ‘aoueaiue eSeIIOO is eSe ‘sSetJJem is 929 ‘eSv :sotistueqoeaeqo Isaauep :v :Sutpntout 9961 JO maei Sutads euq Sutanp eBeIIOQ Ritunmmoo Sutsueq is pettoa -ua squepnis uemon patdaem sun go uotthaoseq '5 'AIIBOOI pus Atteuotieu squepnis uemom petuuem jo Spueai quemtrouug :1 :sSutpeeu IcaeueE BUIMOIIOJ eui oi Surpaoooe pessnostp pue ‘pequesead ‘peiernqei sq IIIM eiep sq; 'eSeIIOQ Kitunmmoo Butsueq Sutpueqie squepnis uemOM petauem go suotiepuemmooea pus smetqoad eqi ‘SQIIIwBJ aui ‘sotistaeioeneuo eui ‘quemtfoa -ue eui Sutuuaouoo eiep iuasaad IIIM asideuo stug VIVO HO SISKTVNV AI HHIdVHO 45 A. Socio—economic level, type of housing, financial resources for education, edu- cational background of the husbands, and employment patterns of husbands. B. The married women students' perceptions of family attitudes about the students attend- ing college. 4. Implications for meeting the needs of married somen at Lansing Community College. This data was secured from the following sources: 1. Registration forms filled out by all students at the time of registration. This information was machine tabulated and was available through the official records of the Registrar's Office at Lansing Community College.1 2. The official Registrar's records of the grade- point average of each student enrolled at Lansing Community College during the spring term of 1965. 3. Questionnaires filled out by all women students at the time of spring term registration in which the women stated their marital status.2 4. Questionnaires mailed to all married women stu- dents (141 students) enrolled at Lansing Com- munity College during the spring term of 1965. 1A copy of the registration form is in the Appendix. 2A copy of this questionnaire is in the Appendix. 46 The questionnaires were returned by one-hundred twenty— three or eighty-seven percent of the married women.3 Enrollment Trends of Married Women Students One-fourth of the women enrolled at Lansing Community College during the spring term of 1965 were married, ac- cording to information received from the official records of the Registrar's Office at Lansing Community College. This figure represented all students who checked married as opposed to single on their registration form and in- cluded divorced and widowed students. A summary of the number and percentage of married men and women students based on information tabulated from these registration forms is presented in Table 4. However, in order to compare the percentage of married women at Lansing Com- munity College with national figures in which married students were defined as those students in which the spouse was present, it was necessary to remove students who were divorced and widowed from the married population and place them in the totals for single students. The num- ber and percentage of married women students nationally and at Lansing Community College who were living with their husbands is summarized in Table 5. Fourteen percent of the women students between the ages of fourteen and thirty-four years of age were married. 3A COpy of this questionnaire is in the Appendix. 47 TABLE 4.-—Married Men and Women Students Enrolled at Lansing Community College Since Spring Term 1963.3 Men Women l 5.4 mt. Year d.o m p we O wo menu no no no so mwoc :—-I OH 0H u—I (DH GJH (Um-rid) m 0% on m an on mono .p Esp L.n +2 8:4 as. os:s.s O 25m was 0 :sm was >o (0 E H .4 otnea >> 3520 p4: #40 m U Mada) Tim Age and 8e 2e :58" 3385’ Enrollment rim stm Q)Erfi fiklri Status '88 :38 886' 53435 03 23 300 Ems Number Number 52:; Number Number 86:6 Total: All Ages 685 141 20.6 14—34 years 1,594,000 255,000 16.0 613 87 14.2 18 a 19 years 708,000 15,000 2.1 278 11 4.0 20 & 21 years 478,000 62,000 13.0 205 16 7.8 22-24 years 143,000 55,000 38.5 29 20 33.9 25—29 years 117,000 83,000 70.9 39 18 56.3 30-34 years 67,000 40,000 59.7 32 22 68.8 Over 34 years 72 5LI 75.0 Full-time All Ages 334 44 13.2 14—34 years 1,212,000 76,000 6.3 322 32 10.0 18 & 19 years 660,000 12,000 1.8 186 5 2.7 20 & 21 years 382,000 36,000 9.4 97 7 7.2 22-24 years 68,000 16,000 23.5 16 5 31.3 25—29 years 16,000 5,000 31.3 7 4 57.1 30-34 years 10,000 7,000 70.0 13 11 84.6 Over 34 years 3 12 100.0 Part-time All Ages 351 97 27.6 14-34 years 382,000 179,000 46.9 294 55 18.7 18 a 19 years 48,000 3,000 6.3 92 6 6.5 20 & 21 years 96,000 26,000 27.1 108 9 8.3 22—24 years 75,000 39,000 52.0 43 15 34.9 25-29 years 101,000 78,000 77.2 32 14 43.8 30-34 years 57,000 33,000 57.0 19 11 57.9 57 “2 73.7 Over 34 years aFigures for the United States were for October 1963; for Lansing Community College, April, 1965. 