Abstract

This is an exploratory case study of adult education for women in a specific western rural locality in China, Qianjiang, based on interviews with four women. China has established a lifelong learning system and prioritized education in the process of social development. Adult education accounts for a significant part of the lifelong learning system and programs such as “Lifelong Learning Week” and “One Hundred Lifelong Learning Models” have been established. However, regardless of the achievements of gender equality in access to education reached in China in general, women in rural areas are still hindered by many factors for actively and effectively participating in the process of adult education and lifelong learning approaches according to the literature review. The following two main questions were examined: 1) In what ways factors including educational policies, health problems, traditional mindset, and economic situations, block women’s participation in education in rural areas of China? 2) How can distance learning and technology innovations benefit women’s education in rural areas?
The results indicate that despite the different purposes of adult education, the purpose of developing economy is gradually becoming the most important and only goal of adult education. Surprisingly, unlike what was found in the literature review, the educational opportunities for women in rural areas in Qianjiang do not seem to be limited by the traditional understanding of gender roles, as shown in the literature review. Since information technologies such as laptops and smart phones are becoming more and more popular in rural China, well developed distance education programs may widen and facilitate women’s access to adult education in rural areas.