In training programs designed to help immigrant women adapt to Canada, drop-out
rates are frequently high and attendance is often low. Investigating some reasons behind this
observation was the motivation for this thesis. A literature review revealed that curricula used
in existing programs are often developed from experts' understanding of immigrants' needs;
research on immigrant women's curricular needs as perceived by themselves is virtually nonexistent.
An objective of this thesis was to address this knowledge gap.
This study inquired into what curricular needs immigrant women have, how these needs
differ, and what relationship exists between the women's backgrounds and their curricular
needs. A questionnaire was developed and validated by an expert panel, and then administered
to graduates from an orientational training program. Post-survey interviews were conducted.
Data were analyzed using frequency distribution, cluster analysis, multivariate analysis of
variance (MANOVA), factor analysis, and linear discriminant analysis.
It was found that the program, although well received, did not reflect the curricular
needs perceived by the immigrant women themselves. Life skills instruction was unwanted by
many students while English and computer lessons were in demand. A desire to regain higherquality
jobs partially explained the women's curricular needs.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/3769 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Chen, Lin |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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