49 This was less than the national average of sixteen percent. However, since almost two-fifths of the married women stu- dents at Lansing Community College were over thirty-four years of age and national figures were not available for students beyond thirty-four, it was difficult to compare Lansing Community College enrollment with national enroll- ment figures. Including married women over thirty—four, the percentage of married women students increased from fourteen to twenty percent. Married women locally and nationally were more often part-time students than full-time students. However, Lansing Community College has a higher percentage of full—time married women students than the national figures. This may be due to a high percentage of married women in pro— grams such as practical nursing and dental assistant which require full—time attendance. National figures showed forty—six percent of the women students attending colleges and universities part—time were married. At Lansing Com— munity College only 18.7 percent of the part—time students are married. The enrollment of a large number of’employed single women taking one or two courses in evening college accounts for the lower percentage of married part-time students.“ —._ “David Shull, "The Evening College Student at Lansing Community College.” An unpublished study, 1905. 50 Based on the limited information available in Table 4, there is some indication that the number of married women attending Lansing Community College is increasing; but, the number is not increasing as rapidly as the number of other students. However, the variations in percents are slight. More information would be needed to indicate any trend. Description of Married Women Students Age of the Students What differences exist in the general characteristics of full—time and part-time married women students? A comparison of full-time and part-time married women students by age, age at the time of marriage, and age at the time of college entrance is presented in Table 6, and shows many similarities in the two groups. The average age of full—time married women students was 30, which was somewhat less than the 31.8 years for part—time married women stu- dents. Comparing all women students, the average married woman was ten to eleven years Older than the average un- married woman student of nineteen.5 The average age at marriage for both full-time and part-time women students was nineteen years, which was g 5This information was obtained from the Official Records of the Registrar's Office at Lansing Community College. 51 / younger than the national average of 20.2 years.0 This would indicate that marriage was a major factor in many of the woman leaving school. Marriage was referred to again and again in the literature as the main reason for women not going on to college or leaving college.7 The average age of college entrance for full-time married women students was twenty-eight years compared with thirty years of age for part-time students. In both cases the age of college entrance was close to the pre- sent average age of the students. This would indicate only a few of the students had had earlier college experience which was interrupted. Enrollment Status How much does having children affect the presence of women in college? As would be expected, women without children were more often full—time students than women with children. Forty percent of the full-time married women students did not have children, while twenty-four percent of the part- time married women students were childless. _L_ 6U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Current Population Repprt, op. cit. 7Refer to Chapter II, p. 15. 52 TABLE 6.