Trends in the education of women on maternity leave

Annotation: The article presents the results of research that deals with the education of women during and after maternity or parental leave, i.e. further education. In the theoretical part of the article, I generally address the possibilities and trends of lifelong education and its forms. The empirical part describes the research methodology and includes the analyzed data. A quantitative research method was chosen for this investigation. In the end, I discuss the discussion and findings, which are confronted with the knowledge obtained so far. The article presents proposals for further investigation or new discussions. Key terms: Formal education, lifelong learning, further education, non-formal education, informal learning, adult, adult education, maternity or parental leave, barriers, motivation, mental hygiene, prevention of mental illness, self-recognition.

Annotation: This publication talks about further education of women on maternity or parental leave and after. The publication is divided into two parts, theoretical and empirical. The theoretical part generally deals with the overall concept of lifelong learning from an early age and its forms. The empirical part describes in detail the methodology of the research and interprets the analyzed data. These are quantitative research surveys. In the final discussion, the findings are compared with the already existing knowledge and suggestions for further examination or new discussion are presented. Introduction

The article deals with the further education of women during maternity or parental leave, but also with the education of women who have already completed this leave. This publication is divided into two parts. And that for the theoretical and empirical part. The theoretical part focuses in more detail on the educational trends of women on maternity leave.

The aim of the article is to describe the attitudes of women on maternity or parental leave and on completed maternity or parental leave towards further education, either subsequent or unrelated to the level of education already achieved. A quantitative methodology was chosen for this purpose. The methodology of the research investigation is described in the empirical part. The main part is the interpretation of the analyzed data.

Theoretical part

We live in a society where the production of knowledge is a fundamental and key factor, and thanks to this fact, all social institutions that deal with knowledge, learning and information are subsequently changing significantly. Information is mainly a person's capital, I dare to say the core capital, and enables him to be permanently engaged in the society of knowledge but also in working life. It is generally said that information is data about the real environment, its state and the processes that take place in this environment. We also understand information as communicable knowledge that is beneficial for the recipient, or a message that facilitates the choice between several different alternatives. 1

A person acquires this valuable information during his life through learning. But it is not only childhood education within the formal education system, i.e. education that begins with basic education, secondary education (which can be completed by a high school diploma, apprenticeship or final exam) and tertiary education, which is practiced after the completion of the high school graduation exam and includes university studies and studies at higher vocational schools. Valuable information can also be obtained during learning during the whole life, so we can already talk about lifelong learning here. Lifelong education, lifelong learning or further education is a complex complex of activities that allow transitions between education and employment, which allows the same qualifications to be obtained by different paths at any time during life. 2In the concept of lifelong learning, key emphasis is placed on learning that is not only determined by a certain life stage. That is why it includes the acquisition of knowledge and skills not only through formal education, but also thanks to informal education, and even informal learning. Probably, rather than a continuous process, it is about a person's constant readiness to learn. Have a need to learn. One of the fundamental documents dealing with lifelong learning is the Memorandum on Lifelong Learning, which was created at the conference in Lisbon in 2000. The aim of this memorandum was to trigger a debate on an effective strategy for implementing lifelong learning. This is one of the key documents in the field of adult education. The aim of this document is for every individual to have guaranteed access to learning throughout their life and thus be able to renew or acquire new knowledge and skills. 3

This fact is pointed out by one of the key answers, which talks about bringing learning closer to home. This fact turned out to be not only a possibility, but nowadays also a necessity, without which an individual cannot apply himself not only on the labor market, but also often cope with the demands of ordinary, changing modern life. Both information technology and better health care, thanks to which the average age of the population is increasing, have a great influence on this fact. Furthermore, there are key factors of the opening of the world, hence the ever-increasing need for language skills. The memorandum on lifelong learning from 2000 contains, as written above, 6 problem areas.

The reasons why an adult returns to the educational process, in any form, depend on the personality characteristics of a specific person and on the current situation in which he is currently located, as well as on the level of education achieved. A person's need to return to the educational process arises when his previous education or knowledge is not enough to participate in the current work process, or to cope with his own self-concept or emotions, even in the context of mental hygiene and social inclusion. The need for work depends either on the demand on the labor market or on individual changes in the individual during his life. These processes and changes take place constantly, which is why there is an ever-increasing need for lifelong learning in any form, whether we are talking about formal education, informal education, or even informal learning. The social need is for the most part motivated by an internal factor.

