Thanks Ditmar for posting to the list. I am wondering if anyone on this
listserv has answers to Ditmar. For her complete posting, see below, but
here are some of her questions:
1. Does anyone have suggestions for literature on why  low-income
women's rates of persistence and transfer across the trajectories of
adult education and literacy and community college programs are so low?
She is  particularly interested in studies that address the implications
of gender, age, race/ethnicity, class, and location (or place) in rates
of persistence an transfer. 
2. Can anyone share words of advice with a graduate student who is
struggling to frame a dissertation proposal in the area of adult
education and literacy?
And Ditmar-thanks for letting us know how you have used the ALE Wiki.
Anyone else have any other feedback for Ryan who is working on a women
and literacy ALE Wiki?


>>> "ditmar0906_inossian at netzero.net" <ditmar0906_inossian at netzero.net>

10/18/06 5:47 PM >>>
Hello, I'm new to the list. In response to Daphne, I used the ALE Wiki
to identify leads to recent research on my dissertation topic, which is
the persistence and transfer rates of low-income women students/learners
across the trajectories of adult education and literacy and community
college programs. 
On that same note, I thought members of the list might have some
suggestions for me (based on my topic). I'm looking for very recent
(2004-2006) literature, and I've already included some of the well-known
reports listed on the NCSALL website (e.g. Comings, Soricone, Beder,
Reder, etc.). 
What I really need are "cases" that address the question: Why are
low-income women's rates of persistence and transfer across the
trajectories of adult education and literacy and community college
programs so low? At a less institutional and more social psychological
level, the issue is sometimes framed as one of educational (and
occupational) aspirations and expectations and/or one of motivation and
achievement, which is of course relevant and the point at which I
actually began my inquiry into the topic. However, this dissertation is
for the Ph.D. in sociology, so a more institutional and/or
policy-oriented approach is being taken. 
I've come across the literature that identifies the big "risk factors,"
but much of this is quantitative analysis of nationally representative
data sets, and although an important contribution to my own
investigation, my research will be qualitative because I'm interested in
the relationship between these factors and in how they organize to
influence or shape the (often poor) educational outcomes of women
learners, particularly in terms of their longer-range ability to access
occupational opportunity structures. So other very recent studies that
investigate this or similar issues using qualitative methodologies is
what I need. And I'm particularly interested in studies that address the
implications of gender, age, race/ethnicity, class, and location (or
place) in rates of persistence an transfer. 
For example, being a single parent is a risk factor to stopping out or
dropping out, but being a single parent often means something very
different to a man than to a woman (i.e. gender). Being an older
student/learner (non-traditional in terms of age) means something very
different to one who is a twenty-five year old mother than it does to
one who is a forty-five year old grandmother . . . etc.
Finally, in addition to any "tips" on studies/research I might want to
consider, I invite any suggestions or comments about my topic, approach
. . . whatever anyone might share with a graduate student who is
struggling to frame a dissertation proposal in the area of adult
education and literacy, given the interests I've described and the
sociological perspective I'm using.  
Thank you. --Ditmar
C. Ditmar Coffield
Northeastern University