—-Basic Characteristics of Full-Time and Part-Time Married Women Students Enrolled at Lansing Community College Spring Term 1965. Basic Characteristics Full-Time Part-Time Mean age 30.0 years 31.8 years Medium age 26.0 years 28.0 years Mean age at marriage 19.8 years 19.7 years Mean age at college entrance 28.5 years 30.0 years Average number of terms at Lansing Community College 2.8 terms 4.2 terms _Percent with children 60.0 percent 76.0 percent Class: Freshman 31.0 percent 63.0 percent Sophomore 36.0 percent 23.0 percent Practical Nurse 31.0 percent —--- Special Student 2:0 percent 14.0 percent Total Number 43 women 98 women 53 Women with children were part-time students in two out of three instances and women with pre-school children were part-time students in three out of four cases. women were not waiting until their children were all in school or were grown before they continued their education. Thirty-seven percent of the women had pre—school age chil- dren and an additional seventeen percent had elementary age children. Only seventeen percent of the married women students had children older than elementary age children. The report of the President's Commission on the Status of Women in 1963 emphasized the need for higher education in a form in which women with family responsibilities could take advantage of it, and suggested that the growth of community colleges could help to supply this need.8 Qgrriculum Choices Are the married women students at Lansing Community College enrolled in traditional curriculum for women? The curriculum choices of married and single women at Lansing Community College followed the traditional choices for women.9 Teaching was the most often chosen occupation. Over one-third of all the women students planned to teach. .— 8American Women, Report of the President's Commission On the Status of Women (Washington: Government Printing Office), p. 12. 9Fifteen Years After College, A Study of Alumnae of the Class of 1945, U. S. Department of Labor, Women Bureau -__ (Washington: Government Printing Office), p. 1. 54 TABLE 7.--The Number of Children in the Families of Married Women Students Full-Time Students Part-Time Students Number of Children ?§EBS§ Percent 7823;? Percent O 16 40.0 20 24.1 1 5 12.5 16 19.3 2 7 17.5 20 24-1 3 6 15.0 17 20.5 4 5 12.5 4 4.8 5 1 2 5 3 3.6 6 -- -- l 1.2 7 or more -- " 2 2'4 TABLE 8.--Age Level of the Youngest Child of Married Women Students. Full-Time Students Part-Time Students ?§238§ Percent §§Eg§§ Percent Pre-school 11 27.5 34 41.0 Elementary School 7 17.5 14 16.9 Jr. High School 2 5.0 5 6.0 High School 3 7.5 7 8.4 Beyond High School 1 2.5 3 3.6 No Children 16 40.0 20 24.1 E 55 This figure does not represent all of the women who actually plan to enter teaching, because over half of the married women who gave art or associate in arts as their curriculum indicated plans to enter teaching as their vocational ob- jective. This would mean that approximately forty—eight percent of the married women students planned to teach. This percent was near the national figure in which forty—six percent of all women who earned baccalaureate degrees from all institutions of high learning in 1959-60 reported an education major. An increase in the number of women majoring in education has been a growing trend over a period of years. Among all women with earned degrees from all institutions of higher learning, the prOportion majoring in "Education" has increased considerably since 1945.10 A survey conducted by the Department of Labor in the winter Of 1957-58 of June 1957 graduates revealed that the highest percentage of employed graduates were teachers, the next highest group were nurses, then secretaries, bio- logical technicians, and social and welfare workers.ll Women at Lansing Community College indicated similar vo- cational plans. Business, nursing and related medical areas, and social work were most often chosen after teaching g 1 OIbid, p. 5. llFirst Jobs of College Women,_Report Of Women Grad— Béles Class of 1957, United States Department of Labor, Women's Bureau (Washington: Government Printing Office), D. l. 56 TABLE 9.--Major Curriculums of Women Students Enrolled at Lansing Community College Spring Term 1965. Single Married Total College Curriculum ‘“‘ A 4-3 A 4.) 