The goal was to analyze the woman's motivation to return to the educational system during and after the end of maternity and parental leave, to confront the findings with the knowledge obtained so far and to present proposals for further investigation or a new discussion.

Possibilities and trends of education for women for maternity and parenting

Women, especially in the age group of 25-34 years, have a more difficult access to education, compared to the male population. The problem is that they often stay for 3 or more years on maternity and parental leave, and access to education or returning to work is then difficult. According to Zormanová (2017), the only possibility for women on maternity and parental leave are courses in informal education and self-study. In the Czech environment, the only relatively available offer for these women are ESF projects. They offer women on maternity and parental leave educational courses facilitating their return to work, increasing their competitiveness on the market, or activating them for self-employment. Areas such as entrepreneurship, computer literacy, self-presentation, labor law, balancing family and work responsibilities are usually covered. Any education allows mothers to increase their qualifications.

Common forms of education for women on maternity or parental leave are webinars and e-learning. 4 (See Table 1).

Table 1 Mothers studying for maternity leave via the Internet

Source: ZORMANOVÁ L.: Didactics of adults. Prague: Grada, 2017, p. 52.

Current trends in education

Due to the rapidly changing environment, it is likely that the education options for adults and especially women during maternity and parental leave, and after their termination, are being innovated at a rapid pace. According to Beneš (2014), among the more stable current trends in education are systematization and institutionalization (i.e. focus on the development of competences; increased emphasis on the preparation, evaluation and transfer of acquired competences to work activities; taking into account the efficiency of the resources spent; the development of human resources becomes an explicit task of management; the responsibility of superiors), new understanding of learning and teaching (i.e. the necessity of continuous learning; the growing importance of self-organized learning and learning in teams; a focus on not only professional, but personal and methodical development; and last but not least, orientation on problems and real situations (i.e., instead of learning to connect with the solution of specific problems; not only ensuring the ability to perform, but connecting with the organization's development goals). 5

We must also mention modern technologies in education, which greatly facilitate access to educational programs especially for mothers. Thanks to them, such as computers, the Internet, e-learning and webinars, mothers can participate in distance education, that is, so-called education. at a distance. Distance education has already been written about in the context of adult education, but it should be remembered that this form is especially suitable for those who have a family, a job or other non-work assets. A prerequisite for participation in distance education is the ability to self-study and control electronic channels (e-mail, web presentation, Internet). In particular, the covid era contributed to the development of e-learning education, which opens the door for many mothers on maternity or parental leave, even after it ends. 6 "E-learning is very often used in a wide range of university study fields in a combined and distance form of study. It is a multimedia and didactic support of the educational process. The advantage of e-learning is that it allows free and unlimited access to education in terms of time and space and is a very effective didactic tool, as it enables the acquisition of as much knowledge as possible in the shortest possible time, with the greatest possible lasting effect, with the least possible effort, with the most modern technologies, at the most appropriate time, while respecting the individuality of the student, etc. E-learning also helps equalize access to education in the sense of overcoming social or gender inequality arising from the role of mother-caregiver, overcoming distance, and more." 7 E-learning education can be organized in two ways: online or offline. With online classes, the lecturer and the participant are in immediate contact, even if they are spatially separated. This form enables up-to-date reactions and asking questions. Whereas with the offline form, there is no immediate time contact, and for the participant, participation in the course is more convenient, because he can manage and plan his time. 8

One of the other trends in the field of education for women on maternity and parental leave is their motivation. What leads women to education? According to Kalnický (2017), there are several motives: 9

• knowledge of reality and the result of knowledge to fix informationally,
• evaluation according to the value system and at the same time creating this system,
• use for a specific need, putting it into practice,
• changing, reshaping, combining with certain other parts, trying to reconstruct and improve,
• aesthetic perception, assessment and feeling,
• formal alternation or transformation into abstractions or metaphors,
• use as a signal for other phenomena or a stimulus for other activities,
• imagination in extreme, alternative or contradictory conditions, unreal combinations,
• combination of all previous dimensions,
• social interpretation and on the basis of previous dimensions to create social relations.

