A qualitative research study was conducted to examine the factors influencing Utah women's decisions to go to college. The demographic of the study consisted of 245 women, ages 18-32. 89.9% of the participants were white, 80.4% LDS, 44.1% married, and 56.2% from Salt Lake and Utah counties. Here's a look at the what the research of the UWEP has revealed.
The Benefits of Higher Education for Women in Utah
One conclusion from the study was that "a substantial number of young women do not understand the value of a comprehensive college education." This conclusion was based on the potential benefits of education that the participants could list. While 96.3% of the participants believed that an education could help them financially, a great number of these women failed to cite benefits beyond making money. Interestingly, only 26% of women felt that higher education could promote their own self-development, and only 20% of women believed that having an education could help them to teach and influence their children. Furthermore, only 15% felt that a college education could help them influence the world and make a difference.
Research has shown that more education can benefit and improve our health and wellness, parenting, economics, civic and community engagement, intellectual/cognitive skills, and self-development. Considering this, it is discouraging that many women are led to believe that the numerous benefits of an education are either less valuable than financial gains, less correlated to a college education, or less relevant to the betterment of their lives.
The Influence of a Father on a Daughter's College Decision
This study revealed a strong correlation between the level of education of a father, and the impact it created on the education choices of his daughter. Specifically, women who had the example, support and guidance of their fathers in reading at home, doing homework, attending cultural events, and preparing for college were more likely to attend college and earn a degree.
The Influence of a Mother on a Daughter's College Decision
A mother's active encouragement and example for pursuing higher education had the greatest correlation with women's college attendance and graduation. Daughters who were able to see their mothers learning in a formal setting were heavily influenced to get higher education themselves. Also, mothers who did not go to college who expressed their regret to their daughters were able to influence them to attend also. Reading with their daughters, helping with homework, preparing them for college, as with the fathers, were also extremely important.
The Influence of School Counselors and Administrators on a Young Woman's College Decision
It was reported that only 1/3 of school counselors were positive, encouraging, and engaged in helping the participants prepare for college. 1/3 were helpful when asked for assistance. Lastly, 1/3 were actually negative examples. One woman stated: "The counselor in high school talked about my goals for college (with my mom there). He asked what I wanted to be, and I told him a veterinarian. He then pulled up my grades (3.4 GPA) and told me that I should not waste my time because I did not have the grades for it. That was devastating to hear, and I believed him."
There were only four responses about school administrators, three of which were negative.
The Influence of Teachers on a Young Woman's College Decision
36% of the participants felt that teachers had a strong influence on their decision to go to college. Nearly the same number of participants felt that their teachers had no influence on them at all. And the rest experienced some influence. Of course, the women who reported having influential teachers were more likely to attend college. Also, these women had more motivation and self-confidence to do well in school. In contrast, many of the participants who did not attend college reported that teachers didn't seem to include them as a "college-track" student, and didn't offer the same encouragement and help as they did for other students.
The Influence of College Preparation Activities on a Young Woman's College Decision
While many college prep activities were reported, absolutely the most influential were saving money for college, visiting a college campus, and receiving a scholarship or grant.
The Influence of School Activities and Leadership Roles on a Young Woman's College Decision
When asked if they had had any leadership experience before 9th grade, 47% of the participants claimed that they had absolutely none. Further, this study shows that the participants that have had leadership experience as young women were much more likely to attend college.
Although all of these activities assisted in helping young women learn and develop, in this 2010 Utah sample, six specific activities were statistically linked to women who attended college longer and/or graduated:
Just as leadership roles help prepare women for college, college experience is critical for leadership skill development for women.
- Being involved and active in religious youth organization
- Participating in volunteer and community service opportunities
- Playing high school sports
- Belonging to student clubs or associations
- Being a member of an honor society
- Serving in student government
The Influence of Finances on a Young Woman's College Decision
Finances are clearly an issue for whether or not students are able to attend college. However, over half of the women surveyed received no financial help at all from their parents. The factors that helped the participants the most financially were saving for college and working part-time, discussing financial aid options, and having supportive parents (by means of money, food, living at home, etc).
The Influence of Aspirations on a Young Woman's College Decision
The key finding in this study was that women feel they should go to college, but that it's not nessissary to finish. All but three of the participants spoke about the importance of getting an education, but many of these same women dropped out of college. Although college is seen as important, there seemed to be a significant lack of urgency to finish school. Although 90% of the college drop-outs in this study reported a desire to go back to school, only 50% had any plans to realistically do so, according to a series of follow-up questions.