43 iv: c he: s n c (D—IT (l) (1)11" (1) (I) (1) pm 0 DH C) .0 C) E u L an m E a :32 o :32 o 3 o 2.3 04 z\/ m 2 CL Art 4 .6 7 1.0 11 1.6 Assoc. in Arts 102 14.9 23 3.4 125 18.3 Pre-Teaching 183 26.7 54 7.9 237 34.6 Business 132 19.3 20 2.9 152 22.2 Practical Nursing 27 4.0 16 2.3 43 6.3 Assoc. in Science 20 2.9 3 5 23 3 4 Pre—Medical 3 .5 1 l 4 6 Pre-Law l .1 -— --- l l Pre-Nursing 25 3.7 7 l 0 32 4 7 Pre-Medical Technology 6 .9 2 3 8 1 2 Pro—Dentistry 1 .1 -- —-— 1 l Pre-Engineering 1 .1 -— ——— l l Pre-Physical Therapy 2 .3 -- --- 2 3 Social Work 33 4.8 7 1.0 40 5 8 Library Technician 2 .3 1 l 3 .4 Law Enforcement 2 .3 —— --— 2 .3 L 57 as a curriculum and a Vocational goal. Three percent of the married women and five percent of the single women made choices other than these areas. The one married woman who was on a pre-medicine curriculum was taking this course be— cause her husband was a doctor and she wanted to know more about science because of his interest and the interests of their friends. A Comparison of the Academic Achievement of Married and Unmarried Women Students Is there a significant difference in the grade- point average of married and unmarried women students? Based on a 4.0 scale, the mean of the achieved point-hour ratio for married women students was 3.01 and the mean for single women was 2.52. Using a 3 test to ascertain the significance of the differences between the two groups, it was found that the grade-point average of married women students was significantly higher at the .01 level than the grade-point average Of single women students. Educational and Vocational Eiperience and Goals What have been the employment patterns of married women students since marriage? Are they preparing for future employment which is similar or different from past vocational experience? Statistics from the Labor Bureau indicate that one- third of the women who work are married women living with 58 thier husbands.12 As shown in Table 10 these figures also apply to the married women students attending Lansing Community College. Thirty-four percent of the women indicate they are presently employed. More of the women students have a pattern of work experience since marriage than those that have not. Three—fifths of the women have worked periodically or regularly since marriage, while two—fifths of the women have not worked since marriage or since the birth of their first child. Of the thirty-four percent of the married women students who are presently employed, eightly-two percent are employed in clerical occupations, twelve percent are working as either practical or registered nurses, and six percent of the women have sales jobs.13 Specific educational and vocational goals charac- terize the married women students at Lansing Community College, All but fifteen percent of the women are attending college with further plans for education or definite vocational goals. Data gathered in Table ll and Table 12 summarize the future plans of these women. Almost two-thirds of the women plan to transfer to a l2Background Facts of Women Workers in the United States, U. S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1965), p. 8. 13Table 15, p. 67. 59 TABLE lO.——Employment Experience of Married Women Students Since Their Marriage Employment Number Experience (N a 119) Percent Have not worked since marriage 20 18 Worked until the birth of the first child 24 21 Worked irregularly since marriage “0 33 Worked regularly since marriage 2“ 19 Worked regularly since marriage, brief time off for child-bearing ll 9 Presently working “3 3H-8 60 TABLE ll.--Educational Goals of Married Women Students. Educational Goals Number‘ ‘(N g 123) Percent Graduated from L. C. C. and transfer to a college or university ,52 U2.3 Transfer to another college or university before graduating from L. C. C. 23 18.7 Graduate from L. C. C. and enter a vocation 6 4.9 Attend L. C. 0., not graduate and enter or remain in a vocation 23 18.7 Attend L. C. C. without further education or vocational goals , l9 15-“ _.A_._. ——v- m.w \O m. m.m m HA H E33 02 H.2H ma m.OH OH m.m m mmmcfimsm m.: a m.: a II II wcfimhsz omnmpmfiwmm m.mH :H II II m.mH :H wcfimhsz HmOfipompm o.mH HH w.w m m.m m xpoz Hmfioom m.e: a: 3.0m mm 3.5H as msaaomme mmMucmopmm MmmHmv mMMpcooemm Ammuzv mwmpcmoemm Ammuzv mcmHm HMpOB HMpom mafiatphmm Lonesz bawesaasm booEsz HmCOHpmoo> weapsm .mpchSpm :mEoz omwemmz mo mcmfim HMCOHquo> mezosmuu.ma mqm<8 62 four—year college or university’ to continue their edu- cation, and an additional twenty-four percent are pre— paring for vocations. Further investigation