CANADA - INCLUSIVE DISTANCE EDUCATION: Experiences of Four Canadian Women

Year 2015, Volume: 4 Issue: 3, 11 - 23, 08.08.2015

Christine Vaskovıcs Fiona L. Smıth

Abstract

Women's participation in higher education in Canada has changed over the past two decades and no longer is the gender gap in university attainment in favour of men. Today young women are graduating from university in higher numbers than are men. Even those women who, for one reason or other, are unable to attend traditional universities are also choosing to participate in higher education. Women not only make up the majority of university graduates they also make up the majority of distance education users. Online and distance education enables many adult women, particularly those who assume multiple roles as mothers, professionals, caregivers and academics, to continue their formal learning. In this paper, framed within the context of feminism, we share with you the stories of four ambitious and successful professional Canadian women studying at a leading Canadian online university. A review of the literature is also conducted, largely from a US and Canadian view. Canada proves to be a country that values the complexity of the multiple roles that women assume daily and inclusively supports women’s choice to pursue post-secondary education or graduate work. We examine the organization of tertiary education in Canada, consider the vast geography of one of the most richly diverse countries in the world, and factors that govern both a woman’s decision to seek higher education and; assist in learner satisfaction and retention rates for women in tertiary education. Four experiences of graduate women confirm that Canada’s inclusive approach creates satisfied life-long learners.

