scholarly journals ADULT EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN CANADA: OPPORTUNITIES, FUNDING, AND GENDER GAPS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S4-S4
Author(s):  
A Katherine Harrington ◽  
Phyllis Cummins
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
The Past ◽  
Funding Sources ◽  
Key Informant ◽  
International Assessment ◽  
And Gender ◽  
And Training

Abstract Labor force participation rates for middle-aged and older Canadians have increased substantially over the past two decades, with increases for women outpacing men. Given the importance of adult education and training (AET) to stay competitive in later career, we used a mixed methods approach to examine gender differences. Our analysis of the 2012 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) data indicated that, for ages 55-65, rates of AET participation are similar for both men and women. However, women are less likely than men to have AET funded by their employers. Findings suggest that women are more likely to need alternate funding sources for AET, such as other organizations or through self-funding. In addition, our review of literature, policy-related documents, and key informant interviews identified possible changes in policies and practices for the promotion of AET for middle-aged and older Canadians.

scholarly journals Domestic and International Perspectives on Financing Adult Education and Training

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 389-390
Author(s):  
Abigail Helsinger ◽  
Oksana Dikhtyar ◽  
Phyllis Cummins ◽  
Nytasia Hicks
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Adult Education ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Low Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
And Training

Abstract Adult education and training (AET) over the life-course is necessary to participate in economic, social, and political activities in the time of globalization and technological advancement. However, little research has been done to identify mechanisms to fund AET opportunities among middle-aged and older adults from a comparative international perspective. Our study aimed to identify strategies to finance AET opportunities for middle-aged and older adults through an international lens, to help identify barriers and facilitators in effort to best support adult learners regardless of education background or socioeconomic characteristics. We carried out a descriptive qualitative study to facilitate an in-depth understanding of funding mechanisms available to adult learners in the selected countries, from the perspective of adult education and policy experts. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 61 international adult education experts from government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and education institutions. Our informants represented 10 countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Data included at least one in-depth phone or web-based qualitative interview per informant in addition to information gathered from written materials (e.g., peer-reviewed publications and organizational reports). We identified three financing options that arose as themes: government-sponsored funding; employer-sponsored funding; and self-funding. We found that government-sponsored funding is especially important for low-skilled, low-income older adults for whom employer-sponsored or self-funding is not available. Our results have implications for lifelong AET policy changes, such as adaptations of successful AET funding programs across global communities.

Prestige versus Practicality—A Dilemma for the Engineering Profession

1985 ◽  
Vol 199 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
K McCormick
Keyword(s):  
Educational System ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Engineering Profession ◽  
The Past ◽  
Social Prestige ◽  
The Social ◽  
And Training

British engineers have claimed that their important contributions to economic and social well-being, based on their achievements as practical people, have gone unrecognized or unrewarded. Yet over the past thirty years efforts to boost the social prestige of British engineers appear to have undermined the social arrangements which fostered the strong practical ethos. Increasing reliance on the full-time educational system is tending to raise social prestige through bringing the ‘all graduate profession’ and through trends to recruitment from higher social backgrounds. Yet these trends have been associated with a fall in traditional and recognizable training. This paper examines both the nature of the ‘practical’ tradition and efforts to raise ‘prestige’ and asks whether the engineering profession is caught on the horns of an irresolvable dilemma—to boost either prestige or practicality. The paper concludes that in principle the British pattern of education and training has much to commend it still, with the strong emphasis on training elements in a working environment. But it is argued that its success will depend on engineers and their employers becoming much more active in the field of training.

Impact of Covid-19 on the Use of Laptops by College Students and the Effects on Posture and Discomfort

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 705-707
Author(s):  
Susan E. Kotowski ◽  
Kermit G. Davis
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Upper Extremities ◽  
Work Environments ◽  
Good Work ◽  
The Past ◽  
And Training

Over the past year, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a switch from a majority of classes being taught in-person to a majority being taught online. The switch has led to an increase in the amount of time students are utilizing technology for learning purposes. This study assessed how technology use has changed during the pandemic, particularly related to laptop use, and the postures students work in and the discomfort they’re experiencing while participating in online learning. The results of the survey (n=1,074) found that laptop use is up significantly (used the majority of the time by 70.2% of students), students are working in poor postures (up to 80% working with deviated neck postures), and are experiencing high levels of discomfort (up to ~60% reporting moderate/extreme discomfort in their upper extremities). The results bring to light the urgent need to provide ergonomics education and training for designing good work environments.

Towards More Socio-Culturally Sensitive Research and Study of Workplace E-Learning

2014 ◽  
pp. 2026-2042
Author(s):  
Karim A. Remtulla
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Career And Technical Education ◽  
Technical Education ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Career And Technical ◽  
Culturally Informed ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Learning Research ◽  
And Training

This article advocates workplace adult education and training researchers and scholar practitioners interested in career and technical education (CTE), adult education and technology, and who are attempting social and cultural critiques of workplace e-learning. The emphasis on the technological and artefactual in workplace e-learning research and study are not producing the expected learning outcomes from workplace adult education and training to the degree anticipated. Given increasingly global and diverse workforces, the research and study of workplace e-learning as a socio-culturally ‘negotiated' space may be an alternate approach toward a more socially and culturally informed understanding of adult learning from workplace e-learning.

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