Gender and Distance Education : Indian and International Contexts

This book investigates the intersection of gender and distance education from a feminist perspective and explores their contemporary innovative interfaces in Indian and international contexts.

The key issues raised here include a re- investigation of the democratizing potential of distance education from a gendered perspective (especially in developing countries such as India), feminist pedagogical perspectives on the notion of transactional distance, the relationship between masculinity and gerontology from the perspective of non- traditional modes, and the interrelationships between gender and social media from a distance education perspective. As opposed to the conventional, physical classroom, the virtual classroom often occupies a de- privileged space in feminist pedagogical discussions, since it appears to align itself less easily with feminist praxes which encourage a free, intellectual exchange between teachers and students. By opening up various facets of the relationship between gender, distance education and feminist pedagogy, the book foregrounds the critical need to re- visit preconceived, unfavourable assumptions about this relationship and proposes mutually productive inter-linkages. It does so in the context of contemporary circumstances defined by the increasing use of virtual technology, the ongoing need for democratization of higher education and the constraints posed by consumerist trends.

Lucid and topical, this Focus volume will be useful to scholars and researchers of higher education, open and distance education, feminist pedagogy, gender studies, feminism, masculinity, and women’s studies as well as practitioners and policymakers working in the education sector.