Research objective and solved problem

The aim of the research was to determine the motivational factors of women to return to the education system during and after maternity and parental leave. This goal is set with regard to the results of the theoretical part of the article, when it was found that women on maternity or parental leave try to increase their qualifications in an effort to improve the family budget, or to maintain them, or they want to engage in other activities than just child care, i.e. self-development and education. In the international context, in the Czech Republic we have a significantly above-standard length of parental leave, when women completely interrupt their careers and stay at home. Unfortunately, there is an insufficient amount of flexible working hours on the labor market, and an insufficient offer of education for this specific group of women. The share of active women with small children is one of the lowest in our country. In general, women with higher education have more opportunities. Is this fact a motivation for women to continue their education?

The key question is whether women on maternity or parental leave want to study and learn. If they want, what kind of education and learning are they interested in? What educational field are they interested in? Is the education formal, informal, or just informal learning? How do women educate and learn on maternity or parental leave? What is the main motivating factor for their decision to return to the educational system. Is it a social, work, personal factor? And what are the main reasons if women do not study or learn on maternity or parental leave? Is it lack of motivation or a financial barrier? What are the most common barriers for women who do not get an education and do not learn. Does the insufficient offer of childcare lead to a loss of motivation to get an education? All these areas are the solved problem of the empirical part of the article.

Suggested solution and selected method

The proposed solution is to analyze a woman's motivation to return to the education system during and after maternity and parental leave with the help of a quantitative research method. This method is chosen because I want to obtain specific and valid attitudes of the women themselves on maternity and parental leave, or just after their termination, which affect further education, and which I can evaluate using absolute and relative frequencies. The methodology of quantitative investigation determined by me for data collection is a questionnaire of 14 questions aimed at mothers. Questioning is the most common method, which can be characterized as a method of collecting information from respondents (interviewing subjects), based on the questions presented. 10This publication uses an online questionnaire.

I present the results of the research investigation as part of the interpretation of the analyzed data. I will compare the resulting findings with theory and previous research that has been found and carried out in this area. Next, I will describe my own opinion on the given investigation and the results arising from it. I will describe what is the main motivating factor for mothers returning to the education system. The output will be a confrontation of the findings with the knowledge gained so far and proposals for further investigation or a new discussion.

Research sample

The research sample was women, who, according to professional literature, are a specific group of adult education. The examined sample is specifically women on maternity or parental leave, or women who have completed maternity or parental leave, regardless of their location. Only age and the highest completed education are examined, because the theoretical part and available research showed that women with higher education generally have more opportunities, which will be verified by research.

Women on maternity and parental leave, or just after it, are selected both with regard to the nature and purpose of the work, but also because I myself am a mother who participated and still participates in formal education, and who believes that lifelong education is an essential part of every person for many reasons. Since the life phase of maternity and parental leave is limited in time, from my point of view this is a very interesting research group.

As part of the research, 100 women were approached, whose selection took place online, and the only criterion was participation in maternity or parental leave, or its recent termination - i.e. up to 2 years. 100 women therefore represent 100% of respondents.

Interpretation of analyzed data

Table 2 Age of female respondents

The survey was mainly attended by women in the age category of 35 to 44 years (ie 43% of female respondents) and in the age group of 25 to 34 years (ie 31% of female respondents). As it emerged from the results of the theoretical starting points, it is precisely these women who have more difficult access to education, compared to the male population. The remaining 26% of respondents were women under the age of 25 and over 44.

Table 3 Education of female respondents

The majority of female respondents who took part in the online questionnaire survey have a secondary education (ie 76% of women). The other 17% of women have a higher professional education and 18% a university education.

Table 4 Employees of female respondents

The results show that the majority of female respondents are still on maternity or parental leave. As can be seen, 47% of women are on parental leave, 29% of women are on maternity leave and 24% are back in the workforce.

Table 5 Whether you were educated during maternity or parental leave

57% of women studied or are still studying during maternity or parental leave, or were studying or are studying after the end of this leave. The other 43% of women did not pursue education. Therefore, questions no. 10 - 14. In the following questions, only women who have experience with child education answered, and can thus answer the main research question of the work: What are the motivational factors for women to return to the education system during and after maternity and parental leave? It can be noted that these are mainly women with higher education.

Table 6 Motivation of female respondents to get an education

Within this question, women could choose from several answers, while the respondents were most motivated to educate their children by the need for recognition (ie 22% share of answers), and their own need and taste (ie 21% share of answers). These are performance and emotional needs that almost all women who participated in some education needed to satisfy. Professional reasons were also a frequent motive, i.e. the acquisition of professional competences (ie 15% of responses), or the need to obtain new social stimuli (ie 13% of responses), or new social contacts (ie 13% of responses). Less women were motivated by the expectations of the community, family, friends, cognitive interests or the need for rational use of time.

