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Gender issues in teaching information technologycourses by distance educationSue MoffattPublished online: 06 Sep 2010.

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Distance Education Vol. 18 No. 2 1997

Gender issues in teaching information technology coursesby distance education

Sue Moffatt

This paper looks at reasons why women are still under-represented in tertiarylevel technological education after 20 years of discussion, and argues that it isimportant for society to look at ways of not only improving educational accessto women but also providing equal benefit once enrolled. Distance education isoften seen as a solution to access problems but the particular needs of women indistance education must be considered. Financial, attitudinal and skills barriersmay need to be overcome if there is a pre-enrolment requirement of qualityaccess to computing equipment. Ways of improving both participation andpersistence of women in information technology courses are discussed.

Introduction

It has only been in the last 20 to 25 years that gender issues in educationand technology have commonly been discussed (Faith 1988; Yates 1993),and discussion of such issues in distance education is even more recent.Faith's (1988) book *is the first known published compilation of theexperience of women in international distance education' (Burge 1988,p. vii). The 20 years of discussion has not yet produced a situation wherethere is equity in the participation rate of women in higher educationinformation technology courses.

Women in tertiary level technological education

Studying computing courses in higher education is seen as 'non-traditional' for women in Britain, northern Europe, the United States andAustralia. Grace (1991) found women concentrated in the moretraditional areas of arts/humanities, health and education fields indistance education institutions in various parts of the world.

Studies in the 1980s showed that women in Britain were not visible ineducation or employment in the areas of science and technology (Zukas1986; Gerver 1989). In Britain, the 1984 Women in Science andEngineering (WISE) year was declared by the Equal OpportunitiesCommission in an effort to encourage more women to take uptechnological courses. Despite such programmes, the number of female

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students in Britain enrolling in computer science degrees fell from 33% in1978 to 13% in 1989 (Craig et al. 1995). In Sweden, in 1989, 60% of allfirst year university and college students were female while only 8% ofcomputer science and engineering students were female (Durndell 1991).Similar figures are quoted by Craig et al. (1995) with respect to theUnited States. In 1990, in the United States, 33% of Computer Sciencedegrees were awarded to female students at the undergraduate level and11 % at doctoral level.

In 1991, the situation in Australia mirrored that in the United States. Theaverage female enrolment in higher education computing courses inAustralia was 28%, despite women's participation increasing to 52.7% ofthe higher education student cohort. The Office of Status of Women, in1993, found women in Australian higher education institutions stillconcentrated in traditional disciplines (Craig et al. 1995). The abovestatistics are currently reflected at an Australian university - Charles StartUniversity (CSU). In 1996, males comprise 81% of the 1039 studentsenrolled internally or by distance education in undergraduate computingcourses. Of these courses, the lowest enrolment of women (1%) exists ina technical computing course (CSU 1996).

Reasons for under-representation

Evans (1996, p. 2) gives three main reasons for the under-representationof women in technological education.

The origin of this under representation ... has been largely structural,created in and through the social structures of institutions and thesegmentation of the labour market, and internalised in values and beliefsabout appropriate roles and expectations.

Socialisation

Attitudinal barriers are created by socialisation that gives a perception ofdifferent male and female roles and capabilities (Burstyn 1993). Thesebarriers can be initiated in schools, as was found in an international studyof gender and computer use by Reinen and Plomp (1994). Female schoolsstudents know less about information technology, enjoy using thecomputer less than male students, and perceive more software problems.Gender differences widen in schools as girls get older (Mark 1992).

Busch (1995) cites studies in various countries where different socialexperiences create gender differences in attitudes towards computers.The most important predictor of attitudes in his study of college studentsin Norway is previous computer experience and encouragement. Hefound that female students are not encouraged as much by friends and

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parents and have less access to home computers. This results in themhaving lower self-efficacy (the belief in one's ability to executesuccessfully a certain course of behaviour) with regard to complexcomputer tasks. A study of first year students in 1990 at a highereducation institution in Scotland suggested that the greater usage ofcomputers at home by boys compared to girls was the major reasons forlow numbers of females entering computing, technical and engineeringcourses (Cole et al. 1994).

