This study provides detailed accounts of the perspectives on teaching and learning experienced by the instructors and participants in three career exploration programs for women. One of the programs was located at a community college, one at a private college, and one was offered through a non-profit agency. The perspectives of the women are represented by each individual's expressed attitudes, feelings, and ideas about how they experienced teaching and learning. I also examine and relate the accounts of the women to the ways in which teaching processes and learning objectives were created, influenced, and/or constrained by the broader social and administrative context in which the programs take place. Therefore, the study addressed the following broad questions: (1) What values and attitudes toward teaching and learning are expressed by instructors and how do they shape the pedagogical interactions that take place in these career education programs? (2) What has been the participants' experience of learning in these programs? And, (3) In what ways does the social, institutional, and political context in which the programs take place affect the teaching/ learning environment? This study originates from my interest as a feminist educator to gain a greater understanding of how critical and feminist pedagogical approaches are manifested in actual practice, in this case, three particular career exploration programs. Information for the study was gathered from program instructors through semi-structured interviews; through an informal focus group in each program with volunteer students; and by reviewing relevant program related materials. After providing detailed accounts of the perspectives of the instructors, participants, and descriptions of each program, the external factors which create, influence, and constrain the nature of the programs, and the voices of the instructors and participants are explored in relation to the literature reviewed for the study. This analysis revealed that the instructors employed teaching approaches which are consistent with the values and aims of critical feminist pedagogy. However, teaching approaches were also applied which appear to reside within traditional educational approaches. Thus, in these particular contexts, the instructors created and acted within a teaching-learning environment which both reproduced and challenged the status quo. The methodological approach utilized in this study illustrated how adult educators concerned with the liberatory possibilities of adult education must invariably operationalize these ideas in complex, constrained, and often contradictory social sites which act to shape the possibilities of instruction. It did so by directing attention to both the social actors and the social and political processes that act to create and organize specific adult education activities. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the locus of control orientation of nontraditional and traditional, postsecondary vocational education students attending urban area vocational-technical schools in the state of Georgia. The study sample consisted of 77 nontraditional and 77 traditional postsecondary vocational education students attending five different urban area vocational-technical schools in the state of Georgia. The students were enrolled in 18 different vocational education programs. The population was tested using the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Control scale. An ex post facto research design was used for the study. Analysis of variance was employed to determine the effects of the independent variables (sex, race, age, and traditional or nontraditional classification) on the dependent variable (locus of control orientation). The independent variables were also tested for two-way and three-way interactions. The findings were: 1. There was no significant difference in the locus of control orientation of traditional and nontraditional students. 2. There was no significant difference in the locus of control orientation of male and female students. 3. There was no significant difference in the locus of control orientation of students when divided into two age categories. 4. There was a significant difference on locus of control scores between Black and White students. The major conclusion of this study is that, with the exception of race, the relationships between selected variables and locus of control found in other populations are not evident within the population of postsecondary vocational education students. / Ed. D.

Social learning theory was used as the framework to investigate parental influences on the career choices of women. Parental modeling, reinforcement patterns, and attitudes were examined for their effect on the career choices of three groups of women: college age traditional, college age non-traditiona1, and re-entry women. The rationale for selecting these groups was that traditional and non-traditional college age females would represent the impact of diverse parental factors, and that an older re-entry group would demonstrate the effects of time on parental models, attitudes, and reinforcement patterns. Group leadership would then affect subsequent career choices. / Ph. D.

Ed. D.

