Organizations are increasingly supporting employee's educational pursuits, especially when continuing education is used as a strategy to achieve organizational goals or groom future executives. Fulmer and Wagner (1999) found that best-practice organizations developed their own leaders and that senior executives were products of internal leadership development systems. This quantitative study was designed to better understand deterrents to participation in formal adult education from the perspective of mid- to upper-level professional, technical, executive, administrative, and managerial employees who participated in a quasi-governmental organization's leadership development program. The program consisted of three phases. The first two took place within the confines of the organization over a one-year period, and completion rates were almost one-hundred percent. For phase three, the formal education component of the program where three years were allotted to achieve the objectives, the completion rates were much lower. As a result, fifty-nine percent of all participants failed to complete the program in its entirety. Three questions were explored in the study: (a) despite efforts of the employer to address major deterrents (time, costs, family responsibilities, access, and employer support), to what extent do employees perceive any of these deterrents still exist, (b) what other deterrents do employees face as they approach or become active in the formal adult education segment (Phase III) of the leadership development program, and (c) what do employees perceive as enablers provided by the employer? A slightly modified Deterrents to Participation Scale-General (DPS-G) augmented with three open-ended questions was used to collect data from eight hundred and thirty-three respondents. Sixty-seven percent had completed all three phases of the leadership development program. Multivariate analysis of variance and content analysis were the primary analytical methods used. Results revealed that typical deterrents to participation in formal adult education were not very problematic for the respondents in this study; however, findings here reinforce those in the literature regarding the critical need for organizational support. The results have implications for the subject organization and may also apply to smaller organizations, global enterprise, and private industry, where leadership development programs with a formal education component exist or may be implemented. / Ph. D.

The non-formal adult (25-64 year olds) education in public and private teaching sectors on the basis of social and human capital, including both learners’ and non-formal education organizers’ situation is analyzed in this dissertational research. The specific purpose of this dissertation is seen through the reality that non-formal adult education is more oriented towards the expectations of employers for their employees’ better qualification(s) while placing the possibilities for personal growth and self-expression aside (i.e. escaping from human capital and putting the social capital into the first place). Also, the manifestations of social stratification in these processes are captured as well, by stressing such aspects as: the education of adult learners, the age factor and the sectors where adults work. While implementing the dissertational research, main statements to be defended were explored and confirmed as well: i) human capital remains more oriented towards social capital accumulation in the public and private sectors of non-formal adult education; ii) the differences between non-formal adult education public and private teaching sectors are rather slight. / Disertacijoje analizuojamas neformalusis suaugusiųjų (25-64 metų amžiaus) švietimas žmogiškojo ir socialinio kapitalo aspektu valstybiniame bei privačiame mokymo sektoriuose besimokančiųjų ir neformalųjį švietimą organizuojančių institucijų lygmenis. Formuluojama problematika, kad neformalusis suaugusiųjų švietimas, kaip vienas svarbiausių asmens sėkmingo veikimo visuomenėje, tenkinant jo/jos pažinimo, lavinimosi bei saviraiškos poreikius garantų, yra daugiau orientuotas į esamų darbdavių lūkesčius darbuotojų kvalifikacijai tobulinti/kelti, akivaizdžiai atsiejant individo saviugdos/asmenybės tobulėjimo bei saviraiškos galimybes (kitaip tariant, atitrūkstama nuo žmogiškojo kapitalo į pirmąją vietą iškeliant socialinį). Taip pat šiame procese pastebimos ir socialinės stratifikacijos apraiškos, ypač išskiriant besimokančiųjų grupių išsilavinimo, amžiaus bei sektorių, kuriuose dirbama, aspektus. Tyrimo eigoje buvo išanalizuoti bei patvirtinti ir ginamieji teiginiai, kad: a) neformaliajame suaugusiųjų švietime valstybinio ir privataus mokymo sektoriuose žmogiškasis kapitalas išlieka orientuotas į socialinio kapitalo kaupimą ir b) skirtumai tarp neformalųjį suaugusiųjų švietimą vykdančių valstybinio ir privataus mokymo sektorių yra nežymūs.