The Influence of Religion and Values on a Young Woman's College Decision
Actively religious participants reported a high rate of encouragement to seek education from their religion, top church leaders, and local church leaders. This encouragement also was seen to be a huge influence on the women's decision to attend college. Here are some other significant findings, specifically from the LDS participants (quoted directly):
- LDS participants generally believe that learning, knowledge, and higher education are important. They believe their religion supports women attending college, but many do not feel they need to graduate.
- Many LDS women do not see the urgency in obtaining their college degrees; they believe that finishing them "someday" is fine.
- Many LDS women cannot envision a life of integration. They cannot imagine being simultaneously married, having children, and continuing college (even one class at a time). Some believe that women need to "give up" or "sacrifice" college for their husbands/families. Several students said it was their "duty" to drop out of school.
- In the minds of many LDS participants, "going to college" gets lumped into the same category as "going to work." If they believe they should not work, they also believe they should not attend college.
- Marriage or the birth of the first child is the end of college for many young women.
The Influence of Other Significant People on a Young Woman's College Decision
The strongest influence for a woman's decision to attend college is the support and encouragement of the people in her life. However, findings show that women who had no encouragement beyond parents, school, and church, were much less likely to attend and graduate college. The influence of friends, siblings, relatives, neighbors, and others were also a significant source of motivation for these young women. In fact, the women surveyed talked more about college with friends than with parents.
The College Attendance Decisions of Young Women in Utah
The top reason cited for attending college was "to be educated." However, the reasons cited for attending college that correlated most with graduation were "influence from family and friends" and "creating a new future."
What we can conclude from this, as from the rest of the data, is that the influence of other people is vital to the success of women in college! It is also vital to teach young women that education will provide them with many opportunities, benefits, and experiences that will create a new future for them, regardless of where they find themselves in life.
I'm in the Young Women's Presidency in my ward and reading these things reminds me that it's SO important that I emphasize to my YW to separate college and work....Ahh...this are frustrating to me!
ReplyDeleteYes, please make comments to your young women. The influence of church leaders is huge!
Deletevery interesting. Does Dr. Madsen teach at UVU? I think Patrick took a class from her.
ReplyDeleteI think I fall under a few of these categories. Both my parents encouraged higher education from the time I was very young. It was never, "if" you go to college, but "when". I feel like my dad had a huge part in my decision to not only want to get an education but to graduate! He always mentioned the benefits of an education and it always resonated with me. My mom didn't really pursue higher education and has never really had a desire, but she supported my dad through school and has always encouraged and supported her children. Unfortunately, it has taken me 12 years to graduate. Shouldn't I be a Dr. or something by now? :) I have had a few detours that have slowed my path towards graduation. And yes, I fall into the category of women who dropped out of school when I got married to support my husband! I don't regret my decision at all and would do it again in a heart beat. Patrick never asked me to do it, and it was my idea. By me supporting him for a few years, he was able to go to school full time and graduate with little debt. To us, this was really important. And now, he has a job and supports me while I am in school!
But these numbers are pretty sad. Sometimes I think women just go to school right out of high school to find a man (in Utah especially). Once they find him, they see no reason to pursue higher education. Very sad! Great information, thanks for sharing!
She does teach at UVU.
DeleteI know the feeling. It took me many years to get my degree, and that was while single. I was all set, actually, to start working to support John after we got married, if he wanted to go back to school. Honestly, he doesn't want to go back.
I really feel like going back to school will make me happy, though, so that is a goal to work on. Right now I'm auditing classes for free, and love just being back in the college world a little bit.
I really dig your blog, Heather.
ReplyDeleteAnd I really like this post. I'm not from Utah, and when I moved to Utah for school, it was so odd to me that so many girls I met were not planning on actually having to use their college education for anything.
I was an education major, and I am really insanely and intensely passionate about education. So many of my peers lacked the intensity and drive to really be great educators, which is a shame since USU has such an amazing education program! I vividly recall going to a seminar one day when the speaker (Pres. of the UEA) asked girls to raise their hand... "if you're here because you love kids,", and "if you want to make a difference," and finally, "if you think teaching is a good 'mom' job." I was shocked at how many hands went up. Especially because teaching isn't necessarily a good mom job, and that's what she expressed to us that day. It takes a lot of extra work and time and effort beyond the regular workday and that cuts into family time.
