Social Support among Women in Adult Literacy Classrooms: The Case of the Mother Child Education Foundation (AÇEV) in Turkey
Open Access
- Author:
- Gungor, Ramazan
- Graduate Program:
- Adult Education
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- July 15, 2015
- Committee Members:
- Esther Susana Prins, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
David Post, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Fred Michael Schied, Committee Member
Davin Jules Carr Chellman, Special Member - Keywords:
- Social Support
Literacy
Adult Literacy
Women
Turkey
AÇEV. - Abstract:
- Prior research indicates that social support is strongly related to socioeconomic, physical, and mental well-being. Building on this work, this qualitative research study employed ethnographic tools to examine the perceptions of social support among women in adult literacy classrooms, specifically those provided by Anne Çocuk Eğitim Vakfı (AÇEV; Mother Child Education Foundation) in Istanbul, Turkey. Paying special attention to characteristics of AÇEV and partnering institutions, AÇEV’s idiosyncratic approach to adult literacy, and the social, economic and historical context in which adult literacy education is provisioned in Turkey, the research examined the relationship between the underlying approach to adult literacy, curricular materials, their implementation in the classroom, and perceptions of social support by women learners. The data sources included interviews with professional AÇEV staff, volunteer teachers and women learners, classroom observations, AÇEV’s curricular materials, a social support survey, and photographs taken at the sites. The data were analyzed using thematic and discourse analyses. Global norm making was used as a lens to understand how AÇEV came to interpret and implement functional literacy in a peculiar way, one that heavily emphasized women’s support. Over time, functional literacy was transformed to become more oriented toward fostering social support, and the curricular materials explicitly, consistently, and repeatedly attempted to create a supportive environment for the women learners. Deconstructing normative gender roles and expectations and helping women become aware of and actively advocate for their rights were salient goals of the program. Women learners reported offering emotional and informational support to each other, and their perceptions were supported by classroom observations. Material and tangible support were rare among the women and mostly flowed from AÇEV to the participants in the form of various educational materials. The findings of this research suggest that adult literacy classrooms can be a venue where women learners perceive and receive various forms of support from their peers, teachers, and other actors they meet while attending the programs.