Access to Distance Education by Asian Women

The broad aim of the overall project is to contribute knowledge that will make distance education more user-friendly and empowering for Asian women who participate in it, and more accessible to women who have the potential to, but do not, participate in it. Specifically, the aims are to undertake:
 

• a macro study, using literature searches and surveys, to review the existing resources about Asian women and distance education,
• a micro study, using interviews and questionnaires, to:
• identify factors that contribute to non-participation by Asian women who:

- are able to have access but find it difficult to complete their studies, 
- would like to engage in distance education but are unable to do so, 
- have the potential but lack the motivation or opportunity, 
• identify what these women would be able to do if they were provided with some form of education or appropriate access, 
• identify institutional barriers encountered by women and make recommendations to delivery open and distance learning institutions about appropriate strategies to redress these barriers.
• use the findings to make recommendations about potential intervention strategies, without interfering with their socio-cultural situations,
• explore how collaboration and resource sharing can be used, even across cultures, to enhance distance education opportunities for women. 

The target groups will be women who are currently participating in distance education and women who have the potential or interest to participate but are not . It is intended that the former group will provide assistance in identifying the latter from amongst their social groups. The main study will be conducted in a cross-section of Asian countries which represent a range of socio-economic, religious and cultural backgrounds, including Hong Kong SAR, Mainland China, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Iran and Turkey. The preliminary study that is the subject of this application will be conducted in five of these countries, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India. The main data collection tool for this part of the project will be semi-structured interview and these data will be supplemented by existing statistics from organisations including UNESCO and The World Bank. 

Report for Preliminary Investigation