Staying the course: retention and participation in on-line learning in Singapore and the UK

In 2001 the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) in collaboration with the British Open University (OU) ran a successful presentation of the Level 1 Technology Course 'You, Your Computer and the Net'. The 30 point foundation level course was delivered to 9,000 students in 13 UK regions and simultaneously to a cohort of 200 students in Singapore. One of the striking factors about the results of this course was the difference in retention and ultimately the final pass rates of the two cohorts of students. This paper will describe the course and its delivery in the two countries, attempting to offer some explanations for this discrepancy in drop out rates using a cross cultural perspective

After a career break: supporting women returning to ICT

This is a case study of an initiative to support women returning to ICT after a career break, which was run in the UK and Ireland between 2005 and 2011.The article starts by outlining how the UK government’s concern about women failing return to SET careers led to the setting up of a national campaign (RETURN) to address this issue. A brief overview of previous research about women’s reasons for leaving ICT employment and the difficulties and barriers they encounter in returning to work, sets the context for the development of the online course Return to SET. An outline of the course and its innovative support model is then described followed by a discussion about measurement of impact and concluding with some suggestions for future developmen

Vendor-specific certifications: lessons and experiences from two women’s training centres in the UK offering MCSE training

This paper will provide details of a qualitative research study undertaken by The Open University in the UK as part of the European Social Funded (ESF) funded JIVE (Joint Interventions) Partners project. It reports important results relating to lessons and experiences of women who have embarked on the process of seeking the vendor-specific certification of Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE). The research study is significant because it represents the first known academic study of vendor-specific certifications that focuses on the experiences of women. Given the small percentage of women working in network administration, it is hoped that results from this study will provide valuable insights into the challenges such certification presents to women. The paper describes the context for the study. It then outlines why the training providers, both established voluntary sector women’s training centres, and the women trainees themselves chose this particular vendor-specific certification. It outlines results from qualitative interviews with women studying at two Microsoft Academies, The Women’s Workshop in Cardiff (WWiC) and Oxford Women’s Training Scheme (OWTS). This section of the paper will focus on: Why study for MCSE certification: women’s reflections on why they embarked on this path; Issues associated with offering the MCSE pathway; Importance of a women-only training environment

Presence for professional development: students in the virtual world

This report describes virtual world activities for groups of students studying a course designed to support professional development especially following career breaks. The activity uses the virtual platform to augment the social aspect of belonging to a study cohort, exploiting the sense of presence and constructivist affordances of the 3-D environment

Combining feminist pedagogy and transactional distance to create gender-sensitive technology-enhanced learning

In this paper, we argue for a new synthesis of two pedagogic theories: feminist pedagogy and transactional distance, which explain why and how distance education has been such a positive system for women in a national distance learning university. We illustrate this with examples of positive action initiatives for women. The concept of transactional distance allows us to explore distance as a form of psychological and communication space, not simply of geographical distance. Feminist pedagogy, on the other hand, has recognised the importance of gender in structuring disciplines as well as teaching strategies. Both theories implicitly position the face-to-face classroom as the ideal learning environment, with the implication that distance learning has to produce a deficient environment. We argue that the evidence for women does not support this and present examples of feminist distance learning provision that has offered successful technology-enhanced learning and educational opportunities

Women IT Technicians: moving through the glass partition

A study of the lives and careers of women ICT technicians offers a different perspective to other research which focuses on traditional educational routes into computing professions. As part of the JIVE Partners project funded by the European Equal programme, we have recently completed a research study using a qualitative longitudinal approach that followed 20 women ICT technicians who were training to become Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers. We found that their routes into ICT were complex and varied and had often involved crossing boundaries between jobs which are usually gender segregated. Rather than reaching a glass ceiling that blocked their upward progression, these women found ways to make a lateral transition through a ‘glass partition’ into areas of work that have traditionally been dominated by men. Whilst women form significant numbers of those studying and working with ICTs, they are usually concentrated in administrative contexts rather than in technical occupations. Although precise figures are difficult to ascertain, there are few women working as ICT technicians or support staff and those that do work in these fields find that their career prospects are limited due to the attitudes and practices within this sector. Women in the study had a range of technical job roles some of which spanned traditional gender boundaries. The majority of the women did not choose ICT as their first profession, and for many of them there was an element of luck or chance in their entry into their current job roles. While formal careers advice had been minimal, family members (male and female) were important influencers, either as role models or as a source of information and encouragement. Prior to entering work in technical areas of ICT, these women had a range of educational backgrounds; they were often quite highly qualified but not in ICT subjects. Career decisions and future plans were strongly influenced by work life balance consideration

