Kramarae's contributions to communication and gender studies

Kramarae

How unique is the situation to women/online learning?

In the era of technological advancements, online learning proved to be a desirable and efficient solution for numerous individuals. The situation is even more so true in the case of women, who now have to joggle their household and career responsibilities. As females decided to work outside the home, their roles within family and workplace increased, materializing as such in more stress and pressure. And in order to keep up with the new requirements, but also to gain a better sense of belonging and being able to successfully complete tasks, women have commenced to look into adult education. And online learning offered them the most suitable solution that fitted their unique needs. "Distance learning provides excellent opportunities for women who have children, heavy work responsibilities, disabilities, or tight schedules, or who reside in geographically isolated areas" (Kramarae).

The role of the woman has changed dramatically over the past few decades. With more and more women being financially independent, the rates of divorce have drastically increased. The numbers of single mothers has consequently increased. As justices often tend to grant custody to the mothers, the women have to find time to raise the children on their own, keep their jobs and educate themselves. Online learning responds to this particular need through various features, such as time-efficiency, flexible and adjustable schedules or grading based on individual efforts, rather than group tasks.

Directly linked to the growing numbers of single mothers is the fact that women face more financial challenges than men. A most relevant example in this sense is the fact that child care costs are often attributed to women, and not to the men. In this order of ideas then, women look for more cost-efficient alternatives to finance their education. Online learning is currently similarly priced as traditional methods, but is expected to significantly decrease in the future, allowing as such more women better access to education. A direct aspect of online education is the fact that it also implies some additional costs, such as the need to own a personal computer and have access to the internet. This also requires some skills in using the technological appliances.

The uniqueness of women as online students is also given by the approach and reasons that determined them to enrol in the respective courses. In this order of ideas, the determinants can be classified as pull and/or push forces. The pull forces draw the women to enlist as they themselves are interested in the method. Females could for instance opt for online education as they find it more efficient to work on flexible schedules. There are also the push forces which manifest decisional influences. The push forces see that women found it difficult or even impossible to enrol and/or become educated within other institutions. Otherwise put, some women become online students through a process of exclusion.