Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Louisville, 2004. / College of Education and Human Development. Vita. "May 2004." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 224-238).

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Educational Leadership and Foundations, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-107).

Older women are a rapidly growing sector of the Canadian population and will number about 4 million by the year 2031. They are also a group which must be recognized as being at risk in later life for reasons often beyond their control or comprehension. Elderly women experience higher levels of poverty, institutionalization and criminal victimization than older men. While many of the vicissitudes of old age are unavoidable, aging is much more problematic for women due to socially constructed inequities rooted historically in cultural patterns of age and gender relations. Consequently, women's economic, social and personal resources are more vulnerable in old age because of gender limitations experienced across their entire life course. Educational opportunities have not kept pace with the challenges encountered by women as they age nor has there been adequate educational programming to help older women negotiate the many changes in society that directly affect the quality of their personal lives. Yet education is considered to be a major strategy for developing and strengthening resources in later life and to be an effective means for promoting individual and collective empowerment among older women for improving their economic and social prospects as they age. By grounding educational objectives in a resource development paradigm, efforts can be made to enhance individual resources and to promote changes in the social relations of power, privileges and opportunities upon which current access and allocation of resources are based. Educational programming aimed at resource development falls into three categories: fostering political and social identity, facilitating economic equity, and aiding in later life transitions. Based on this approach to educational needs analysis, several program and policy recommendations are developed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to describe and evaluate a health education program provided primarily for older women who have or suspect they have osteoporosis. The health education program evaluated is provided by the Ostop Society of British Columbia (Ostop). One of the goals of the study was to provide Ostop with descriptive information about the organization's members, their participation in the organization's education program and their evaluation of the value of the information sources provided by the organization. A second goal was to evaluate the relationships between variables which may explain how Ostop functions as a provider of osteoporosis health education. Bandura's social learning theory was used to provide a theoretical explanation of the Ostop education program, to identify study variables and to generate the research questions. The variables that were expected to be related to the members' level of knowledge about osteoporosis were selected personal characteristics, the amount of participation in Ostop, and members' perceptions about the value of the different sources of information provided by Ostop. The same variables plus members' level of knowledge about osteoporosis were expected to be related to the level of participation in health behaviors believed to help prevent or slow the progression of osteoporosis. The study sample consisted of 120 women members of Ostop, randomly selected from a membership list which contained the names of 261 women members of Ostop. All of the members included on the list lived close enough to Vancouver, British Columbia to attend the lecture series offered by Ostop. The study group is a random sample of Ostop members but may not accurately represent all women with or at risk of developing osteoporosis. Ostop is a special interest group which tends to attract as members well educated women with at least some prior awareness of and concern about the condition. The data were collected by means of a mailed questionnaire which was developed for this study. The content of the questionnaire was based on the recent osteoporosis research literature, and the advice of a variety of content experts. Prior to conducting the study, the researcher pilot tested the questionnaire using nine Ostop members. The descriptive information demonstrated that members are typically post-menopausal women in their sixties and seventies who have osteoporosis and who have an educational attainment of at least graduation from high school. The respondents were well-informed about osteoporosis and were more likely to practice health behaviors related to calcium intake than to perform the recommended amount of exercise. One important finding was that 66% of the respondents reported daily intakes of calcium which exceeded the highest recommended daily intake. This is of concern in light of research findings that excessive calcium intake is associated with the development of kidney stones in some women. Regression analysis of the study variables demonstrated that: 1. the number of Ostop-provided information sources identified by respondents as being useful was positively and significantly (p≦.05) correlated with knowledge level. 2. Both age and menopause status were negatively and significantly (p≦.05) correlated with knowledge level. 3. The only variable which was correlated significantly (p≦.05) with the performance of osteoporosis-related health behavior was knowledge level. This was a weak positive correlation of .234. These results suggest that Ostop’s present educational program may be helping women gain knowledge about osteoporosis and that having knowledge about osteoporosis is one factor which is associated with the practice of recommended health behavior. Social learning theory was used to explain the results and to suggest ways in which Ostop may be able to increase the effectiveness of its educational efforts. Suggestions were also made about other ways to provide osteoporosis health education and about directions for further research. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

In a country, which has recently acquired its democracy, education for all citizens is of primary concern. During this time when South Africa finds its self in a period of transition and of prioritising items on its agenda, education in general and in particular education of those who had a little or no education at all, is high on the priority list. Women in the past have been discriminated against and thus deprived of equal access to educational experiences and the accumulation of skills and qualifications – aspects that affected their daily lives. Therefore, many women have not had opportunities for personal development, choice of work and the capacity to influence political decisions. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences that women learners encountered within an ABET programme. Due to the limited research done on women's learning within ABET programmes in South Africa, women learners have been isolated and marginalised in all levels of education. Despite this, women, who head up a third of the world’s households, are not often identified as vital role players for the sustainability of communities especially in relation to issues concerning health, social welfare and economic activities. In order to obtain a greater understanding of the experiences of women learners within ABET programmes, this study was designed to elicit the views of women in an ABET programme. Qualitative methods of data collection and analysis were utilised in this process and I used the constant comparative method of data analysis to search for recurring themes and patterns The most prominent findings emerging from the study was that women felt advantaged as members of a community of learners. It was also evident that numerous factors restricted effective learning for women. In addition, academic progress and self-confidence that would serve as a foundation for future learning also emerged as an important finding. This study has shown that although ABET programmes such as the one in which this research took place, are vital and fulfil a very real need especially for women, there are a number of factors in the programmes themselves and within society in general which hampers optimal learning by women in the programme. / Mrs. N. F. Petersen

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Open University. BLDSC no. DX97665.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2001. / Bibliography: leaves 177-184.