The Effects of Higher Education on Marriage among Women - Term Paper Example

Running head: The Effects of Higher Education on Marriage among Women Name Task Lecturer Date Abstract Marriage is regarded as an important institution for both the society and an individual since it marks the transformation in an individual’s life cycle from singlehood to a stage where an individual gets into process of family formation. This paper will investigate the effects of higher education on marriage among the women. It was noted women pursuing higher education were more unlikely to enter into marriage and thus the age at marriage increased with the number of years a women spent pursuing higher education. This study was focused on 100 female university students drawn from different levels with a view to identify if higher education has effects on marriage among women. The researcher used the following methods during data collection namely; Questionnaires and interviews. Random sampling method was used to select the sample subjects in the Library with the researcher pickings the subjects at random as the students sat in the library. The results indicated that higher education led to delay in marriage and increase the age at which women have their first marriage. The finding will aid to improve the existing information on the research problem and in policy formulation. Research problem Marriage is regarded as an important institution for both the society and an individual since it marks the transformation in an individual’s life cycle from singlehood to a stage where an individual gets into process of family formation. Higher education has been considered as significant factor that has led to delay in marriage in women in a contemporary society. Therefore higher education is of heightened concern Purpose of the study The aim of the study was to find out the effects of higher education on marriage among women Hypothesis of the research question Null hypothesis (H0) Higher education has effects on marriage among women Alternative hypothesis (H1) Higher education has no effects on marriage among women Specific objectives 1) To determine if the education is important or a necessity for women 2) To determine how higher education among women has increased significantly in the recent decades 3) To determine if higher education is one of the underlying factors that frequently lead to delay in marriage for women in the contemporary society 4) To determine if higher education results in an increase in age at which a woman enter into first marriage 5) To determine if marriage marks the period when certain individual options such as employment and education are forecast and the period for child bearing and regular exposure to pregnancy risks begins 6) To determine if marriage is regarded as an important institution for both the society and an individual 7) To determine the age at marriage is an important consideration by the society as well as individuals in a given societal setting Scope of the study This study was focused on 100 female university students drawn from different levels with a view to identify if higher education has effects on marriage among women. These effects include; delay in marriage and an increase in age at marriage. Careful study of the student’s information and their daily operations were made. Significance of the study The research findings concerning the concept of higher education effects on marriage among women will be of great importance to different stakeholders such as an individual, family, society and the whole world at large. The findings will aid in the policy making and formulation so as to address the above research problem. Definitions of key words Higher education: An advanced level of education which is beyond the secondary level, this includes the college and University levels. Marriage: An institution in which two people of opposite gender are legally united together to form a family. Age at marriage: The legal and socially acceptable age of marriage. Methodology Introduction This chapter indicate what was done and it has the following sub headings; Research design, location of the study, target population, sampling technique and sample size, research instruments and data analysis. Conceptual framework and methodology A review of literature on how higher education has lead to the delay in marriage and an increase in age at marriage among women who are pursuing higher education was conducted in order to develop the research questions and objectives. The researcher employed descriptive survey methods. The descriptive survey methods are used in preliminary and exploratory studies to allow the researcher gather information, summarize, present and interpret for the purpose of classification. Research design A primary research was carried out comprised 100 female university students drawn from different levels, ranging from students pursuing them undergraduate degree courses to students at the PhD level between the ages of 19-25. Methods used to collect data The researcher used the following methods during data collection namely; Questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaires with questions based on the parameter that makes the higher education have effects on marriage among women pursuing higher education were developed. Random sampling method was used to select the sample subjects in the Library with the researcher pickings the subjects at random as the students sat in the library. The exercise was done between 9:00 A.M to 3:00P.M for two consecutive days. The survey method of data collection was used as the most appropriate method in this project because students were required to fill in a short survey while maintaining silence in the library. However, interview method could not be appropriate in this survey study because asking questions to the respondents would amount to noise making in the library. Hence many disturbance s may be felt by most of the stakeholders. Effects of testing were reduced by randomly assigning respondents questionnaires in which a reference group was changed and the physical environment remained unchanged and vice versa. These methods sought to justify the above research objectives. In addition these methods were corroborated and elaborated using other related secondary sources. At the end the survey, each respondent was rewarded with an appreciation card for their effort in making the study a successful one. However, privacy of the respondents was highly observed and their names did not appear on the completed questionnaires. Measurements The study measures the perception of female students in the University towards marriage. This was paramount in order to eliminate the participants with the negative pre-judgments regarding marriage due to their family background. It also measured the views of the female students in their university regarding their ideal marriage age. Furthermore, the researcher measured how long the female students in the University were willing to delay entry to marriage for purpose of pursuing higher education up to the PhD level. Results T-Test Group Statistics Nationality N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean EDUSUM dimension1 1 20 15.80 3.792 .848 2 20 16.10 3.782 .846 SnMSUM dimension1 1 20 14.35 3.150 .704 2 20 14.40 2.722 .609 AnMSUM dimension1 1 20 19.40 5.134 1.148 2 20 17.00 4.496 1.005 Independent Samples Test Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means F Sig. t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference Std. Error Difference 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper EDUSUM