I also vividly recall a classmate telling me, "I don't even know why I'm here. I'm just dropping out when I get married." I was too shocked to say much of anything to that, since marriage hadn't really even crossed my mind and also because her lack of interest in her major was astounding to me, but when she followed that up with, "I probably should find a different major, since I'm just taking up a spot in the education program that someone else wants way more than me." I said, "Yes. You should."
I recognize that this girl was not the norm, but...I just want women to realize their potential, and I felt like that girl had gotten some really limiting beliefs about what she could and couldn't do.
I have since moved back to Wyoming and have been pleasantly surprised at the supportive environment in the elementary school where I teach. I have never heard a teacher compliment a girl on her looks or her outfit--all the compliments I have given and that I've overheard my colleagues give have been related to intelligence/ability/effort. Not that this doesn't also happen in Utah. I also live in a community with relatively few LDS people, and think that the kids--especially the girls--have a lot of ambitious role models. It's kind of an expensive place to live, and there aren't a lot of stay at home moms here.
I know this in an epically long comment, but one last story: I discovered I was pregnant during my student teaching. When people found out, their responses were overwhelmingly things like, "oh, you're so lucky you don't have to go through that whole interviewing and finding a job thing! It's so stressful!" Which really baffled me. I have nothing against SAHMs, but since I was actively seeking a job, and since that anouncement was met with surprise and often judgment, I do have something against a culture that tries to pigeonhole women into that role.
I hope that all made sense. I just really had a lot of thoughts after reading that, I guess!
I love long comments, Jo. I'm glad to say I didn't have those sorts of encounters in my secondary ed. courses. I'm glad you openly told that girl that she should drop out.
DeleteIt's unfortunate that women have so much more judgement on their shoulders for getting further education or working while having young children. I'm glad that Wyoming is a supportive environment for you.
Thanks for reading!
I have several observations.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I think it is important to distinguish "Mormon Culture" from the teachings of the LDS church. The church teaches that family and family life need to be the top priority for everyone, men and women alike. But it also teaches that education is extremely important, and that we all should get as much education as we can because it improves us as individuals. But people take the whole "family first" emphasis and pile a bunch of their own assumptions and desires onto it, and before you know it, the family priority teaching becomes the "women should never have a life outside the home" practice. It's tragic, really, that a beautiful and positive teaching should be twisted in such a way. I could give MANY examples principles that are twisted like this.
Second, I find it interesting that so many of Jo's female classmates didn't really care to graduate. I also went to USU, but I was in the business department. The women there were all (so far as I could tell) very driven and ambitious in the more traditional sense of the word. I think that girls who don't really want an education tend to enroll in programs like El Ed because they feel like they'll gain some practical parenting skills in the program. So I suspect that Jo probably saw the worst of women's disinterest in education. That doesn't make it any better, though.
Third, I guess I don't see that there's a huge problem here. Isn't women's rights about the right for women to do as they wish? If these women don't want to go to school, then isn't it their right to choose not to? Shouldn't we celebrate that 49% of enrollees are female? I think that's pretty cool. Now, don't misunderstand. You'll never find a greater advocate for education than myself, and I believe that there is a great deal of value to be had from finishing a degree, even if is never used to earn a dime. I guess what I am saying is that, while I applaud and endorse any effort to get ANYONE through college, I don't see 49% as a tragic figure. Just because these women's ambitions are not career or financial in nature doesn't mean they are inferior ambitions. I feel that their desire to be excellent mothers is very ambitious. I suspect there are few jobs more challenging than that of mother.
I will always be a supporter of women getting out of the house and having lives of their own outside of their children. I think it makes them better mothers when they do (they're generally happier people, in my experience, and a happy mother is always better than a depressed one!). That said, having a job is not the only way for women to get out and have a life. There are many ways in which they can be involved in their community and in "regular" life that don't have to detract from their relationship with their children. School is a great example. Even taking just one class per semester can make a huge difference to a woman's outlook, happiness, and general well roundedness. Volunteer work is also great. And, of course, jobs are wonderful ways for women to get out and live life as well, as long as it does not interfere with their ability to be a mother. My own mother has worked my entire life. She was the librarian at my elementary school! Needless to say, her job did not impinge on her ability to spend valuable time with me or my siblings.