reveals that fifteen percent of the women without further edu- cational or vocational goals are enrolled in art or liberal arts courses. Even though eighty-five percent of the women said they are attending college with future educational and/or vocational goals, their educational plans are more clearly stated than their vocational goals. Table 12 summarizes the future vocational plans of three-fourths of the women; however, one-fourth of the respondents did not answer this question. Of those that did respond, almost seven percent said they had no vocational goal. This means that one— third of the women did not specify a vocational objective. Interests and Activities of Married Women Students To what extent do married women students take part in community and college activities? Do they have time for hobbies and recreation? Interests and activities, including college activities and community and recreational activities of married women students, are summarized in Table 13. Participation of married women students in college activities was very limited, with less than seven percent of the women taking part in any activity. Since time was the major problem reported by 63 the women, this lack of participation in extra activities d.ll4 According to a study of stu- would have been expecte dent participation in college activities at Lansing Com- munity College, 1965, the "active minority" accounted for most of the participation.' Women students, students under twenty-one years of age, students who were not employed, and students who were members of the Student Government were the most likely to participate in college activities. Student Government members accounted for seventy-five per— cent of the attendance at all activities and no one in this group was married.15 The women in this study seemed to have few of the characteristics of the participating group. The main recreational interests of over forty percent of these women were participant sports. This was by far the leading interest of the total group. Community acti- vities were mainly church and children-related activities, such as Parent Teacher Association, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and u—H work. The fact that twenty-four percent stated they did not have time for or did not list recreational activities and forty-nine percent responded in the same way about community activities seems another indication of a press'for time for these women. 1“Summary of problems is found in Table 21, p. 75. 15Francine Weinstein, "An Exploratory Study of the Participation of Students in Student Activities at Lansing Community College 1965." An unpublished study. 64 TABLE 13.-—The Participation of Married Women Students in College, Community, and Recreational Activities. Number Activities (N=123) Percent College Activities Phi Theta Kappa A 3.3 Movies, concerns, plays —- -- Choir 2 1.6 Creative arts 1 .8 Spanish Club 1 .8 No participation 115 93.5 Recreational Activities Sports 51 41.5 Cultural activities: reading, concerts, music, painting 19 15.3 Family activities: picnics, visiting friends, scouting 11 9.0 Travel A 3.3 Cards 6 “.9 Gardening 3 2.” No time for recreation-—stated 8 6.5 No activities indicated 21 17.1 Community Activities Church 39 31.7 Children's school activities: scouts, P.T.A. 15 12.2 Volunteer work: collecting money for drives 4 3.3 Politics 2 1.6 Little League 1 .8 Credit Union Board 1 .8 Professional clubs 1 .8 No time for activities--stated 23 18.7 No community activity indicated 37 30.1 g 65 The Families of Married Women Students Socio-economic Background of the Families What is the socio-economic background of the families of these married women students? The occupations of the husbands, fathers, and fathers- in-law are summarized in Table 14. The occupations of the mothers, mothers-in—law, and employed married women students are presented in Table 15. The groups were organized ac— cording to the socio-economic index developed by Otis Duncan.l6 An examination of Table 14 shows that a higher proportion of husbands were included in the professional groups than were the fathers or fathers—in-law. The com- bined occupations of the fathers-in-law grouped more toward the lower economic occupations. The professions and managerial group represented the highest percentage for the husbands and fathers of married women students; however, craftsmen and operatives were well represented with over one-fourth of the men in all three groups em- ployed in these occupations. It was difficult to make a comparison of the occu- pations of working mothers and mothers-in-law, since approx- imately one-half of the students who indicated their mothers or mothers-in-law were working gave the name of the company _ 16Albert J. Reiss, Occupation and Social Status (Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press of Glencoe, Inc., 1961), p. A and 195. 