Educating The Girl Child in Developing Countries Through Elearning: The Imperatives of Collaborative

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Educating The Girl Child in Developing Countries
Through E-learningThe Imperatives of
Collaborative InterventionsBy Rachel
AlwalaMemorial University of Newfoundland
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Our Girls
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Paper discussion

• Potential of e-learning
• Predisposition of the girl child
• Role of partners and possible interventions
• Collaborative gender-responsive model in
  e-learning
• Conclusions

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Potential in e-learning

• Delivery and access to learning
• anywhere
• Filling the gaps in the traditional
• educational systems
• Technology (if available) can be
• exploited
• Reduction of prevalent disparities But
  processes that accompany globalization are
  capable of increasing disparity (Hyde)

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Sowhere is the girl-child?

• Out of school
• Most of school drop-outs are girls
• Over 370 million of the 1.3 billion school-aged
  children in the world are not in school. Two
  thirds are girls. (UNESCO)
• Majority from developing countries

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Why is she not learning?

• Non-educational obstacles
• Poverty
• Traditions
• Habits
• Legal systems
• HIV/AIDS
• Discrimination by gender

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Her challenges Factors impeding e-learning

• Prohibitive socio-cultural and economic
  
• factors - rural areas
• Illiteracy
• Lack of numeracy skills
• Negative perceptions toward
• technology - socialization

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Impeding factorscontd

• Allocation of resources for education
  skewed to the boy child
• Digital divide further gender divide in use
  of technology
• Without the precursors, the girl child cannot
  take advantage of e- learning
• access to use of technology are rooted in
  behavioural, cultural and religious traditions
• (GWG - World Summit for Information Society)

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Who has the key to the girls education through
e-learning?

• Everyone!
• Individuals
• Local Communities
• Nations
• Regional and international
• community

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Gender-responsive interventions A - Partnering
at local level

• Girl childs responsibility
• Enhanced literacy and numeracy
• Societal Attitude change
• Need for role models
• Sensitive instruction
• Culture and language
• Positive experiences
• Access

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B- Partnering at National Level

• Note major impediments
• Policies
• Structural barriers
• Connectivity
• Change in policy regulations
• Provide developmental opportunities at
• entry level in education of the girl
• Rural development
• Empowerment and provision of resources

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C- Partnering at International level

• Address the global digital and gender
• divides
• Funding, service provision, technical
• assistance, technology knowledge
  
• transfer/sharing, raise awareness and
• bind governments to comply with
• education obligations
• digital divide has implications for access to
  knowledge needed for information poor need to
  catch up with the rich (ITU)

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The Big Picture
Entry
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Conclusion

• Collaborative partnership must be
• taken in the context of social
• economic development of nations
• E-learning is flexible, low cost, etc.
• Model- best fit scenario
• Appropriate interventions
• more e-learning
• more appreciation for e-learning
• giving back to e-learning process

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Thank You for listening!
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