SOME FACTORS RELATED TO ADOPTION OF EDUCATION BY RURAL WOMEN, AS PERCEIVED BY THEIR HUSBANDS, IN FOUR EGYPTIAN GOVERNORATES

The main objective of this study was to determine factors related to adoption of education by the Egyptian rural woman. The study data were collected during the period March-April, 2000 as a part of a pro­ject. conducted by Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Re­search Institute (AERDRI), for evaluating the agricultural extension radio program, ^-Ardel.Mahroust. In this study, rural woman's education was recognized as an innovation. The main objective of the study was to de­termine different variables that explained variance in rural woman's edu­cational level. The study sample encompassed 400 farmers living in four Gov­ernorates (Kalioubia. Behira, Menia, and Fayoum). The study encom­passed 400 fruit and vegetable farmers (100 respondents! Governorate). Four preconditions were set to bo met by the study par­ficipants:(1) farmers' wives adopted education with those illiterate ones started attending illiteracy eradication classes; (2) the study participants work primarily in agriculture, or agriculture and additional work(s): (3) they listen regularly to the agricultural extension radio program, "Ardel­Mahrouse, with a minimum listening times of one episode/month; and (4) they participate voluntarily in the study. A pre-tested written ques­tionnaire and face-to-face, or interpersonal, interview were used in col­lecting the study data. Frequency. mean, standard deviation. zero•order correlation, and step-wise multiple regression were used in analyzing the obtained study data. Relationships between rural woman's educational level (the de­pendent variable) and each of the independent variables (husbands age, husband's educational level, family size, husband's additional work(s), aviculturel land ownership, husbands listening habits, husband's knowl­edge discussion with others, knowledge related to vegetable production. and knowledge related to fruit production) were determined. The four significant variables (husbands educational levet, knowledge related to vegetable production, husband's age. and agricultural land ownership) explained together about 35% of the variance in the dependent variable. rural wilds educational level measured in years. Limitations of the study and applicability of the findings were explained.