It can be assessed that women's motivation is given by recognition, own desire and need, or motivation is given as a result of loss of social prestige, employment or orientation in the field, or even negative evaluation or lack of interest or failure, as stated by Veteška and Vacínová (2011). In this case, practice confirms the theory. 11 In addition, as Zormanová (2011) states, adults are most motivated by their results and subjective feeling of their abilities in the field of learning, 12 which is apparently also the case with female respondents. I can also evaluate that for women, education is more than a means of increasing qualifications or applicability on the labor market, a means of self-development and social recognition, which they need.

Table 7 How did you educate the female respondents

The female respondents most often used or still use evening studies (ie 75%) or distance studies (ie 18%), as can be seen from the tab. 7. The reason is apparently the need to care for children and the household.

Table 8 Form of education of female respondents

Women on or after maternity or parental leave were interested in all forms of education, as can be seen from the results in the tab. 8. However, they are most inclined towards the informal type of education, i.e. extracurricular education (i.e. 49%). Informal learning is also popular (ie 28%), and less formal education (ie 23%). In addition, these research results correspond with the results of terrorist starting points, that women with a higher degree of education are inclined towards formal forms of education. According to Zormanová (2017), the only option for women on maternity and parental leave is informal education courses and self-study, which the research results clearly confirm.

Table 9 Which method of education suited them

The theory claims that webinars and e-learning are frequent forms of education for women on maternity or parental leave. 13 This fact is also confirmed by the results of the conducted research, as 44% of respondents were satisfied with webinars and another 33% with e-learning, as can be seen from the tab. 9. Fewer women on maternity or parental leave, whether self-study (9%), and other offline forms of education such as courses (4%), lectures (3%), seminars (3%), workshops (2%), or distance learning (2%) were satisfied.

Table 10 What participation in education brought them

The respondents also pointed to the benefits of education, as can be seen from the results in tab. 10, while they could mention more benefits. The biggest benefit for them is self-realization (i.e. 26% of responses), new social contacts (i.e. 19% of responses), and facilitation of return to work (i.e. 15% of responses). The expectations clearly correspond with the motivations for education that the respondents stated. It also emerged from the results of the theoretical starting points that in the Czech environment, women on maternity and parental leave are offered educational courses facilitating the return to work, which are therefore appreciated by women. According to other researches, education also increases the competitiveness of women on the market, or activates them for self-employment, 14 which only 15 women think.

Table 11 What prevented female respondents from getting an education

The results show that women face both internal and external barriers, while women could choose more barrier options. The most common problem, which was also discussed in the theoretical part of this dissertation, is childcare, if a woman is determined to get an education. Even though many projects offer women help with babysitting in the form of mini nurseries or children's corners, 15 or 1/3 of respondents have an insufficient offer of babysitting. Other problems include lack of time, family obligations, or low availability of further education in the given location. Some women also have concerns about their studies, their low abilities or lack of strong will. These feelings are completely natural for women on maternity or parental leave. An interesting finding is that none of the women cited inadequate forms of study as a barrier, which are evidently abundant on the Czech market.

Table 12 Motivation for further education

The results show that respondents could answer more than once. At the same time, more than half of them stated that they would be most motivated to continue their education by increasing their professional qualifications (ie 29% of responses), interest training (ie 25% of responses), or retraining (ie 21% of responses). They would be much less motivated by family, business or civic education.

Table 13 Interest in the field of education

In Czech practice, educational areas such as entrepreneurship, computer literacy, self-presentation, labor law, balancing family and work responsibilities are most often offered. 16 However, the female respondents are most interested in self-presentation and balancing family and interest obligations in the field of education, as can be seen from tab. 13. In my opinion, this is due to the extra-standard length of parental leave compared to other countries.

Table 14 How the covid era affected them

A very interesting finding of this dissertation is the effect of covid on the further education of women on maternity or parental leave. None of the women stated that the covid period did not affect them in any way, as can be seen, 31% of respondents stated that due to the covid they found a way to online education. Another 23% of female respondents stated that they had to undergo retraining due to changes in the labor market, or that they had to get an education for the same reason (ie 19% of female respondents). Another 14% found education an effective way of spending their free time, and 13% of women had to stop their education. Those women who did not study during maternity or parental leave, or after it ended, will now have to study. In my opinion, thanks to covid, people will retrain en masse.

