Can e-learning promote participation of female students in STEM disciplines in higher learning institutions of Tanzania?

Abstract

The recent development of ICTs has brought many changes in different sectors. In Higher Learning Institutions, there are a number of positive changes. ICTs have brought efficiency, effectiveness and efficacy in the provision of the core functions namely: teaching, outreach, research and consultancy. Previous studies showed that even though there is improvement in teaching and learning through e-learning but few studies researched e-learning as tool for promoting female students to participate in science, technology and mathematics disciplines. This study was done to evaluate if the e-learning can promote the participation of female students in science, technology and mathematics subjects in different Higher Learning Institutions of Tanzania. The mixed research methodology was used in this study. The results showed that the potential benefits of e-learning as tool for promoting students uptake for science, technology and mathematics subjects was not fully exploited in Tanzania. Thus, this calls different stakeholders to fully implement and mainstream e-learning in Higher Learning value chain to make it a reality and not myth in promoting female students participation is science, technology and engineering.