Socialisation also occurs through male images in computing magazinesand advertising, detailed by Gerver (1989). Zukas (1986) cites masculineimages of technology and discusses inappropriate courses as well. Herbelief is that many women are more interested in applications than inunderstanding how computers work and programming them, so she feltthat the WISE year in Britain was misplaced in its vocational technicalemphasis. Durndell (1991) supports the belief that females are lessinterested in computers as objects than in their use as a means to an end.He found that students had an image of computing work that consisted ofsitting in front of a screen rather than working with humans. Courses thatare excessively machine-centred, reflecting the 'hacker' mentality, maydeter females, so computing should strive for a more people-centredimage (Cole et al. 1994). Evan (1996) agrees with the previous opinions,stating that barriers to technological studies are aggravated by attitudes ofmale teachers, male images in publicity and teaching materials, maleoriented language and curriculum content which ignores the socialcontent of technology.

Work segregation

Patterns of subject choice in higher education are established in primaryand secondary school and are influenced by perceptions of job markets(Grace 1991). Gerver (1989) argued that the computer industry actuallyrepresented a relatively favourable employment environment for women,but that the social factors already discussed created negative attitudes ingirls in secondary schools. She found, however, that the computer worldtended to be composed primarily of young men, rather than middle-agedwomen, which did not encourage women to try to enter this world.Burstyn (1993) quoted studies in the United States that showed the jobmarket related to computing was segmented by gender. Thissegmentation was reflected in Australia in 1995, when approximately20% of the business computing workforce were female, and of these only0.25% of women were information technology professionals who earned$80,000 or more per year (Craig et al. 1995). The same lack of femalerole models can be found in universities in Australia. For example, atCSU in 1996, only four out of 40 staff involved in teaching computingcourses are female.

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An opposite concern to that of workforce segregation is the need toprovide courses for general interest, rather than for employment reasons.Faith (1988) states that this is of particular relevance to females who mayfeel they have little chance of getting a job or who may be constrained byfamily requirements. Some women who choose to study by distanceeducation will fit this category, so if they are to be attracted to informationtechnology then the courses should not be too narrow, designed for futurecomputer programmers and professionals only.

Institutional barriers

Institutional barriers to women are created when there are entryrequirements to computing courses such as a requirement to have qualityaccess to a computer either at work or at home. After the Open University(OU) in Britain implemented a 'Home Computing Policy', Kirkup (1989)found that basic inequalities of access and interest in technology existedbetween men and women, and that women in distance education may bedriven away from areas of study where computer use is made essential.Her argument was supported by the finding that an unusually smallpercentage of women enrolled in an OU social science subject aftercomputer access was a requirement (Thomas 1989).

Kirkwood (1988) surveyed OU students and found that there weredisparities in access to computing equipment in terms of gender,occupation and household income. Almost twice as many men as womenhad a computer at home, and more men than women had convenientaccess at work and had greater control of its use.

Access was also found to rise with the level of household income andsince women are generally more financially dependent than men this alsocreated gender inequities. Women are less likely to be employed or ifemployed, eam less money, so it is harder for them to be able to affordexpensive computer equipment and pay for its usage (Grace 1991). Asurvey of students studying a subject at CSU both internally and bydistance education showed that the socio-economic standing of womenwas reflected in access and ownership of computers. The machines thatwere owned by women tended to be older and slower, resulting in longerconnect times and thus higher communication charges (Spennemann1995).

The quality of access at home is also an issue if opportunities forundisturbed use of a home computer at appropriate times is considered.OU data suggested that males had a computer that was 'their own', whilefemales had to share with the family and use the computer after children'shomework had been done (Kirkwood 1988). For rural distance educationstudents, the quality of local telephone systems that may be needed foron-line study of information technology courses can be problematic. For

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example, some students at Central Queensland University (CQU) have alltheir calls timed over long distance and have to tolerate interference anddifficulty in getting faults corrected (Davison 1996).

Another institutional barrier is created if a mathematical prerequisite for acomputing course includes calculus. Many more women than men seemathematics as irrelevant and not useful for their future lives and careers,but it is mathematics courses that include calculus that have the lowestparticipation rate for women (Barnes & Couplaiid 1990).

The importance of technology

The international community is striving to advance women and eliminate. gender-based discrimination in education and employment. However, asshown previously, gender-segregation information technology professionscurrently exists.

Gender segregation should be a source of great concern to all citizens, butespecially to educators. It indicates that, while we may claim to be asociety committed to equal opportunity and to eliminating gender ...inequities, we hold to an ideology that runs counter to this claim (Burstyn1993, p. 113).