Table 15 Main motivating factor for the decision to return to the education system

The main motivating factor for female respondents for the decision to return to the education system can be considered a personal or work factor (ie 55% of women). Another 43% of women are not motivated, and would only study if they had to for social or work reasons, as can be seen from the results in tab. 15.

Synthesis of knowledge and proposals

The empirical part was devoted to research, the aim of which was to find out the motivational factors of women to return to the educational system during and after maternity and parental leave. This goal was set with regard to the results of the theoretical part, where it was found that women on maternity or parental leave, in an effort to improve the family budget, try to increase their qualifications or maintain them, or they want to engage in other activities than just child care, i.e. self-development and education. Based on the interpretation of the analyzed data, it was found that the main motivation of women for further education is their internal/subjective motives and current changes in the labor market. At the same time, women with higher education are more motivated. Furthermore, it was found that women on maternity or parental leave want to be educated and learn, and about 50% are interested in education in the field of self-presentation and increasing or changing qualifications. They prefer topics such as self-presentation and balancing family and interest obligations, as well as informal and informal education. Those women who study on maternity or parental leave study in the framework of evening or distance studies. The main motivating factor for their decision to return to the education system is the personal and work factor. If women do not get an education, they are not motivated, they do not have childcare, they have a lack of time, family responsibilities, or the low availability of further education in the given locality. In my opinion, it is precisely the insufficient offer of childcare that leads to a loss of motivation to get an education.

The output of the research is a confrontation of the findings with the knowledge obtained so far and suggestions for further investigation or a new discussion. It is necessary to evaluate that a number of statements in the professional literature as well as the results of the available and used outputs correspond to the results of the conducted research. The only difference found is the activation of educational programs for self-employment. According to the results of the theoretical part, there is a sufficient offer of educational programs focused on entrepreneurship in Czech practice. On the contrary, according to the results of the conducted research, this is not the case. This opens up topics for further possible investigations in the field of further education of women on maternity or parental leave with regard to the support of self-employment of women on parental leave, as Czech legislation does not allow running a business while receiving maternity benefits.

Research results

The results of the work revealed that the attitudes of women who have completed or are still on parental leave towards continuing or further education are primarily based on their current life and mental situation. Very often from the environment in which they are currently moving. Women after maternity or parental leave were interested in all forms of lifelong learning, but they mostly leaned towards informal type of education and more often informal learning, just like women who were still on maternity leave. Women with a higher level of education and with a higher level of economic background tended towards formal forms of education. The respondents pointed to the benefits of education and what they expect from it. The most frequent expectations were the need for self-realization, a contribution to their current stage of motherhood and parenthood, for example, education in the field of raising and educating children and other practical areas. The work also showed that women were more interested in humanities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we can summarize that the main topic was lifelong education and learning of adults with regard to mothers. It can be assessed that the analyzed theoretical concept of lifelong education and learning from a number of professional authors "includes all purposeful formal and informal activities related to learning, which are continuously implemented with the aim of achieving the improvement of knowledge, skills and professional competences. Lifelong learning ideally represents a continuous process that assumes the complementarity and intermingling of the mentioned forms of learning during the entire life of an individual. Currently, the obvious preference for the term learning at the expense of the term education is an expression of the fact that the activity and responsibility for acquiring and developing abilities and skills, knowledge and competences is transferred to the individual." 17

The aim of the research investigation was to analyze the motivation of women to return to the educational system during and after the end of maternity leave, to confront the findings with the knowledge obtained so far and to present proposals for further investigation or a new discussion. We can assess that the goals were met, as it was found that women are mostly motivated to return to the education system by their own subjective motives or changes in the labor market. These findings correspond to the theoretical starting points, as discussed in the discussion. We very often encounter the fact that an adult is put in a situation where he is forced to study even during adulthood after completing schooling. It cannot be assumed that a person will be an expert in everything for a lifetime, as stated by Bertl (2017). 18 That is why we devoted ourselves to the further education of adult women on maternity or parental leave, or after it has ended. We proposed further investigation in this area, as certain deviations between the results of theoretical starting points and our own research investigation were found in the field of business education.

We came to the conclusion that the education of women as mothers is not necessarily just a means of increasing qualifications or applicability on the labor market, but is an important means of self-development and self-realization.

Author: Mgr. Iva Seifertová

Literature:

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