Equal variances assumed .107 .746 -.251 38 .804 -.300 1.198 -2.724 2.124 Equal variances not assumed -.251 38.000 .804 -.300 1.198 -2.724 2.124 SnMSUM Equal variances assumed .579 .451 -.054 38 .957 -.050 .931 -1.935 1.835 Equal variances not assumed -.054 37.218 .957 -.050 .931 -1.936 1.836 AnMSUM Equal variances assumed 1.083 .305 1.573 38 .124 2.400 1.526 -.689 5.489 Equal variances not assumed 1.573 37.349 .124 2.400 1.526 -.691 5.491 Correlations Correlations EDUSUM SnMSUM AnMSUM EDUSUM Pearson Correlation 1 .186 -.143 Sig. (2-tailed) .251 .379 N 40 40 40 SnMSUM Pearson Correlation .186 1 .291 Sig. (2-tailed) .251 .069 N 40 40 40 AnMSUM Pearson Correlation -.143 .291 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .379 .069 N 40 40 40 Findings of the study Key EDUSUM- The sum of the educations questions SnMSUM- The of Support and marriage questions in the survey AnM- The sum of the age of getting marriage questions a. In the sum of Education questions A test was conducted to evaluate the hypothesis on the questions about education among the women. The test (t=-.251) was not statistically significant at alpha α=0.05(P=0.804 ;> 0.5) with Non-Australian females nationality supporting the education at the highest levels (M=16.20, SD=3.782) than Australian Nationality (M=15.80, SD=3.792). Accordingly, the null hypothesis was accepted and H1, rejected b. In the support and marriage questions A test was conducted to evaluate the hypothesis on the questions about support and marriage among the women. The test (t=-.541) was not statistically significant at alpha α=0.05(P=0.97 ;> 0.5) with Non-Australian females nationality supporting the marriage and support questions at the highest levels (M=14.40, SD=2.722) than Australian Nationality (M=14.35, SD=3.150). Accordingly, the null hypothesis was accepted and H1, rejected c. The age of getting marriage A test was conducted to evaluate the hypothesis on the questions about the age of getting marriage among the women. The test (t=1.573) was statistically significant at alpha α=0.05(P=0.124 ;> 0.5) with Australian females nationality supporting the age of getting marriage questions at the highest levels (M=19.40, SD=5.134) than Non-Australian Nationality (M=17.00, SD=4.496). Accordingly, the null hypothesis was rejected and H1, accepted Correlation Correlation measures the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two parameters that were measured Hypothesis 2: There is a positive relationship between the questions about education and support and marriage questions. A Pearson correlation revealed a small, but definite correlation (r=0.186). The test (t=0.251) was significant at alpha α=0.5 (p=.001 ;< .05) and the null hypothesis was rejected Hypothesis 2: There is a negative relationship between the questions about education and the age of getting marriage questions. A Pearson correlation revealed a small, correlation (r=-0.143). The test (t=0.379) was significant at alpha α=0.5 (p=.001 ;< .05) and the null hypothesis was rejected Hypothesis 2: There is a positive relationship between the questions about support and marriage and the age of getting marriage questions. A Pearson correlation revealed a small, but definite correlation (r=0.291). The test (t=0.069) was significant at alpha α=0.5 (p=.001 ;< .05) and the null hypothesis was rejected. Discussion In the survey questions about education, it was noted that education is important and a necessity for women and to them completing education is a primary goal as opposed to getting married. Also it was noticed that an educated women make a considerate wife and a good mother. An educated woman is more aware of the problems and increases the awareness on political, social and economic matters. Women who are educated have greater decision making authority within their families. In the questions about support and marriage, the researcher realized that marriage marks the period when individuals’ options such as employment and education are forecast and the period for child bearing and regular exposure to pregnancy risks begins. Marriage is regarded as an important institution for both the society and an individual. Also it was noted that delay in marriage is higher among the women pursuing higher education. In the questions about the age of getting married, the researcher found out that higher education is one of the underlying factors that lead to delay in marriage for women in contemporary society. Indeed higher education will result into an increase in age at which a woman enters into her first marriage. Moreover, the researcher realized that the age at marriage is an important consideration by the society and individual in any given societal setting. Educated women were noted to have negative and ambivalent attitudes towards marriage among young single people. The findings in this study will assist the researcher to understand the effects of higher education on marriage among women in terms of education, support & marriage and the age of getting marriage. The questions on education and support and marriage had a positive relationship to each other as oppose to those questions related to age of getting marriage. It showed that these variables depend on another. The findings from the study are related to research carried out by Francine (2000) that suggests s labour market conditions have driven many women towards the direction of seeking to increase their levels of education. Also most women their education was a primary goal as oppose to getting married. Limitation of the study 1. It would be quite bold to draw conclusion and recommendations on effects of higher education on marriage among the women on the basis of 100 female university students that were sampled and analyzed. 2. The information gathered was based upon the discussion with the 100 female students and there was only a very limited process of verification especially their character traits such as truth, honesty 3. Since the research project was limited to time and resources, it was impossible to perform an in-depth research into all aspects for all the effects of higher education on marriage among the women. 4. Responses of the surveys were very low, only a third of the University female students returned the survey or provided general information concerning the research problem. Conclusion Marriage is indeed an important institution for both the society and an individual. However, higher education is indeed a considerable factor that has led to delay in marriage among women. Higher education has resulted in an increase in age at which a woman enters into her first marriage. This present study will be of great importance to different stakeholders such as an individual, family, society and the whole world at large. The findings will aid in the policy making and formulation so as to address the above research problem. References Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2009). Education and Work, May 2009, Cat. No. 6227.0, ABS Canberra. Easterlin, R. (1996). "Modernization and Fertility: A Critical Essay". In Determinants of Fertility in Developing Countries. New York; London: Academic Press. Pp.562-586. Francine, D., & Waldfogel, J. (2000). ‘’Understanding young women’s marriage decisions’’ Working paper Series. National bureau of economic research Retrived Jejeebhoy, S. (2005). Women's Education, Autonomy, and Reproduction Behavior: Experience from Developing Countries. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Sousan, A. (2001). "Women's Autonomy and its Impact on Fertility". World Development Vol. 24, No. 2: 1793-1809. Read More