As the use of technology on a day-to-day basis increases, it is importantthat women do not get left behind in technological education, sincesociety rewards those who develop skills related to technologies (Burstyn1993; Evans 1996). Involvement in computing is likely to empowerwomen as the world is increasingly dependent on the power of computersand telecommunications (Gerver 1989; Kirkup 1989). Greaterparticipation of women may make computers more responsive to humanneeds. But, more importantly, with the technologisation of many types ofwork, it is also crucial for women to keep up to date with the changes inorder to retain their employability. As Gerver (1989, p. 493) states: 'fortheir own economic good and for the economic good of the computerindustry, then, there are clear advantages in a closer interaction betweenwomen and computers'.

But simply providing equal access to education does not give womenequal benefit. McArdle et al. (1986) found no difference in averagelearning ability between men and women enrolled in an open accesscomputer literacy course, yet women in mixed sex groups did far worsethan those in women-only groups. If education has a male bias in content,language and teaching method, then it is still inequitable (Faith 1988).Women arguably prefer a less hierarchical, more interactive style oflearning and teaching widi small group discussion and consciousnessraising (Grace 1991). Taylor and Mounfield (1994) recommendexperiences for women that help promote positive attitudes to computers

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and confidence in the ability to succeed in computing. These experiencesinclude a more supportive environment, group learning activities andovert mentoring.

This raises doubts about the belief, held by some people andgovernments, that distance education is especially suited to women tied tofamily commitments, because of its lack of attendance requirement, andits flexible learning environment. Von Priimmer (1994) has found throughresearch and interviews that conditions needed for successful study arenot automatically given to women who have registered as distanceeducation students. Inequalities exist in access to computers, ininstitutional and social barriers and personal context in study conditions(Grace 1991).

Needs of female distance education students

Von Priimmer (1994) used the expression .'women-friendly perspectives'in the title of her article. By this she meant looking at ways of organisingthe education of women that were more suited to their needs. Grace(1994), Heiler and Richards (1988), and Warner (1993) were alsointerested in finding ways of improving distance education delivery towomen.

Von Priimmer (1994) was involved in a pilot project that constructedconditions for study that were more friendly for women in the 'familyphase' of their lives. An infrastructure for study groups was created thatinvolved centres with childcare, homework supervision for older childrenand hot lunches and take-away meals. These centres helped women toovercome their isolation by meeting other women in similarcircumstances in order to gain confidence, and free them of some of theirdomestic responsibilities. The preliminary results of this project showedthat providing a more positive learning atmosphere at the centres met theneed for 'social learning' and helped students become increasinglyindependent. Similarly, Heiler and Richards (1988) concluded that aninitiative for rural women in Australia was successful because of acombination of distance education, group enrolment and a compulsoryface-to-face skills component that provided opportunities for informalgroup support.

However, Heiler and Richards (1988) felt that even more face-to-facetime would have been beneficial but it was not possible to fit in with thewomen's lives. Similarly, the distance education provider in vonPriimmer's (1994) project reduced attendance requirements at seminarcentres. So both projects describe the type of education undertaken by thewomen as distance education, and yet their success was based on students

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meeting at centres. This highlights the conflict between women's lack ofmobility and the danger of ghettoisation at home (Grace 1991).

The female students enrolled in distance education that Grace (1994)interviewed, showed their personal lives had the greatest effect onmotivation and created the most potent meanings. They still hadconsiderable difficulties with their studies even when there was noattendance component. Conflict in their home life was described bywomen who were married and had children. Those who did not workoutside the home had few social interactions that would validate theirstudy. Generally, the women that Grace interviewed were studying lessfor vocational reasons than the need to gain social status and to gain self-confidence. Some were anxious about their ability in the early stages afterhaving their opinions discredited in the past. Grace concluded that forstereotypical males, gender, parenthood, career and higher educationwere compatible, whereas for many women there were tensions.

Warner (1993) described the Women into Science and Technology(WIST) programme at the University of Central Queensland (now CQU).Rural and isolated women were targeted to do a distance educationbridging course that would allow them to continue onto further tertiaryeducation in the sciences or engineering. She found that self-doubts, lackof study time, guilt and conservatism were all barriers.

Improving participation and persistence

There needs to be an increase in the rate of both participation andpersistence by women in information technology courses in highereducation despite the difficulty for the university sector to attract mature-aged female students when they already have preconceived negativeattitudes due to socialisation. Taylor and Mounfield (1994) indicate thatfemales who do choose to pursue computing courses are not persisting sopositive steps that are targeted at women need to be taken.

