The Stephenville Adult Centre : a survey of the clientelle served during 1968-69 and the benefits they derived

This study was designed to investigate the background characteristics of the students participating in the program at the Stephenville Adult Centre and the benefits they derived. -- The data were obtained from the files at the Centre and the responses to the two forms of a questionnaire, one complet...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Coombs, Gerald
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1971
Subjects:
Online Access:https://research.library.mun.ca/7117/
https://research.library.mun.ca/7117/1/Coombs_Gerald.pdf
https://research.library.mun.ca/7117/3/Coombs_Gerald.pdf
Description
Summary:This study was designed to investigate the background characteristics of the students participating in the program at the Stephenville Adult Centre and the benefits they derived. -- The data were obtained from the files at the Centre and the responses to the two forms of a questionnaire, one completed by forty-six vocational students and the other by thirty-seven in the work force. -- The typical student at the Centre was found to be a married man with two children. He was twenty-four years old, had a grade eight education, had been out of school nine years and was as likely to come from a settlement with under one thousand persons as from a settlement with over one thousand persons. Other findings of the study were that the participants were enrolled "to get more education" or "to help get a better job" and that these objectives were achieved. Eighty-one per cent of the respondents who were not attending vocational schools had been employed since leaving the Stephenville Adult Centre, and eighty-three per cent of those were employed at the time of response. One quarter of the respondents felt they were not allowed to attend the Centre for a long enough period. It was also found that Canada Manpower policy was not uniformly enforced in requiring the participants to state a "vocational goal". -- The four most important recommendations arising out of the study are (1) that the Canada Manpower policy be changed, first, to allow persons to attend for longer than fifty-two weeks if necessary and, second, to eliminate the requirement that applicants state a definite vocational goal; (2) that more facilities be provided for the expansion of the BTSD Program in Newfoundland; (3) that full-time counselling services be provided at the Centre; and (4) that an Adult Education Teacher Education program be established at Memorial University. If adult education programs are to expand, there will be a need for trained personnel.