Widening participation in postgraduate studies in Greece: mature working women attending an e‐learning programme

Abstract

This article examines issues relating to widening participation in postgraduate study programmes in Greece. It focuses on a group of mature women and examines their experiences from attending a novel postgraduate e‐learning programme at the University of the Aegean. It presents findings from a study, which looked into mature women’s decision to return to higher education in relation to their responsibilities stemming from marriage, motherhood, work and housework. In particular it examines how these women balanced their different and often conflicting roles, managing to operate within very tight time schedules and demands from their postgraduate studies. The findings of this study have policy implications for issues of equality of educational opportunities and participation in higher education in Greece and elsewhere.

Keywords:

• women in higher education
• postgraduate studies
• e‐learning
• Greece
• qualitative research

Notes

1. According to National Statistics, the majority of teachers in Greece are women, 64% in primary education and 60% in secondary education (NSSG 2007).