Abstract
This paper presents an analysis of the combined data sets from a large ARC (Australian Research Council) funded study on the declining enrolments of female students in high school information technology subjects, and a SiMERR (Science, ICT and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia) study of 9 rural or remote schools in the state of Queensland. The aim of examining the combined data set was to investigate any apparent differences between girls’ perceptions of studying higher level ICT subjects in rural areas compared to metropolitan areas. The findings of the study highlighted some problems experienced by female students studying outside of metropolitan areas. They perceived the subject offerings to be ‘more boring’ than their city counterparts and reported a lower level of home ownership. The paper offers possible explanations for the findings and strongly recommends that strategies need to be implemented to overcome these problems.
Highlights
From word processing to the purchase of goods, services and communication between people, Information Communication Technology (ICT) has become an integral part of modern industrialised society
This paper presents an amalgamation of findings derived from two project sources: the Australian Research Council (ARC) linkage project “Girls and ICT” survey (Anderson, Klein & Lankshear, 2005) and the focus group research of the Centre of Science Information and Communication Technology and Mathematics Education in Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR) (2006)
The aim of the larger ARC research project was to identify any significant differences between high school girls in Queensland which may shed light on issues pertaining to reduced female participation in ICT professional careers
Summary
From word processing to the purchase of goods, services and communication between people, Information Communication Technology (ICT) has become an integral part of modern industrialised society. While ICT promises to minimise geographical and time barriers to communication, it can serve to exacerbate frustration and alienation by its lack of accommodation of cultural sensitivities, especially in areas with high indigenous populations (Anderson, 2005). It is with this in mind that one of the aims of the current paper is to Seminar.net - International journal of media, technology and lifelong learning Vol 3 – Issue 3 – 2007 investigate the perceptions about ICT held by high school girls who live in rural and remote areas of Queensland (Australia).
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