In closing, I think every effort should be made to help girls who want an education to finish, and to make sure that those who do not want an education understand the consequences of dropping out so that they can make an educated decision. Clearly, Utah society needs to do a better job of pointing out the intangible benefits of education. If it does so, I suspect that these numbers will improve.
Thanks for expressing so much, Patrick. I certainly want to be able to create a discussion here. Firstly, I completely agree with the distinctions that must be drawn between LDS doctrine and culture. It's frustrating when they get tangled together, but its sort of inevitable.
DeleteI'd have to say, I'm a little bit confused about why you were critical of the particular women who might enroll in Elementary Ed. in order to gain practical parenting skills. You claimed that they "don't really want an education." The later, referring to women who aren't enrolled in school, you said,"Just because these women's ambitions are not career or financial in nature doesn't mean they are inferior ambitions." Am I right to assume these ambitions may be family oriented? If so, why be critical of the first type of woman and praise the second? Don't they have the same goals? I have no problem with women who don't primarily plan for a career in selecting a major, as long as they are serious about their education and its completion, and are responsibly preparing for whatever the future may hold. But I can see how it might be irritating for their career-minded peers.
Of course women can do as they wish. But all of the women in this study wanted to go to college, and wanted an education. I do find something problematic in a study where all of the women praised the value of an education, they all wanted to go to college to get one, and then, for many, their desire and plans to continue seeking that education through college has observably come to an end.
It is natural and understandable that putting an education on hold is often due to a desire to focus on family, or something else very important. But just because those things become a first priority, doesn't mean that education can't be a second, or third top priority. Many women just don't think they can, or should, have both, and that is discouraging.
The 49% enrollment is problematic because it represents the lowest stat in the nation, in a nation currently under economic struggle where more women are going to need more education to meet at least their economic needs. This figure is particularly upsetting because Utah has been historically well above the national average for women's college enrollment. Why, I just heard one of the speakers at General Conference proudly say that LDS people were among the most educated people in the world. That's likely very true, but it won't be something we can claim anymore if this continues.
In addition, I find it troubling that Utah also has the biggest gap in the nation between the number of male and female college graduates. If that trend continues, I'd hate to see the young women of our future believing that an education is more possible or important for a man than for her. THAT would be tragic.
I agree that regardless of getting a college education vs. not, the important things are choice, happiness, family, community involvement, and all those "intangible" goodies. College will most certainly help open opportunities for the good things in life, but so can other avenues of education and life experience. My husband would, and has, argued this point! I feel that alternative paths to education are worth much more expression than I have given them. But it's hard to do that without being critical of the value I find in formal college education.
I didn't mean to be critical of women in El Ed programs. My point was simply that Jo's experience probably had a disproportionate number of women who were disinterested in graduation. I just wanted to point out that we probably shouldn't assume that ALL women in Utah colleges are like the women that Jo described. When I discussed the women whose ambitions lean more towards family, I was referring to the very same women.
DeleteThat said, I know plenty of women (and men too, for that matter) who have no ambition at all, family, career or otherwise. These people are what I call "greener grass-ers" because they take no time to savor or enjoy or take pride in the moment. they just follow the road signs of life, hoping that the grass really is greener on the other side. They go to college because they are "supposed" to. They get married because they are "supposed" to. They have kids because they are "supposed" to, etc. They do nothing because they WANT to or because they derive personal satisfaction from it. I think that's tragic.
However, just because a woman chooses to drop her education in favor of her family doesn't necessarily mean that she falls into this category of person. That was my point about family ambitions.
I agree that drop out rates are very bad. One of the intangible benefits of graduation (versus just taking classes) is the sense of personal accomplishment and persistence through difficulty. So if the study was talking to women who wanted to graduate but they felt forced out through social pressure, then this is indeed a huge problem.
So, just for arguments sake, let me play devil's advocate for a minute. Doesn't 57% enrollment imply that insufficient numbers of men are enrolling? Is this a good thing? Since you are saying that the national 57/43 ratio is better than 50/50, would not 100/0 be the best ratio of all? If the national average were 80/20, is that the ratio that you would push Utah to reach? At what point would you be satisfied that women sufficiently outnumber men in college?