Keywords

Women and higher education, online and distance education, Canada

References

• Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. (2015). Retrieved on May 6, 2015, availablehttp://www.aucc.ca/canadian-universities
• Bailey, B., Leo-Rhynie, E., & Morris, J. (1996). Why Theory?In Commonwealth of Learning
• (Eds.), Theoretical perspectives on gender and development, (pp. 1-18). Vancouver, BC: Commonwealth of Learning. Barnard, Lucy, Lan, William Y., To, Yen M., Osland Paton, Valerie & Lai, Shu-Ling. (2009).
• Measuring Self-Regulation in Online and Blended Learning Environments. Internet and Higher Education, 12, pp.1–6. Bates T. (2012). The Status of Online Learning in Canada in 2012. Online Learning &
• Distance Education Resources, Sudbury ON: Contact North. Retrieved on May 11, 2015, available http://www.tonybates.ca/2012/06/12/the-status-of-online-learning-in- canada-in-2012/#sthash.dK2A1sKn.dpuf
• Britto, M. & Rush, S. (2013). Developing and Implementing Comprehensive Student
• Support Services for Online Students. In Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 17(1) Caplan, D. & Graham, R. (2008). The Development of Online Courses. In Anderson, T.
• (Ed.). The Theory and Practice of Online Learning (2nd ed.). (pp. 245-264).Athabasca, AB: AU Press. Chapter 10. Colleges and Institutes Canada. Retrieved on date May 11, 2015, available from http://www.collegesinstitutes.ca
• Conference Board of Canada. (2013). Gender Gap in Tertiary Education: Canada
• Benchmarked Against 15 Countries. Retrieved on May 4, 2015, available from http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/details/education/gender-gap-tertiary.aspx
• Cragg, B., Andrusyszyn, Mary-Anne and Fraser, Joy. (2005). Sources of Support for
• Women Taking Professional Programs by Distance Education C.E. Journal OF Distance Education, Spring,2005, VOL. 20, No 1, 21-38.
• Creanor, L. (2002). A Tale of Two Courses: A Comparative Study of Tutoring Online. Open Learning, 17(1), 57-68.
• Cyberclassroom. (2001). In E. J. Burge, & M. Haughey (Eds.), Using Learning
• Technologies: International Perspectives on Practice, (pp. 61-71). London: Routledge/Falmer. How Are Women Doing In School -and Women Doing in Employment- Around The World. (2012, March). Education Indicators in Focus. Retrieved on May 10, 2014, available from http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/49986459.pdf
• Furst-Bowe, J. & Dittmann, W. (2001). Identifying The Needs of Adult Women in Distance
• Learning Programs. International Journal of Instructional Media, 28(4), 405. Gouthro, P. (2005). A Critical Feminist Analysis of the Homeplace as Learning Site:
• Expanding the Discourse of Lifelong Learning to Consider Adult Women Learners. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 24(1), 5-19. Getzlaf, B., Perry, B., Toffner, G., Lamarche, K., & Edwards, M. (2009). Effective Instructor
• Feedback: Perceptions of Graduate Students. The Journal of Educators Online, 6(2), 1-22. Gunn, Cathy, McSporran, M., Macleod, H., French, S. (2003). Dominant or Different?
• Gender Issues in Computer Supported Learning. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 7 (1), 14-30
• Hara, N. & Kling, R. (1999). A Case Study of Students' Frustrations with a Web-Based
• Distance Education. University of Illinois at Chicago Library. Jenkins, J. (1995). Producing Gender Sensitive Learning Materials: A Handbook for
• Educators. Vancouver, BC: The Commonwealth of Learning. Kramarae, C. (2001). Third Shift: Women Learning Online. American Association of
• University Women Educational Foundation. Washington, DC. Ladyshewsky, R.K. (2013). Instructor Presence in Online Courses and Student
• Satisfaction. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning,Vol. 7: No. 1, Article 13. Retrieved on February 3, 2015, available from http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ij-sotl/vol7/iss1/13
• Mhehe, E. (2001). Confronting Barriers to Distance Study in Tanzania. In E. J. Burge, & M.
• Haughey (Eds.), Using Learning Technologies: International Perspectives on Practice, (pp. 102-111). London: Routledge/Falmer. Moisey, Susan D. & Hughes, Judith A. (2008). Supporting the Online Learner. In
• Anderson, T. (Ed.). The Theory and Practice of Online Learning, (pp. 419 - 439). (2nd ed.). Athabasca, AB: Athabasca University Press. Moore, M. & Kearsley. (2005). Distance Education: A Systems View, 2nd Edition. Belmont,
• CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning pp 1-23. Muller, T. (2008).Persistence of Women in Online Degree Completion Programs. The International Review of Reseach in Open and Distributed Learning. 9(2).
• National Household Survey. (2011). Statistics Canada. Retrieved on April 30, 2015, available fromhttp://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/as-sa/99-012-x/2011001/c- g/c-g01-eng.cfm
• Parker, N. (2008). The Quality Dilemma in Online Education Revisited. In Anderson, T.
• (Ed.). The Theory and Practice of Online Learning (2nd ed.). (pp. 419-439). Athabasca, AB: Athabasca University Press. (Chpt 13, pp. 305-342). Patterson, N. (2012). Distance Education: A Perspective From Women's Studies.
• International Women Online Journal of Distance Education, July, 2012 1 (2).
• Price, L. (2006). Gender Differences and Similarities in Online Courses: Challenging
• Stereotypical Views of Women. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 22(5), 349-359. So, Hyo-Jeong & Thomas A. (2008). Student Perceptions of Collaborative Learning, Social
• Presence and Satisfaction in a Blended Learning Environment: Relationships and Critical Factors. Computers & Education, 51, pp. 318–336. Simonson, M; Smaldino, S.; Albright, M.; & Zvacek, S. (2011). Teaching and Learning at a
• Distance: Foundations of Distance Education. Fifth Ed. Pearson Education Inc. Sullivan, P. (2001). Gender Differences and the Online Classroom: Male and Female
• College Students Evaluate Their Experiences.Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 25, 805-818. Stalker, J. (2001). Misogyny, Women, and Obstacles to Tetrtiary Education: A Vile
• Situation. Adult Education Quarterly, 51(4), 288-305. Statistics Canada and Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. (2007). Education
• Indicators in Canada: Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program 2007.
• The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (2015). Retrieved on April 28, 2015, available fromhttp://www.cmec.ca/299/Education-in-Canada-An-Overview
• Wajcman, J. (2010). Feminist Theories of Technology. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 34, p 143-152.