Gender Equality in Online Education in Higher Education: A Literature Review

Abstract

Tanzania embraces online education as the ideal of providing more educational opportunities for minority groups, women and those who cannot access the educational system in the regular way. As learning and technology intersect in tertiary institutions worldwide, implications about the ways women and men engage in online learning environments have become an important issue to examine. The article used a systematic literature review method to assess the gender equality in online higher education in Tanzania. The review has shown that online education offered opportunities for studying without the constraints of time and place, female students were more reflective in their learning, appeared less hesitant to engage in the online environment, felt they had more control over their learning and found the mode a positive experience compared to face to face courses in similar academic area, Also it allowed accessibility for people who are prevented by work and family commitments or by other factors such as disabilities or lack of mobility to attend classes but who enjoy a degree of flexibility in their schedules. However in online education learning process women have more domestic and family commitments than men, often mature women face significant barriers through multiple commitments and have serious financial burdens, unequal distribution of men and women in different subject areas. Also online education has provided for many women, perhaps their only chance to learn when other educational institutions were inaccessible to them. In Tanzania and other developing countries to achieve gender equality in both conventional and online education requires system-wide from National policy framework to institutional level change in the way policies and realistic plans are developed to ensure no one is left behind.