Disertacijoje analizuojamas neformalusis suaugusiųjų (25-64 metų amžiaus) švietimas žmogiškojo ir socialinio kapitalo aspektu valstybiniame bei privačiame mokymo sektoriuose besimokančiųjų ir neformalųjį švietimą organizuojančių institucijų lygmenis. Formuluojama problematika, kad neformalusis suaugusiųjų švietimas, kaip vienas svarbiausių asmens sėkmingo veikimo visuomenėje, tenkinant jo/jos pažinimo, lavinimosi bei saviraiškos poreikius garantų, yra daugiau orientuotas į esamų darbdavių lūkesčius darbuotojų kvalifikacijai tobulinti/kelti, akivaizdžiai atsiejant individo saviugdos/asmenybės tobulėjimo bei saviraiškos galimybes (kitaip tariant, atitrūkstama nuo žmogiškojo kapitalo į pirmąją vietą iškeliant socialinį). Taip pat šiame procese pastebimos ir socialinės stratifikacijos apraiškos, ypač išskiriant besimokančiųjų grupių išsilavinimo, amžiaus bei sektorių, kuriuose dirbama, aspektus. Tyrimo eigoje buvo išanalizuoti bei patvirtinti ir ginamieji teiginiai, kad: a) neformaliajame suaugusiųjų švietime valstybinio ir privataus mokymo sektoriuose žmogiškasis kapitalas išlieka orientuotas į socialinio kapitalo kaupimą ir b) skirtumai tarp neformalųjį suaugusiųjų švietimą vykdančių valstybinio ir privataus mokymo sektorių yra nežymūs. / The non-formal adult (25-64 year olds) education in public and private teaching sectors on the basis of social and human capital, including both learners’ and non-formal education organizers’ situation is analyzed in this dissertational research. The specific purpose of this dissertation is seen through the reality that non-formal adult education is more oriented towards the expectations of employers for their employees’ better qualification(s) while placing the possibilities for personal growth and self-expression aside (i.e. escaping from human capital and putting the social capital into the first place). Also, the manifestations of social stratification in these processes are captured as well, by stressing such aspects as: the education of adult learners, the age factor and the sectors where adults work. While implementing the dissertational research, main statements to be defended were explored and confirmed as well: i) human capital remains more oriented towards social capital accumulation in the public and private sectors of non-formal adult education; ii) the differences between non-formal adult education public and private teaching sectors are rather slight.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-08T16:35:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Soraya Tonelli.pdf: 1483282 bytes, checksum: d49dcee4bf8aebbce3a37709d4d30f54 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-15 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This investigative work was subject to avoidance in distance learning courses online. In this sense was conducted a case study of the Faça e Aconteça Program held by Sebrae in Santa Catarina in the corresponding period of the second half of 2009 and first half of 2010. Were identified the factors that contribute to dropout in distance learning courses online as part of continuing non-formal adult education; the profile of persistent and dropouts students in terms of demographics, habits, preferences and study conditions; and the relationship between the students' profile and factors of permanence or abandonment of the program. The study results were obtained using two main procedures of data collection: a quantitative survey applied to a random sample of two hundred participants of the Faça e Aconteça Program and a qualitative deepening through focused individual interviews applied to a non-probability sample of ten participants of the Program, both procedures involving those who completed the courses and those who have not finished. Survey participants were selected from the base of subscribers who effectively started the courses in the program studied in the period already mentioned above, compounding a research universe consists of 1,347 people distributed in three categories: (1) those who completed the six courses of the program (634 persons) (2) those who completed at least one course of the program (379 people), and (3) those who have not completed any of the six courses (334 people). From the base sample composed of 1,347 participants was selected for the quantitative study a simple random sample of 200 people, resulting in a margin of error of + / - 7.6%, considering a confidence level of 95.5% . The survey instrument used for quantitative data collection was based on the instrument originally developed by researcher Amanda Moura Walter in 2006 and refined and validated by the researcher Onília de Almeida in 2007. Descriptive statistical analysis were made with data from the quantitative part, and content analysis was performed with data from the qualitative part. From the analysis of results was possible to infer that there are differences in the profile of students that influence the persistence or dropout, and that the main factors contributing to the evasion can be classified as: causes related to the program itself, related to situational factors, lack of planning for the study, and/or personal difficulty in adapting to distance education / Este trabalho teve como temática investigativa a evasão em cursos a distância online. Neste sentido se realizou um estudo de caso do Programa Faça e Aconteça promovido pelo Sebrae em Santa Catarina no período correspondente ao segundo semestre de 2009 e primeiro semestre de 2010. Foram identificados os fatores que contribuem para a evasão em cursos a distância online no âmbito da educação continuada não formal de adultos; o perfil dos estudantes persistentes e desistentes em termos de aspectos demográficos, hábitos, preferências e condições de estudo; e a relação existente entre o perfil dos estudantes e fatores de permanência ou desistência do Programa. Os resultados do estudo foram obtidos por meio de dois procedimentos principais de coleta de dados: uma pesquisa quantitativa aplicada a uma amostra probabilística de duzentos participantes do Programa Faça e Aconteça, e um aprofundamento qualitativo por meio de entrevista individual focada aplicada a uma amostra não probabilística de dez participantes do Programa, ambos os procedimentos envolvendo tanto concluintes quanto não concluintes. Os participantes da pesquisa foram selecionados a partir da base de inscritos que efetivamente iniciaram os cursos do Programa estudado no período já assinalado mais acima, compondo um universo de pesquisa formado por 1.347 pessoas distribuídas em três categorias: (1) aquelas que concluíram os seis cursos do Programa (634 pessoas); (2) aquelas que concluíram pelo menos um curso do Programa (379 pessoas); e (3) aquelas que não concluíram nenhum dos seis cursos (334 pessoas). A partir da base amostral composta pelos 1.347 participantes foi selecionada para a pesquisa quantitativa uma amostra probabilística simples de 200 pessoas, o que resulta em uma margem de erro de +/- 7,6%, considerando um nível de confiança de 95,5%. O instrumento de pesquisa utilizado para levantamento dos dados quantitativos foi baseado no instrumento originalmente desenvolvido pela pesquisadora Amanda Moura Walter no ano de 2006 e validado e refinado pela pesquisadora Onília de Almeida no ano de 2007. Com os dados da parte quantitativa foram feitas análises estatísticas descritivas, e com os dados da parte qualitativa foi realizada análise de conteúdo. A partir da análise dos resultados foi possível inferir que existem diferenças no perfil dos estudantes que influenciam na persistência ou na evasão, e que os principais fatores que contribuem para a evasão podem ser classificados em: causas relativas ao próprio programa, causas que dizem respeito a fatores situacionais, causas afetas à falta de planejamento para o estudo, e/ou causas relacionadas à dificuldade pessoal de adaptação à educação a distância