| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 成人教育研究所 === 91 === With an increasing awareness of the lack of learning opportunities at home, some housewives choose to step out of the kitchen by attending regular meetings at the school their children go to, i.e. the so-called “growth classes” for parents. Intrigued by the popularity of such groups, I looked into the phenomenon in this study, hoping to add up to existent theories in adult education with the discussion of a new female learning experience.
I approached the thesis with four questions: Under what circumstances is a housewife encouraged to take up learning again outside the family? Why do they choose a parent growth group as their learning location? What kind of female learning experience do they develop? What impacts or effects does this learning experience bring to women per se and to women education?
The research adopts the grounded theory, a kind of qualitative research method, to analyze the categorize data. I had semi-structural interviews with female members in the parent growth group with a minimum of 5-year participation. Female empowerment behavior is defined as the core phenomenon in this study with a further discussion and clarification of the factors that influence this empowerment behavior.
The characteristics of the empowerment behavior that the interviewees show can be categorized into nine dimensions, covering both personal and interpersonal levels. On the personal level, we see consciousness raising, problem-solving ability increasing, a boost in self-confidence and self-esteem, power structure in the household falling loose, an growing identification toward the parent group, and an enforcement of achievement motives. On the interpersonal level, the objects show an improved capability of handling relationships, of empowering other people, and an establishment of personal support network. As for the factors that influence empowerment behavior, the study identifies them as life circumstances of the female, the learning process in the parent growth group, and group dynamics。 Life circumstances is an overall term for the general situation of an individual female, including her personalities, the fixed image of the female gender, the constraints imposed by the traditional role of a woman, her economic status, and the support from the husband. Learning process refers to participation motives, learning mentality, learning mode, and learning obstacles. Group dynamics involves the nature of the belonged group, its functions, course design, the interactive process among members, the role that the object plays in the group.
Then, according to the conclusion drawn from the research, the study proposes suggestions, points out limitations, and hopefully provides a vision for future studies.
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