Participation and persistence will improve through publicity thatappeals directly to women, and initiatives that build up confidence and astrong sense of group identity before starting a course (Swarbrick 1987;Warner 1993). Craig et al. (1995) provide a synopsis of major projectsand initiatives undertaken by eight Australian universities, between1991 and 1994, to redress the gender imbalance in computing degrees.One initiative was the provision of an information pack for both highschool students and mature women designed to give a more accurateview of both the nature of work as a computing professional and anyprevious knowledge required for information technology degrees.Advertising tertiary computing courses in women's magazines and inwomen's sections of newspapers, with female images designed to

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counteract male stereotypical images would target potential femaleapplicants.

Higher education institutions should consider ways of providing specialassistance to women who want to study information technology coursesby distance education. Once barriers such as lack of money and low levelof confidence are removed, students can be successful (Kirkup 1989). Ifaccess to required computing equipment is preventing enrolment, thenfinancial assistance such as offering scholarships to women in computingcourses could be provided. Davison (1996) offers three suggestions tohigher education institutions of ways to assist all adult learners thatparticularly apply to women. One is for institutions to help students withtheir costs by renting computing equipment, bulk buying and selling atreduced costs, or allowing shared use of their equipment. Another is toencourage business and industries to share their resources and facilitieswith the community, and the third is to encourage corporate sponsorshipby hardware, software and support service companies.

However, 'before actively encouraging more females to enrol incomputing degrees it is important to ensure that female students will havethe same chance of success as their male counterparts' (Craig et al. 1995,p. 3). Ways of improving the higher education learning environmentinclude provision of bridging courses to increase basic computing skillsand confidence, workshops amongst university staff to raise awareness ofgender issues, mentoring schemes to overcome isolation, and talks givenby women working in the computer industry (Craig et al. 1995). Zukas(1986) recommends women-only courses to improve supportiveness,female tutors, methods that are less competitive, and course content thatdiscusses issues critical to women's lives. Courses that are widened andcombined with other disciplines allow for a more human content in theteaching of technology (Dumdell 1991). Computing courses shoulddiscuss the role of technology within society and use a teaching approachthat avoids the 'toys for boys' mentality (Cole et al. 1994). All coursematerials need to be scrutinised for gender bias in their content (Grace1991). In particular, Warner (1993) stresses the importance, for distanceeducation students, of contact with other students and with lecturers toovercome fears, self-doubts and isolation.

In order to increase the persistence rate of distance education students, itis important for higher education institutions to provide as many supportmechanisms as possible and train staff to be sensitive in their dealingswith women. A non-compulsory on-campus meeting at the start of thestudents' first semester would satisfy the need for early student contactwith lecturers and with other students, but it should be made as attractiveas possible to women, perhaps by being on a weekend when children canbe minded at home. Student networking groups could be set up to assist

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students who lack confidence. In particular, introductory subjects whichare attempted by every student in their first semester could be used tointroduce a more women-friendly approach. Several studies haverecommended a less technical, more context-based subject contentincluding discussion of the place of computers in society. More emphasison applications that relate to women could be considered as well as use ofnon-competitive activities and familiar language (Kirkup 1989).Information on employment prospects and the suitability of the computerindustry as a career for women could be included in the course materials.

Conclusion

It is in society's interest to ensure that the gap between those who canunderstand and use technology and those who cannot, does not widen andbecome more gender biased, thus disempowering women and reducingtheir employability. Higher education institutions, the world over, need toconsider ways of improving participation and persistence by women ininformation technology courses.

Research into women's attitudes and needs when studying technologicalsubjects by distance education emphasises the social aspect of learningand demonstrates that the expectation of autonomous learning in isolationis unrealistic. Personalised support, group face-to-face experience andstudent networking have all been found to greatly improve the successrate of female students (Grace 1991). Marketing of courses and supportinfrastructure needs to take into account the attitudes and feelings ofwomen (Warner 1993).

Evans (1996) has recommendations that could be incorporated into thestrategic plans of higher education institutions to reduce genderdiscrimination generally, and locally in information technology courses.These include the use of media to change stereotyped expectations,safeguards against gender bias in curricular presentation, ensuring thatthe social context of subjects of study is included, and inclusion of genderissues in the education of teachers.

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