| Sample
The sample
was drawn randomly from female students at Bangladesh
Open University (303), Ningxia Radio and Television University
in north-west China (260), The Open University of Hong
Kong (219), Indira Gandhi National Open University, India
(197) and The Open University of Sri Lanka (388). These
countries/regions were chosen because they represent a
range of cultural and religious contexts. India, Bangladesh,
Sri Lanka and Ningxia are all developing areas in which
geographical and cultural barriers can cause physical
isolation for many communities, but they have different
religious and cultural backgrounds that can influence
women's participation in education to different extents.
Hong Kong, on the other hand, is a developed country,
geographically self-contained and with less cultural diversity,
but still sharing many of the traditional cultural values
of Mainland China.
While sampling
techniques varied according to the specific context of
each institution, care was taken that these students were
selected from a cross section of courses, course levels,
and regions. The most common age-group was 21-30 for all
countries except Hong Kong, where it was 31-40 years.
Slight majorities in Bangladesh (55%) and China (57%)
were married whilst in the other three countries the majority
were single (58%, 68% and 65% for Hong Kong, India and
Sri Lanka respectively). In all groups, the majority lived
in households of from 3 to 5 people and their main source
of income was regular salary or wages, followed by support
from family members. Buddhism was the predominant religion
for the groups in China (57% of those who indicated their
religion) and Sri Lanka (83%). The Hong Kong group was
predominantly Christian (69%) and the Indian group was
predominantly Hindu (92%). The Bangladesh group was mostly
Muslim (79%) and there was also a fairly large Muslim
component of the Chinese group (27%). Most had achieved
at least upper secondary education, with the majorities
in Bangladesh and India having already achieved university
degrees, although in Bangladesh there was also a fairly
large proportion (28%) who had only achieved lower secondary
education previously. (Full details of these demographic
data have not been included here because of space restrictions,
but are available from the author.)
Instrument
A comprehensive
30-item questionnaire was developed specifically for this
phase of the project. Both Likert scales and Yes/No items
were used to collect data about the students' experiences
in the categories of personal factors, use of facilities
and resources, preferred teaching and learning styles,
use of tutorials and other study centre activities, perceptions
of course materials, and need for help/support. The questionnaire
was based on the outcomes of a preliminary study that
were presented during a meeting of the project team in
October, 1999, and was validated during the meeting, particularly
for the suitability of its content and language for each
of the five countries. It was translated into Chinese
for the Ningxia group and those of the Hong Kong group
who preferred to use this version. It was also translated
into Bangladeshi, and the researchers later copied the
students' responses onto the English proforma. For the
other countries, the English version was used, with trained
researchers available to explain any aspects of the language
with which the students had difficulty.
RESULTS
Reasons
for choosing distance education
For
Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India and Sri Lanka the majorities
indicated that they had chosen distance education because
it allowed them to learn at their own pace and convenience
(Table 5). The majority of the group from China gave economic
and social considerations as their reason, with this also
being rated by a majority in Bangladesh. This was
not given as a reason by very high percentages of women
in India and Sri Lanka, although it was selected by 43.4%
of the Hong Kong women. While 52.6% of the women
in China said they had chosen to study by distance education
because they could not meet the entry requirements of
conventional universities, with 40.2% and 43.5% of Hong
Kong and Sri Lankan women respectively citing this as
a reason, it was not mentioned by many of the Indian or
Bangladesh groups.
