ERIC Number: EJ1149914
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2167-8669
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Caribbean Women Finding a Balance between Returning to Higher Education and Being Successful: Voices from Jamaica
Black-Chen, Marsha
International Research and Review, v3 n1 p40-54 Fall 2013
Over the last two decades there has been a dramatic increase in continuing education enrollment among non-traditional-aged females both in Jamaica and overseas. This article explores the academic experiences of Jamaican women returning to college, placing emphasis on support services within the higher education institutions attended and on these women's successes, challenges and strategies for successful academic and social integration into the higher education environment. A narrative inquiry and a feminist approach to research making women more visible provided this study's findings, which include the women's valuing education, feeling accomplished, and feeling empowered. Integration into these environments, a major challenge, includes physical and psychological pressures, family obligations and financial difficulties. Amplifying these women's voices is of the essence, in understanding the efficacy of this student population. Recommendations for further research are provided and the study's findings hold significant implications for non-traditional/part-time/evening college students in higher education in Jamaica. Recommendations include, higher education institutions and policy makers learning more about the academic experiences of women over 25, and increases in the flexibility of the environment as it relates to support services.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Continuing Education, Nontraditional Students, Womens Education, Females, Higher Education, Feminism, Student Experience, Reentry Students, Student Attitudes, Value Judgment, Empowerment, Educational Attainment, Semi Structured Interviews
Phi Beta Delta, Honor Society for International Scholars. Administration Building Rooms 148 & 150, 5500 University Parkway, California State University, San Bernardino, CA 92407. Tel: 909-537-5018; Fax: 909-537-7458; e-mail: staff@phibetadelta.org; Web site: http://www.phibetadelta.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Adult Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Jamaica
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A