Difficulties in predicting female occupational choices according to the theories developed for men have stimulated research into components of a model effective for women. The objective of the present study was to investigate the usefulness of self concept measures in determining the masculinity or femininity of occupations chosen by female undergraduates at a Canadian university. The ninety subjects who participated in the study were chosen for their enrollment in one of three fields defined by previous research as traditionally feminine or in one of three fields defined as traditionally masculine. The two aspects of self concept considered relevant to the sex stereotype of vocational field were sex role stereotyping and self-esteem. The Bern Sex Role Inventory used to assess the former variable, allowed subjects to endorse both masculine and feminine traits, thus providing an index of psychological androgyny as well as an index of stereotypic masculinity or femininity. Self-esteem was also considered from more than one perspective; that of personal and interpersonal functioning and of academic functioning. The results of the study revealed that the subjects' sex role orientation did not correspond to the sex stereotype associated with their fields of specialization. Similarly, statistically significant differences in self-esteem in either the personal or achievement areas emerged from the comparison among career groups. There was, however, a nonsignificant tendency for women in Science to have higher self-esteem in the achievement area than women in the remaining five groups. When self-esteem relationship in the achievement area between sex typing and self-esteem were examined, however, it was apparent that absolute levels of masculinity were significantly related ±o levels of self-esteem in both the areas being measured. The effects on self-esteem of femininity and androgyny were not statistically significant. In the case of the femininity scores, there were certain deviations from the normative data for the Bern Sex Role Inventory. Further consideration of these findings in terms of the instruments employed led to a factor analysis of the Bern Sex Role Inventory. Four factors were obtained. They are identified as scales measuring the constructs Dominance, Independence, Nurturance, and Passivity. Utilizing these newly designed scales, an analysis was made of the previous statistically non-significant relationships. While sex of field could still not be predicted according to scores on these factors, predictions regarding levels of self-esteem were refined by use of factor scores. By thus isolating the independent effects of the two feminine factors--Nurturance and Passivity--upon Inter/Personal self-esteem, the source of the low correlations for femininity was identified. The positive effects of the Nurturance factor were counteracted by the negative effects of the Passivity factor, resulting in a low correlation with self-esteem and with Social Desirability for the original Femininity scale. The two aspects of Masculinity which were defined by the factor analysis also bore differing, although not opposite relationships to the self-esteem criteria. Qualities denoting Independence were of most importance in explaining levels of self-esteem in the personal and interpersonal areas, while traits suggestive of Dominance were most relevant to self-esteem in the achievement area. The effectiveness of sex role stereotyping in predicting the sex stereotype of women's career choices was therefore not confirmed by the results of the present study. The relevance of self-esteem as a variable which moderates the predictive ability of other determinants of career choice was similarly unconfirmed. A number of reasons were postulated as to why the results differ from previous studies on patterns of career choice among women. Recommendations were made for further research into the measurement of psychological androgyny and its significance to women's career aspirations. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The possibility that there are clients who are battered presenting themselves for vocational services without the battering relationship being identified or addressed was explored. Implications were drawn as to the influence early identification will have upon the formulation and successful completion of the Individualized Written Rehabilitation Plan.

The purpose of this study is to make a survey of the opportunities in the business world for the woman college graduate. Attention has been given to the general status of women workers, the training given by colleges in business administration, and the opportunities for the employment and advancement in the business world.

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Thesis (MTech (Construction Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2008 / The construction industry in South Africa defines a large sector of the economy. The total construction spend in 2002 exceeded R57.5 billion, of which 29.5% came from public sector orders and tenders, 13.6% from public corporations, and 56.9% from the private sector. The size and markets of a construction firm influence its level of professionalism and working practices. Gendering and sexual division of labour are important issues. Presently the construction industry employs a limited number of women at all levels. Additionally there is a low level of participation and representation of women on the committees of the learned societies associated with the industry. The low number of female students majoring in construction management at South African higher education institutions results in a limited number of qualified female construction managers. The consequent gender imbalance suggests a lack of empowerment of women in construction. Historically, job discrimination was institutionalized by law, including job reservation clauses. These laws were abolished following recommendations by the Weihahn Commission of Enquiry in 1979.In South Africa discrimination on the grounds of race and gender constitutes an unfair labour practice. Further, the South African Constitution outlaws discrimination in Section 8.2, but makes provision in Section 8.3 for measures designed to achieve adequate protection and advancement of persons or groups or categories of persons disadvantaged by unfair discrimination. This study explored the factors enhancing or impending career mobility for women in the South African construction industry, with the aim of investigating the factors influencing the choices of careers in construction by South African women. Relevant literature was comprehensively reviewed. Previous relevant research was studied. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to gather data from multiple samples. Key findings included that women had a role to play in the construction industry and that they could build successful construction careers. However, there were various barriers to entry such as, for example, discrimination against women due to gender bias, the work environment on site and lack of sufficient successful role models. These factors impacted negatively on the choices of careers in construction by South African women.