The Online Learning Environment: Creating a space for Mauritian women learners

dc.creator	Sushita Gokool-Ramdoo
dc.date	2005-11-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-08-12T11:18:31Z
dc.date.available	2015-08-12T11:18:31Z
dc.identifier	1492-3831
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/9bc1a2f34e044f848ccf59601d2fe745
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/26984
dc.description	This paper examines how online distance education acts to democratize access to, and suit the ontologies of, Mauritian women who seek to empower themselves for development. Data from semi-structured interviews of 30 middle class couples are presented in this paper. Interviews and analyses are premised on a feminist perspective and conducted within the social relations analysis framework. The objective of this research was to understand what types of supportive environments (social spaces) enable Mauritian women to engage in educational endeavours that promote their personal potentials and creativities which, in turn, advance democracy for all citizens of Mauritius. Husbands were also interviewed to provide ground for analysis and to decrease bias, which can be generated by women-only data. (1) Marriage/ family and (2) occupation, represent the ‘social spaces’ selected for this study. Discretion, degree of learner control, and the outreach capacity inherent in distance learning makes the online modality a natural choice to democratize women’s access to education. Based on interviewees’ experiences and perceptions, this study concludes that online learning can enhance and democratize women’s access to education for personal development – but only if the power relationships in the two ‘social spaces’ are well understood and well negotiated by these women. The findings in this paper shed light on the importance of understanding ‘learner spaces’ when establishing and setting-up open learning organisations.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	Athabasca University
dc.relation	http://www.irrodl.org/content/v6.3/gokool-ramdoo.html
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1492-3831
dc.rights	CC BY
dc.source	International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Vol 6, Iss 3 (2005)
dc.subject	Mauritius
dc.subject	feminism
dc.subject	distance education
dc.subject	standpoint feminism
dc.subject	spouse
dc.subject	family
dc.subject	work
dc.subject	development
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.title	The Online Learning Environment: Creating a space for Mauritian women learners
dc.type	article