Table
5: Reasons for choosing distance education (%)
| Country |
Bangladesh
|
China
|
Hong Kong
|
India
|
Sri Lanka
|
| No chance to study in conventional way
because of economic or social reasons |
56.4
|
61.7
|
43.4
|
24.7
|
23.1
|
| Allows learning at own pace and convenience |
71.1
|
24.8
|
68.9
|
56.6
|
52.5
|
| Allows flexibility in choice of course |
34.8
|
18.0
|
58.9
|
43.4
|
37.9
|
| Costs less than traditional method of
learning |
25.9
|
21.1
|
2.3
|
19.2
|
6.0
|
| No chance to study in conventional way
because not meeting entry requirements |
23.0
|
52.6
|
40.2
|
7.1
|
43.5
|
| Other |
3.6
|
2.3
|
8.2
|
7.6
|
4.9
|
Conflicts
and difficulties
From
Table , it appears that the women's ratings of the conflicts
and difficulties that affected their studies were quite
low, even in those countries where it was expected that
there might be major conflicts. No items were given
mean ratings above 4. In Hong Kong and Bangladesh,
work commitments were rated above 3.5. The Bangladesh
group was the only one in which home duties and duties
to the family were rated higher than 3.5, while the Bangladesh
group also rated lack of proper planning and difficulty
following the course higher than 3.5. In China,
Hong Kong and Sri Lanka, the main conflict that caused
the students to change or drop out of a course was work
commitments, although the percentages of students who
identified these were still low. For India and Bangladesh
the main reason for changing or dropping out was duties
in the home, but again this only affected relatively low
percentages.
Table
6: Conflicts and difficulties that might have affected
studies or caused students to change courses/drop out
| Country |
Bangladesh
|
China
|
Hong Kong
|
India
|
Sri Lanka
|
| |
Conflict
(mean)
|
Change/
drop out (%)
|
Conflict
(mean)
|
Change/
drop out
(%)
|
Conflict
(mean)
|
Change/
drop out
(%)
|
Conflict
(mean)
|
Change/
Drop out
(%)
|
Conflict
(mean)
|
Change/
Drop out
(%)
|
| Work commitments |
3.59
|
17.0
|
3.41
|
26.3
|
3.56
|
22.4
|
3.50
|
11.1
|
3.40
|
14.3
|
| Duties in home |
3.67
|
26.9
|
2.83
|
15.8
|
3.00
|
7.8
|
3.02
|
14.1
|
3.05
|
10.1
|
| Duties to family |
3.51
|
15.1
|
3.02
|
14.3
|
2.89
|
10.0
|
3.23
|
13.1
|
2.98
|
7.3
|
| Social commitments |
2.92
|
8.5
|
2.92
|
9.8
|
2.09
|
1.8
|
2.63
|
5.6
|
2.42
|
3.0
|
| Lack of personal interest |
2.63
|
7.2
|
2.35
|
9.8
|
2.24
|
8.7
|
1.93
|
6.6
|
2.17
|
7.3
|
| Lack of proper planning |
3.77
|
11.8
|
2.48
|
7.9
|
2.71
|
9.6
|
2.66
|
13.1
|
2.50
|
10.1
|
| Difficulties in following the course |
3.52
|
8.2
|
2.37
|
17.7
|
2.62
|
14.6
|
2.77
|
7.6
|
2.32
|
8.0
|
| Laziness |
2.80
|
2.3
|
2.28
|
9.0
|
3.08
|
8.7
|
2.24
|
6.6
|
1.99
|
4.3
|
| Cost of course or course materials |
3.00
|
2.0
|
2.88
|
18.0
|
3.18
|
15.1
|
2.56
|
5.1
|
2.70
|
11.8
|
| Other |
3.57
|
1.6
|
2.91
|
2.4
|
3.77
|
4.6
|
2.71
|
3.0
|
2.72
|
1.0
|
Use
of facilities and resources
Access
to study centres
This
group of items was concerned with a number of things that
included the distance of the study centre from the students'
homes or workplaces, provisions of amenities, and suitability
of session times (Table 7). Proximity to home, within
walking distance or less than an hours' travel, was seen
as a high priority for all groups, although proximity
to work was only rated as important by the Bangladesh
and Hong Kong groups. In almost all cases, there were
statistically significant differences between their mean
ratings of their preferences of what was currently the
situation for them. Interestingly, while most groups thought
it was quite important to have adequate amenities and
adequate campus life - with their ratings of the provisions
being significantly lower than their preferences - childcare
facilities were not regarded as particularly important.
