Women as Learners

The Significnce of Gender in Adult Learning

Elisabeth Hayes and Daniele D. Flannery

Shifting standards and roles for women-combined with many economic and social factors have increased the number of women who participate in adult lerning activities. Yet most literature on adult learning barely touches on the subject of women's learning. This limited understanding of how women learn is too often reflected in the practice of adult education professionals and recognized authorities on women as adult learners. Together, they examine and compare the importance of such factors as sense of identity, self-esteem, social world, and power in what and how women learn.