Taking a lifecycle approach: redefining women returners to science, engineering and technology

Measures to support women to return to the science, engineering and technology (SET) labour market have been implemented over the past three decades in response to the overall shortage of SET skills, as well as with the aim of (re)empowering individual women through their improved financial independence and labour market participation. Yet their needs remain poorly analysed and the impact of labour market reintegration measures appears to have been patchy. This paper examines the experiences of women re-entering the SET labour market after a break from employment in the light of assumptions made about them in UK public policy, particularly related to labour market and employment. Drawing on evidence from surveys and interview data from two groups of women returners to SET we conclude that their needs are more diverse and complex than is recognised in much policy thinking and practice, and that these differ at specific points within the lifecycle. These differences include their relationships to the labour market, patterns of employment, reasons for leaving SET and obstacles to re-entry. Our conclusion is that, to respond effectively to the needs and requirements of women returners to SET, UK public policy therefore needs to be considerably more nuanced than it currently appears to be. In particular, policy needs to reflect the diversity and changing situations of women returners over the lifecycle, and needs to provide for a range of interventions that tackle different obstacles to women's return throughout their working lives. It may also be that the very term 'returners' - which tends to evoke a single episode of exit from and reentry to the labour market – will need to be revisited in future scholarly and policy frameworks on women in SET

The Triple Whammy: Gendered Careers of Geographically Marginalised Academic STEM Women

In this paper we explore how gender, non-standard job roles as well as location create a triple whammy affecting the visibility and therefore the career paths of women STEM academics. Drawing on data from interviews and surveys at a distributed university with locations across the UK, we examine the experiences of a group of ‘Regional Academics’ who are located at a distance from the main university campus, either in regional centres or as homeworkers, and show how gender intersects with distance and status to exacerbate inequalities. In their narrative accounts, they describe themselves as the ‘glue that hold the bits of the university together’, mediating between part-time tutors, students and other academics and researchers. We explore how career progression has been limited for these liminal academics, but how small steps to increase visibility and provide recognition for achievement can result in strategies that overcome these inherent obstacles

Returning to another place? Boundary crossing and career transitions among women science, engineering and technology professionals re-entering employment

Careers for science, engineering and technology (SET) professionals have been traditionally conceptualised according to a linear model, with the ideal worker being male, mobile and available for continuous full time employment. For many women in such male dominated occupations their careers have already entailed boundary crossing and transgression as they negotiate the conflicting identities of woman and SET professional resulting in an ‘in/visibility’ paradox (Faulkner 2009). The onset of motherhood, the demands of caring responsibilities or other external triggers such as a partner’s job move, often lead to women interrupting their careers or ‘opting out’ of their careers altogether (Stone 2007). Indeed in the UK it has been estimated that two thirds of women qualified in SET subjects do not return to these careers after their break (People, Science & Policy 2002). This paper examines the experiences and narratives of women who are crossing boundaries as they attempt to re-enter their professions after a sustained break. In these situations career transitions can be experienced as both temporal and spatial with the return from a career break becoming a point of major transition not only in professional terms but also in relation to the rest of their lives. A period of time away from employment provides the opportunity to re-evaluate careers and priorities (Forret et al 2010), but at the same time a lengthy absence from the workplace can mean professional identities are disrupted and uncertain. Returners are thus faced with the prospect of transitions and boundary crossings across many dimensions: from the domestic/private to workplace/public (Marks and Houston 2005); between different occupational status levels – many women professionals end up returning to lower paid, lower status jobs because there are no part time positions open at their previous professional level( Tomlinson 2006); between employment sectors, for example moving from industrial and research roles into the education sector which offers more flexible working hours. In other cases they have been literally crossing boundaries by becoming trailing spouses, following their husband’s primary career and living abroad for periods of time. This paper will draw on data from a programme to support women returning to SET careers (T160: Return to SET) run by the Open University in the UK and Ireland which had more than 1000 participants between 2005 and 2011. Using recent in depth interviews with a sample of those who have since found employment, the paper will explore narratives of transition and boundary crossing using both subjective and objective perspectives that incorporate not only the individual but the social, cultural and economic context in which these transitions have taken place