66 m omQOQmmh oz : mhmhonmq HH memxnos ooa>mmm NH mo>fipmpmdo NH r-ir-i ma :wEmLom .cmEmpmmoo CDHKDQNON m poxeoz mmamm : HmOHLmHo mm omfipwamm .mLOpmHLQOLQ mamaowmmo .omwmcmz U\ H F-Wfit\ o q>Hw was pcoeonQEm mo momHQ oQBm LHmsp .mpCoUSpm cosoz om o.mm H: n.mm a: w.:m m: oszHdEm Hmuoe o.mw mm m.:m ms m.mm om ommeHUCH psoE>0HdEo oz o.mH mH a.mH mH I- .. msmmHo soc new mo pomp .UmhoHQEm :.m m w. H II In mumponmq m.w HH e.m m m.m : whoxhoz m0H>eom II II ©.H m II II mm>Hpmhmdo :.m m H.: m :.m m Loxmoz memm m.: m :.m m 0.5m 3m HmoHpoHo n: I: m. H In it ooHemHmm «whouwHLQOhQ .mHmHonmo “memwmcmz :.m m 0.: m w.H m Hmowcnomu .HmCOmemQOLm HmmHqu HmmHqu HmmHqu “cooked osmopom unmohom ozone Loossz Loossz Loossz QHEocoomnOHoom zmqchILmnuoz Logpoz pseudom .3mHIQHImponpoz ocm .mhozooz Hpomz go mCOHpmosooo mo wcHosotu oHEocooMIowoomll.mH mqm<5 68 for which the woman worked instead of the job performed. In no instance did the students respond in this way when asked about the occupation of the father or father—in-law. The students themselves described their Job clearly. The mothers were not identified with a specific Job. Table 15 shows that by far the largest portion of students who were employed were doing clerical work. The percentage of working women students, working mothers and mothers-in-law represented Just over one-third of the women in each group. It has been pointed out earlier how closely these figures compare with national labor figures.l7 Housing Arrangements Are married women students temporary or permanent members of the community? The families of two-thirds of the married women students lived in their own homes. The remaining one- third lived in rented apartments or houses, except for three ”percent who lived in trailers. None of the families live in the homes of either their parents or in-laws. Educational Funds How do married women students finance their edu- cation? Educational funds were mainly drawn from the re— sources of the immediate family. —_ 17Refer to page 58. 69 TABLE l6.-—Sources of Educational Funds of Married Women Students. §§TES§) Percent Husband 62 50 Students' work 36 29 Savings 15 ' 12 Students' parents 7 6 Students‘ in-laws -1 1 Scholarships 1 1 Loans 1 l TABLE 17.--Financia1 Resources of Married Women Students. Yes No ‘ No Response Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Educational Funds Are Adequate 87 71 33 27 3 2 Funds Avail- able for Emergencies are Ade— quate 83 68 33 27 7 5 7O Husbands were the main source of educational funds for fifty percent of the women. Family savings and money earned by the student herself provided the main source of funds for an additional forty-one percent of the women. Parents or parents-in—law provided educational funds for seven percent of the women. Only two percent of the women indicated financial aid from loan or scholarships. Twenty— seven percent of the women felt that they had inadequate educational funds and were concerned about funds available for emergencies. These responses indicate a need for in- creased financial aid available to married women students and/or more complete desemination of information about current state and national loan programs which now exist and could be of help to some of these students. Educational Background of the Husbands Are the husbands of married women students also college students? Approximately one-fourth of the husbands of the women students were also college students. However, almost ninety percent of the husbands were reported to be employed full- time, indicating that part-time school attendance was an attendance pattern for a number of husbands also. What is the educational level of these students' husbands? The educational background of the husbands, sum- marized with other general characteristics in Table 18, shows one—third of the men were high school graduates, a 71 TABLE 18.