Costa Rican Women's Coping Strategies: Adult Learners Staying Alive and in School

Abstract

This study explored how twenty Costa Rican women attending Colegios Nocturnos (Night High Schools) employed strategies to cope with stress and adversity to remain engaged in learning. We drew upon the transactional model of stress and coping and funds of knowledge frameworks. The research was grounded in three key data sources: semi-structured interviews, WhatsApp conversations, and Photovoice projects. The two research questions were drawn from women's coping strategies and the funds of knowledge frameworks. The findings revealed that to cope, the women relied on a web of interconnected supports such as their own sense of a strong self, family, friendships, and the classroom. This research calls for broader recognition of women's lived realities as essential assets in adult education.

Keywords

coping strategies adult women funds of knowledge Costa Rica

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abrams

L. S.

Gibbs

J. T.

(2002). Disrupting the logic of home-school relations: Parent involvement strategies and practices of inclusion and exclusion. Urban Education, 37(3), 384–407.

Acuña Collado

Rueda

M. A.

Holst

J. D.

(2021). Youth and adult education in Latin America and the Caribbean: The role of social movements. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2021(171-172), 117–123. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.20445

Bello-Bravo

Lutomia

A. N.

(2024). Knowledge-building, communities of practice, and individuation: Heinz Joachim Heydorn’s philosophy of education in relation to an adult learning scientific program in Kenya. In Kminek

(Ed.), Survival through bildung: On the topicality of Heinz-Joachim Heydorn's philosophy of education (1st ed, pp. 115–150). Verlag Barbara Budrich. (1974).

Berjot

Gillet

(2011). Stress and coping with discrimination and stigmatization [Hypothesis and Theory]. Frontiers in Psychology, 2(33), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00033

Bourdieu

(1986). The forms of capital. In Richardson

J. G.

(Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood Press.

Braun

Clarke

(2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Camilo Recio

Cabrera Romero

(2021). The long tradition of lifelong learning in Latin America and the Caribbean. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, 2021(171-172), 19–26. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.20437. 2021

Carspecken

F. P.

(1996). Critical ethnography in educational research: A theoretical and practical guide. Psychology Press.

Chant

(2009). The ‘Feminisation of poverty’ in Costa Rica: To what extent a conundrum? Bulletin of Latin American Research, 28(1), 19–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-9856.2008.00288.x

10.

Couderc

Cousson-Gélie

Pernon

Porro

Miot

Baghdadli

(2023). Burnout among direct support workers of adults with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 37(1), 131–140. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.13008

11.

Creswell

J. W.

Poth

C. N.

(2018). Qualitative inquiry & research design: choosing among five approaches (Fourth edition). Sage.

12.

Ellingson

L. L.

(2009). Engaging crystallization in qualitative research: An introduction. Sage.

13.

Epstein

J. L.

(1995). School/family/community partnerships. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(9), 701–713.

14.

Gerónimo-López

Ramos Concha

Holst

J. D.

(2021). Adult education in Latin American and Caribbean social movements. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2021(171-172), 11–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.20436

15.

Gerónimo-López

Tormos-Aponte

(2021). Critical thinking and embodied learning for a Puerto Rican student movement pedagogy. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2021(171-172), 55–67. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.20440

16.

González

Moll

L. C.

Amanti

(2005). Funds of knowledge: Theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

17.

Hase

Kenyon

(2000). From andragogy to heutagogy. Retrieved 27 October 2025 from https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20010220130000/http://ultibase.rmit.edu.au/Articles/dec00/hase2.htm.

18.

Hedges

Cooper

Weisz-Koves

(2019). Recognising and responding to family funds of knowledge. In Alcock

Stobbs

(Eds.), Rethinking play as pedagogy (pp. 107–120). Routledge.

19.

Henri

Rigault

C. R.

(1996). Collaborative distance learning and computer conferencing. In T

(Ed.), Liao, Advanced educational technology: Research issues and future potential advanced educational technology: Research issues and future potential. NATO ASI series (pp. 45–76). Heidelberg.

20.

Herrman

Stewart

D. E.

Diaz-Granados

Berger

E. L.

Jackson

Yuen

(2011). What is resilience? The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 56(5), 258–265. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674371105600504

21.

Higgins

(2010). Gender identities in language education. In Hornberger

N. H.

McKay

S. L.

(Eds.), Sociolinguistics and language education (pp. 370–397). Multilingual Matters.

22.

Hogg

(2011). Funds of knowledge: An investigation of coherence within the literature. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(3), 666–677. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2010.11.005

23.

Knowles

M. S.

(1990). Andragogy in action: Applying modern principles of adult learning. Jossey-Bass Publishers.

24.

Lakoff

(1973). Language and woman's place. Language in Society, 2(1), 45–79. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500000051

25.

Lareau

(2000). Home advantage: Social class and parental intervention in elementary education. Rowan & Littlefield Publishers, inc. USA.

26.

Latina Republic. (2023, 15 March). First Lady of Costa Rica leads alliances for initiative CreSiendo Juntas. Retrieved October 27, 2025 from https://latinarepublic.com/2023/03/15/first-lady-of-costa-rica-leads-alliances-for-initiative-cresiendo-juntas/.

27.

Lazarus

R. S.

Folkman

(1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer Publishing Company.

28.

Leon-Espinoza

(2022). Explaining the adoption of care policies in Costa Rica and Uruguay: A multiple streams approach. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 29(4), 1379–1402. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxac030

29.

