Higher education culture : a gendered approach : a study of mature women students on computing and related courses
Higher education culture : a gendered approach : a study of mature women students on computing and related courses
Against a background of feminist research, the issues concerning the low numbers of women following computing and information technology courses in higher education are investigated. The experiences of mature women students in two higher education institutions from the former polytechnic sector are reviewed. The expansion of higher education, seen in the later 1980's as a way of reducing skill shortages, was faced by a demographic problem in terms of the numbers of school leavers which meant that different potential student groups had to be cultivated. Mature students, particularly women, who were under-represented on computing and related degree courses, were seen as a possible target. This thesis is concerned with the implications of widening access to mature women within these disciplines. The questions of why some women choose a subject that is seen to be masculine and how this affects their preparation for higher education and their behaviour once they are following a degree course is linked to the study of the organisational culture of higher education and the sub-culture of computing.
Feminist frameworks can question accepted practices. Through focusing on the position of women in relation to the organisational culture, rather that on the culture of higher education institutions per se, a different approach can be constructed. Analyses of their responses to the culture and sub-culture allow an explanation of how culture can be conceived differently according to previous gendered experience. The culture of computing is analysed from the perspective of a specific, gendered sub-group.
University of Southampton
Waterman-Roberts, Elizabeth Christine Perry
1998
Waterman-Roberts, Elizabeth Christine Perry
Waterman-Roberts, Elizabeth Christine Perry
(1998)
Higher education culture : a gendered approach : a study of mature women students on computing and related courses.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
Against a background of feminist research, the issues concerning the low numbers of women following computing and information technology courses in higher education are investigated. The experiences of mature women students in two higher education institutions from the former polytechnic sector are reviewed. The expansion of higher education, seen in the later 1980's as a way of reducing skill shortages, was faced by a demographic problem in terms of the numbers of school leavers which meant that different potential student groups had to be cultivated. Mature students, particularly women, who were under-represented on computing and related degree courses, were seen as a possible target. This thesis is concerned with the implications of widening access to mature women within these disciplines. The questions of why some women choose a subject that is seen to be masculine and how this affects their preparation for higher education and their behaviour once they are following a degree course is linked to the study of the organisational culture of higher education and the sub-culture of computing.
Feminist frameworks can question accepted practices. Through focusing on the position of women in relation to the organisational culture, rather that on the culture of higher education institutions per se, a different approach can be constructed. Analyses of their responses to the culture and sub-culture allow an explanation of how culture can be conceived differently according to previous gendered experience. The culture of computing is analysed from the perspective of a specific, gendered sub-group.
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Published date: 1998
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Local EPrints ID: 463500
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/463500
PURE UUID: 58e4d833-5dfb-4908-8119-cf68356e26a2
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 20:52
Last modified: 04 Jul 2022 20:52
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Author:
Elizabeth Christine Perry Waterman-Roberts
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