-~Leve1 of Education of the Husbands of Married Women Students. ———— Educational Background ?§EE§§) Percent Doctors Degree 4 3.3 Masters Degree 14 ll 4 Bachelors Degree 21 17.1 Some college work 32 26.0 High school graduate 41 33.3 Less than high school 11 8.9 graduate 72 little more than one-fourth had some college work, and little less than one-third had college degrees. The re— maining nine percent had less than a high school education. Of those with college degrees, almost half were at the masters and doctoral levels. Students' Perception of Family Attitudes About the Students Attendinngollege How do married women students feel their families react to their attending college? The husbands of the students were reported to be one of the greatest sources of encouragement. The attitudes of husbands, other family members, and friends concerning the students continuing their education is summarized in Table 19. Approximately eighty-five percent of the women reported their husbands had encouraged them to go on to school. Approximately nine percent were perceived as tolerant and six percent were described as discouraging their wife's continued education. The attitudes of family members and friends were de- scribed as encouraging in the majority of instances. The mothers of the younger women and friends of the older wo- men were perceived as slightly more encouraging than the husbands. The fathers of both groups of women were less encouraging and more tolerant than the mothers. Parents- 1n—law were viewed as the least encouraging of any family members. They were perceived as tolerant in about one- third of the families, and discouraging in six to ten one "muoz m.m m.mH m.o m m cm L m.mH o.mm m.mw mm cwmonzw Tm Tmm . u - . . m mm mm 3mg CH Locumm w.OH :.mm w.mm mm smalcfilemcuoz m.m m mm m.ow mm hmcpmm :.m H.@ m.mm o: smzsoz m m m.m :.mw o: ocmnmsm wcHMMLSOOmHQ ucmpmHoB mafiwMAsoocm Loossz mmmq no pamopmm osmopmm pcmopmm mw< mo mammw pdomlmpcmze mu mpcmcsum op chchHpmHmm ©.m N.OH w.mw op moclom I: m.Hm m.mw mo cohoHHno m.e m.m: m.mz om acqucHucmcpmm H.m e.mm m.mm om sconcwusmcsoz m.m w.om :.mw ow honomm In 0.5m o.mm as hmsuoz :.m o.m 0.3m mm ocmnmzm wchmpsoomHQ pcmpoHoe mchmhsoocm oopezz who: go pcooeom pcooemm pcoopom mm< mo memmw m>lempcmse mpcmczcm o» chmQOHcmHmm mquUSQm :mE03 ooHLLmE psong wocmwom ocm onHHEmm .mmeHoo mcHucmspe map go moozpfipp_NOM¢ 30> Inn—:3 Z- “man-00 >z< UZ_.P(WLW¢ Wfl< 30> l- D .n D .u D .. AI :50: :35 59 w I'll]. . , . $2.5... EH“ >323» 593233 Iowan» 53202 3...... 59.52 mmxaou KO w210 .— U. z_0 .12 ““50 at WDFn_< 393. . DuCth< JOOIUM 20:.— F903 EWBEDZ F stDFW 35.8 W25 - team» «a 5.. Eggs—z. m. .= I >anm¢._n_0m._ #2:: l 9.5.— mmmut 5350.; 5 at APPENDIX B Enrollment Questionnaire 134 Name 135 ALL WOMEN STUDENTS Student Number Address Check ONE of -—— ”— ~— —” w the Following: Single—(Have never been married) Married-(Living with husband) Divorced Widowed Separated APPENDIX C Letter to Married Women Students 136 '. ,_ NJ‘ V-firmmqsl .v-l 137 LANSING PUBLIC SCHOOLS Lansing, Michigan Lansing COMMUNITY COLLEGE 210 W. Shiawassee TO: All married women students of Lansing Community College. Enclosed is a questionnaire which is part of a research study of married women students at Lansing Community College. This study is concerned with the problems and needs of married women students. To complete the questionnaire will require a few minutes of your time (approximately ten minutes). The results of the study may prove of value to you and future women students. The responses on the questionnaire will be treated as highly confidential. Please fill in the questionnaire as COMPLETELY as possible. The numbers before each response are necessary for tabulation so please disregard them. Enclosed is an addressed stamped return envelope. Your prompt return of the questionnaire is important. Thank you, your participation is appreciated. APPENDIX D Mailed Questionnaire 138 ' ”Eu-- ‘2‘ A y: ‘t‘n'uirw . ' 139 (1) Name -_ _ -1 _ Address ~ . Telephone ‘ "'I‘T‘Student Number"‘v“3""“ ‘r‘ PERSONAL DATA (2) Age (3) Check FT. SOph. Practical Nurse Special (4) Major (5) Age at College Entrance (6) Age at marriage I r: (7) Divorced: Yes No Widowed: Yes No i (8) If you live out of town how many miles do you drive t5——— 3 classes each day (one way)? 