You mention the gap between male and female graduates, but I don't see that stat listed in your post. Do you have that figure available? To me, the 49/51 enrollment ratio is pretty close to perfect (I did a quick calc from the 2010 census and 49.12% of the people in Utah between 20 and 29 years of age were women, when coupled with the 49% enrollment rate, this implies that men and women are enrolling at approximately the same rate), but that ratio is for enrollment. If the graduation rates are significantly different, then that changes the conversation dramatically (from my perspective, at least). If the graduation rate is, say 30% women, then we have a major problem because the graduation rate is disproportionate between the genders. However, the data you provided in your post speaks only to enrollment rates, and I have no personal knowledge of the graduation rates, so I can't speak to this point. Fill me in and let's discuss!
I think you have an interesting point about "greener-grasser" sorts of people. It is pretty disappointing when people live their lives according to a road map that society has set up for them, and while attending school, and yes, perhaps even getting married and having kids, they are just going with the flow and with the norm. I do think that that is worth consideration when thinking about the numbers of students in college. How many of them are truly dedicated and know they want to be exactly where they are? That is worth researching as well.
DeleteHowever, I honestly do think that some of these people think they want something when they are taught that they should (socialization is powerful). It's not always a matter of being ambitious or not, sometimes they just don't engage in honest self-reflection enough to know how they really feel and what they really want in life. And sometimes even when they realize that what they want differs from the norm, they struggle to accept themselves. You're right, that is tragic.
For the record, I don't believe that women who drop out are less ambitious people. For the most part, these women have very legitimate reasons and priorities when they do so. I am very concerned, however, that they are giving up opportunities, if not dreams, that they once truly desired that do not need to be given up. As I had mentioned, education doesn't need to be "all or nothing," and many feel that it is.
Yes, 57% enrollment does imply that an insufficient number of men are enrolling (assuming that 50/50 is the ideal). Nationally, it is a fact that more women are enrolled in college. That's not to say that 49%, isolated from the reality of a national trend of a majority of women enrolled is a bad thing. But, that's the point, the issue is not isolated from current statistics. Nationally, women ARE increasing their opportunities through college education, and their enrollment is ahead of men. That being said, Utah is striving to increase the enrollment of both women and men, but the Utah Women and Education Project is focusing on women. Utah women were once a part of this trend of steadily increasing their opportunities for education. This is no longer the case. The issue is not Utah women's education vs. Utah men's education, it's Utah women's education vs. United States women's education. So, the gender equity of the ratio of enrollment or graduation is less relevant to me here.
Regardless, here's what I'm going off of for my comment about the gap between male and female graduates (from one of the briefs linked to on the project's webpage): 'Utah’s Workforce Services economist, Lecia Parks Langston, reports that Utah has the “largest gap between the share of men and women with college educations of any state.” The
education gap between men and women in Utah correlates
with women’s lower wages. Langston notes that Utah
women “tend to cluster in lower-paying occupations.”' The reference for which is Gorrell, M. (September 28, 2009). Utah's male-female income gap is wide. The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City. Retrieved from http://www.sltrib.com/utahpolitics/ci_13439899.
You will probably also be interested in the briefs on the project page I linked to at the start of my blog. They have some stats about graduation rates. They also indicate, among other things, that both Utah women and MEN are behind nationally when it comes to college education. Thanks for your interest in the research.
I'm glad to hear that you don't think that women who drop out are less ambitious than other women. That was kind of the vibe I was getting from the general discussion and I didn't feel like it was particularly fair to say that. I think that we are in general agreement on this topic.
DeleteThanks for being open-minded to my points. I wasn't trying to prove you wrong or provoke arguments, I just thought the topic was very interesting and I wanted to dig into it a little bit deeper. And, like any topic, when you dig into it, it gets complicated and right and wrong get ever harder to define, much less realize! I think it's great that women are hitting college in a big way. Now I just gotta get out there and see if I can help pry a few more guys away from their xbox's long enough to hit the books! :)
Yeah, sorry you got that vibe. My point with the post is to concentrate on how to encourage education for coming generations of girls, not to be critical of anyone's choices. If that didn't come across well, my bad. I think that debating is a good way to keep an open mind, and understand where others are coming from, so I'm fine with your efforts to discuss your views. You are welcome to do so any time.
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