Lutomia

A. N.

Bello-Bravo

(2024). Increasing lifelong learning using video animations: The case of an agriculture WhatsApp group in Kenya. In Filippo Gomez

(Ed.), Lifelong learning: Education for the future world (1st ed, pp. 1–18). IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.114379

30.

Mata

(2018). Impact of the access to public child care on employment, education attendance, and time spent on unpaid domestic work of women in Costa Rica.University of Maryland, Baltimore.

31.

Morgan

M. Y.

Vardell

Lower

J. K.

Kinter-Duffy

Laura

Victoria

Cecil-Dyrkacz

J. E.

(2010). Empowering women through Photovoice: Women of la Carpio, Costa Rica. Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research, 5(1), 31–44. https://eric-ed-gov.proxyiub.uits.iu.edu/?id=EJ906428

32.

Nanton

C. R.

(2009). Ties that bind: Cultural referent groups and coping strategies of adult women as learners. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, 2009(122), 13–22. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.330

33.

NCR Noticias. (2025, 4 February). Alerta en el IMAS: familias rechazan subsidios para evitar estudiar o capacitarse. Retrieved 27 October 2025 from https://ncrnoticias.com/nacionales/alerta-en-el-imas-familias-rechazan-subsidios-para-evitar-estudiar-o-capacitarse/.

34.

O’Connor

(2001). Voices of parents and teachers in a poor white urban school. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 6(3), 175–198. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327671ESPR0603_2

35.

OECD. (2024). Igualdad de género en Costa Rica: Hacia una mejor distribución del trabajo remunerado y no remunerado . OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/9a6523a7-es .

36.

Oughton

(2010). Funds of knowledge—A conceptual critique. Studies in the Education of Adults, 42(1), 63–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/02660830.2010.11661589

37.

Pentz

C. J.

Rojas

McCoy

M. B.

Vaughan

C. S.

(2013). A case study in Costa Rica about personal happiness: Does health and family communication have more influence than quantity of money and material goods? UNED Research Journal/Cuadernos de Investigación UNED, 5(1), 163–186. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/5156/515651979023.pdf

38.

Ramírez-Casavolone

N. E.

(2023). About funds of knowledge, feminist pedagogy and adult education: An ethnographic case-study of female Costa Rican night high school students. Dissertation, Indiana University.

39.

Rios-Aguilar

Kiyama

J. M.

Gravitt

Moll

L. C.

(2011). Funds of knowledge for the poor and forms of capital for the rich? A capital approach to examining funds of knowledge. Theory and Research in Education, 9(2), 163–184. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878511409776

40.

Rodriguez

G. M.

(2013). Power and agency in education: Exploring the pedagogical dimensions of funds of knowledge. Review of Research in Education, 37(1), 87–120. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732 ( 12462686

41.

Rojas-Alfaro

Enriquez

(2025). High-context instruction: A case study of community college student responses for academic success in online composition courses. Computers and Composition, 75(March), 102920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2025.102920

42.

Rojas-Alfaro

R. E.

(2025). Non-formal interviews as model interfaces: A case for deep learning in workplace instructional design research. Teaching Innovations, 38(1), 27–45 . https://doi.org/10.5937/inovacije2501027R

43.

Rojas-Alfaro

R. E.

Chen

(2019). Motivations for the use of English on customs officers work performance. Journal of Organizational Psychology, 19(3), 10–23. https://doi.org/10.33423/jop.v19i3.2141

44.

Sebolt

(2018). Capitalizing on funds of knowledge to support family engagement. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 54(3), 130–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/00228958.2018.1481660

45.

Smith

J. G.

(2006). Parental involvement in education among low-income families: A case study. School Community Journal, 16(1), 43–56. https://eric-ed-gov.proxyiub.uits.iu.edu/?id=EJ794804

46.

Steffen

P. R.

Anderson

(2025). Primary appraisal is affective not cognitive: Exploring a revised transactional model of stress and coping. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 50(2), 197–211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-025-09699-w

47.

Sunstein

B. S.

Chiseri-Strater

(2012). Fieldworking: Reading and writing research. Bedford/St. Martin's.

48.

Torres Rincón

S. M.

(2021). The education of youth and adults in Colombia from a popular feminist and gender perspective. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2021(171-172), 91–105. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.20443

49.

UN Women. (2024). Country fact sheet: Costa rica. UN Women Data Hub. Retrieved 27 October 2025 from https://data.unwomen.org/country/costa-rica

50.

Vargas

L. H.

(2012). Principales causas de deserción estudiantil y técnicas aplicadas para su prevención desde la gestión en el Colegio Nocturno La Unión y en el Colegio Nacional Virtual Marco Tulio Salazar sede en el cantón de La Unión. Gestión de la Educación, 2(2), 1–34. https://doi.org/10.15517/rge.v2i2.5865

51.

Wang

Burris

M. A.

(1997). Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. Health Education & Behavior, 24(3), 369–387. https://doi.org/10.1177/109019819702400309

52.

Xirinachs-Salazar

Castillo-Guillén

Elizondo-Lara

Vargas

J. R.

(2023). Happy student in a land without a military. In Fry

G. W.

Chun

(Eds.), Happiness education: Holistic learning for sustainable well-being (pp. 192–220). Taylor & Francis.

53.

Yosso

T. J.

(2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006