5 (9) Are you employed at present? Yes No g (10) Type of employment —_——- ___—— E (11) Hours/week g (12) Work experience: Worked before marriage I Have not worked since marriage E Worked until birth of first child, have not '“ worked since. Have worked at irregular intervals since marriage. Have worked regularly since marriage. Have worked regularly since marriage (with brief time off for child bearing). (13) Full-time student Half-time student Part- time (14) Number of terms at L.C.C. HUSBAND (15) Highest grade completed 8th H.S. _;___ College Fr. Soph. Jr. ______Sr. M.A. Ed.D Ph.D. (16) Is he presently enrolled at Lansing Community College? Yes No (17) At another college? Yes _____ No (18) Is he employed full—time? Yes No Where? What does he do? (19) Is he employed part-time? Yes _____ No Where? 140 PARENTS—If parent is deceased or retired, state previous occupation. (20) Father's occupation (21) Father—in—laws's occupation (22) Mother employed Yes No Where (23) Mother—in—law employed—“YES .__—No Where CHILDREN (24) No children (25) Number of children at each grade level. Pre—school < Primary grades (k.-6th) Junior High (7—8) 7 High school l8—22 Older than 22 ‘ E Total number ’ (26) Who cares for the children while you are in classes? Their father Your parents in-laws babysitter neighbors others FINANCES for YOUR college expenses come from what sources? (27) Savings your work your husband, your parents in-laws scholarship loans (28) Do you have funds to provide all things that you feel are essential for your education? Yes No (29) Do you have reserve finances for emergencies? Yes No ATTITUDES AAAA J: WNI—‘O vvvv A V AA DOW LA) WWWW O\\J‘| VV Check the column which best describes the reactions of each of the following toward your attending college: 1 2 3 Encouraging Tolerant Discouraging Your husband Your mother Your father _* Your mother- in-law Your father— in—law Your children Your Friends 141 HOUSING (37) Own your home Rent Home Apartment Trailer With parents with parents- in-laws Other YOUR COLLEGE SCHEDULE (38) Do your home responsibilities necessitate your avoiding any of the following: Morning classes Evening classes Afternoon classes Saturday classes (39) Which class hours are best for You? 8:00 9:00 10:00 11 00 1:00 2:00 3:00 Evening Saturday HOME RESPONSIBILITIES Who does the following Jobs in your hom? Use the words MUCH, SOME, indicating amount done be each. Your Your Paid You husband children Parents help (40) Grocery shopping (41) Laundry (42) Meal pre- paration (43) Dish- washing (44) General cleaning Child Care . . Any persistent problems related to handling and scheduling these responsibilities Please state: AA :1: O\\.fl vv Ia (47) (48) YOUR (49) (50) (51) (52) (53) (54) 142 Which home responsiblities do you feel are most difficult to handle since starting school? Do your household tasks interfere with your studying? Yes No GOALS, PLANS, PROBLEMS What is your major puSpose in attending a community college? Graduate and transfer to another college or university for a degree. Take courses and transfer to another college or university before graduating. Graduate at the end of two years and enter a vocation. Take some course to prepare for a vocation before the end of two years. What type of work do your plan to do when your college education is completed? Are you primarily concerned with supplementing the family income? Yes No ‘ Do you feel that the problems you have met while combining college and marriage have strengthened your marriage? hindered marital happiness What are the practical problems which you feel have arisen from your double responsibilities? Would you recommend that a girl go on to college? Yes No If yes, before marriage after marriage why? ACTIVITIES Do you participate in college extra curricular activities? Yes No Which ones? What are your reactional activities? What are your community activities? (fl HOW COULD THE COLLEGE SERVE YOU BETTER AS A MARRIED WOMAN STUDEN? (Scheules, counseling services, college facilities, or any other suggestions you may have). "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII