AN ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF THE CONCERNS OF THREE AGE GROUPS OF WOMEN STUDENTS ENROLLED IN OFFICE INFORMATION SYSTEMS COURSES AT OAKLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE (CAREERS, ADULT, PROBLEMS, RETURNING, BUSINESS, MICHIGAN

The problem of this study was to identify demographic characteristics, reasons for enrolling for courses, issues and problems of concern, and educational and occupational goals of women enrolled in Office Information Systems courses at Oakland Community College; to elicit perceptions of college services; and to determine significant relationships between variables for three age groups of women.;The study population was the women students enrolled in Office Information Systems courses fall term, 1984. A questionnaire administered in November, 1984, was completed by about 84 percent of the women, and the data were statistically analyzed using frequency distributions, percentages, and two- and three-way chi-square tests of independence with a .05 level of significance.;Six women were interviewed to obtain holistic, individual portrayals as well as life events which shaped attitudes and feelings about themselves and their aspirations. The interviews revealed similarities and differences among the women and how these characteristics relate to educational attainment, clarity of life purposes, and process of self-discovery and self-realization.;While it was impossible to reject any of the hypotheses completely, it was apparent that there were many differences among the three age groups of women.;Following are the major findings: (1) The most important reasons for attending college were related to employment and careers; the educational goal given by the majority of the women was to complete the associate degree requirements. (2) The identifying characteristics of the respondents which had the strongest influence on their reasons for attending college were present occupations of the respondents and the estimated annual income of the respondents and their husbands. (3) Problems of academic counseling, career choices, and obtaining good jobs as well as family responsibilities and time management were related to the age of the respondents. (4) Younger women were most concerned about academic issues, time management related to jobs and obtaining good jobs and aspired to higher levels of educational attainment than older women. Women between 26 and 40 were most concerned about time management related to family and child responsibilities and their own self-confidence. Women over 40 were less concerned with the above-mentioned problems.