With the exception of the group from China, the childcare
provisions they had available did not differ significantly
from their needs.
Table
7: Access to study centre (mean)
| Country |
Bangladesh
|
China
|
Hong Kong
|
India
|
Sri Lanka
|
| |
Prefer
|
Available
|
Prefer
|
Available
|
Prefer
|
Available
|
Prefer
|
Available
|
Prefer
|
Available
|
| Within walking distance to home |
4.35
|
3.32*
|
3.92
|
3.19*
|
3.79
|
2.33*
|
3.81
|
2.72*
|
3.37
|
2.88*
|
| Within <1 hr. travel by public transport
to home |
4.45
|
3.50*
|
3.09
|
3.10
|
4.26
|
2.88*
|
3.82
|
2.77*
|
3.80
|
3.17*
|
| Within walking distance to work |
4.09
|
2.78*
|
3.59
|
3.15*
|
3.60
|
2.51*
|
3.35
|
2.45*
|
3.12
|
2.55*
|
| Within < 1 hr travel by public transport
to work |
4.32
|
2.75*
|
3.03
|
3.19
|
3.95
|
3.08*
|
3.43
|
2.72*
|
3.19
|
2.87*
|
| Suitable for learning |
4.05
|
3.47*
|
4.15
|
3.67*
|
4.12
|
3.29*
|
4.49
|
3.47*
|
4.39
|
3.85*
|
| Equipped w/ adequate amenities |
3.75
|
2.68*
|
4.12
|
3.07*
|
4.11
|
3.17*
|
4.40
|
3.25*
|
4.01
|
3.50*
|
| Provides adequate campus life |
4.11
|
2.92*
|
3.54
|
2.98*
|
3.46
|
2.63*
|
3.56
|
2.93*
|
3.75
|
3.50
|
| Provides home-based tuition |
4.42
|
3.00*
|
3.16
|
2.47*
|
2.93
|
2.63*
|
2.91
|
2.79
|
3.41
|
3.29**
|
| Affordable to attend |
3.97
|
3.51*
|
3.94
|
3.23*
|
3.31
|
2.95*
|
3.92
|
3.55
|
3.78
|
3.37*
|
| Complies
w/ conventions of culture/ religion |
3.31
|
3.29
|
3.06
|
3.04
|
2.59
|
2.80**
|
2.64
|
2.95**
|
3.46
|
3.51
|
| Provides adequate childcare provisions |
3.63
|
2.44
|
2.89
|
2.54**
|
2.33
|
2.55
|
2.88
|
2.73
|
3.00
|
3.15
|
| Offers sessions on suitable days |
4.05
|
3.64
|
4.28
|
3.79*
|
4.24
|
3.36*
|
3.92
|
3.13*
|
4.03
|
3.43*
|
| Offers sessions at suitable times |
4.05
|
4.00
|
4.32
|
3.80*
|
4.31
|
3.39*
|
3.93
|
3.17*
|
4.03
|
3.39*
|
| Other requirements |
4.44
|
2.33
|
2.93
|
2.98
|
3.40
|
2.43
|
3.20
|
2.48
|
3.35
|
3.53
|
*
significant, p<0.01
**
significant, p<0.05
Preferred
days and times to attend study centres
Apart
from the Hong Kong group, who preferred to attend study
centres on weekdays, the majorities of the other groups
indicated that they preferred weekends. Clearly there
were some who indicated more than one preference.
However, majorities in all except the Hong Kong group
said they would prefer to go to study centres in the mornings,
with the latter indicating a preference for evenings.
As was seen in Table 7 in the previous section, for all
except the Bangladesh group, there were significant differences
between their ratings of preferences and current suitability
of days and times of classes.
Table
8: Preferred day/s to attend study centre (%)
| Country |
Bangladesh
|
China
|
Hong Kong
|
India
|
Sri Lanka
|
| |
Would
prefer
|
Current
|
Would prefer
|
Current
|
Would prefer
|
Current
|
Would prefer
|
Current
|
Would prefer
|
| |
