ERIC Number: ED666939
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Costa Rican Women's Sustained Learning: The Value of Lived Experience, Identity & Family
Natalia Ramírez-Casalvolone; Faridah Pawan
Commission for International Adult Education, Paper presented at the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) Commission for International Adult Education (CIAE) Annual Pre-Conference (73rd, Reno, NV, Oct 28-29, 2024)
This research highlights how 20 Costa Rican women sustain their learning and overcome adversity in Colegios Nocturnos (Night High Schools), with the unrelenting support of family, friends, and their own "sense of self." Zuga (1999) stated that women's experiences are shaped by their societal position, which directly impacts their learning and how they construct knowledge. To gain insights into participants' learning, we drew on feminist pedagogy (teaching women about marginalization brought about by intersectional structures of race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, and gender) to facilitate students' discussion and critique of their circumstances and the systems of oppression and privilege that have informed their lived experience (Tisdell, 1995, p. 57), including schooling. To analyze the findings, we applied the funds of knowledge framework and adult learning pedagogy to explore two questions: Which Funds of Knowledge did El Cerro Night High School women students use? How did Funds of Knowledge resources reflect participants' learning and coping strategies? Findings demonstrated that participants (a) drew on "multiple" interlocking sources of Funds of Knowledge, (b) used the classroom as a place to be heard, and (c) emphasized experiences as sources for motivation in the classroom. Findings brought into focus Costa Rica's educational infrastructure for adult women. This study contributes to reconceptualizing funds of knowledge as adult learning pedagogy and the teaching strategies that create opportunities for meaningful Adult Education, one in which women's life experiences and conditions are seen, validated, and utilized as the fundamentals underlying the success of their learning. [For the full proceedings, see ED666619.]
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Females, Sustainability, Self Concept, Family (Sociological Unit), Family Influence, Nontraditional Education, Adult Students, Knowledge Level, Learning Strategies, Coping, Motivation, Student Attitudes, Adults, Rural Areas, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning
Commission for International Adult Education. Available from: American Association for Adult and Continuing Education. 10111 Martin Luther King Junior Highway Suite 200C, Bowie, MD 20720. Tel: 301-459-6261; Fax: 301-459-6241; e-mail: office@aaace.org; e-mail: aaace10@aol.com; Web site: https://www.aaace.org/page/CIAE
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Costa Rica
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A