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The promotion of public school adult education in the city of Port Coquitlam

University of British Columbia

The purpose of the study was to determine factors essential to the effective promotion of public school adult education in a suburban Canadian community. The city of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia was chosen. A map of the city was divided into block areas, and a twenty per cent random sample was used to examine several aspects of the problem. Four areas of study were identified: 1. the nature of the community 2. participation in adult education 3. subject area interest 4. patterns of mass media use. In a sample block the first and the fifth house was selected and the adult who answered the door at each was interviewed for a total of 112 respondents. The structured interview technique was employed to gather data from respondents. The hypothesis tested in this study was that no significant difference exists between males and females or between respondents living in urban, service and rural land zones and the following characteristics: 1. marital status 2. employment 3. adult kinship in home 4. social participation 5. participation in adult education 6. interest in adult education 7. patterns of media utilization. The distributions within the groups were tested for significant differences using either the chi-square or the Kolmogorov-Smirnov two-sample test while linear relationships were indicated by frequency distributions. From the findings it appears that Port Coquitlam is a very homogeneous community. Most occupations are at the level of skilled and semi-skilled work and the social participation of respondents is low. Except for employment status, no statistically significant difference was found to exist between the factors studied for males and females and no statistically significant differences for the three residential pairs. The participation of respondents in adult education is low and mainly in the area of job-oriented and leisure-time classes. The stated interests of respondents indicate that participation will likely continue to be focused in these subject areas. Therefore, job-oriented and leisure-time courses offerred in Port Coquitlam should have a particular appeal for residents. Patterns of communication indicate that many more women than men receive door-to-door communications. The most frequently listened to radio stations were CKNW--a metropolitan station--and CJJC--located in a rural area. Most respondents view Canadian television stations and more of them subscribe to the local weekly newspaper than to either of the metropolitan dailies. If the use of media outlets listed here were utilized by the adult administrator communications would have the best chance of reaching Port Coquitlam residents. Areas suggested for further research include: more extensive investigation of the community to verify the apparent homogeneity of the population; investigation of how influence operates in this community; and continuing investigation of changing patterns of interest and participation in adult education so that communications can be properly addressed.

Text

2011-05-18

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/34679

Education

University of British Columbia

Graduate