BUKU ABSTRAK - Universiti Putra Malaysia

Barriers to Continuing Education among Working Muslim Women in Government
and Semi-government Organisations in Malaysia
Prof. Dr. Mazanah Muhamad
Farizah Ahmad
Institute of Social Science Studies, University Putra Malaysia,
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
+603-8947 2705; mazanah@ace.upm.edu.my
Keywords: Continuing education, working Muslim women
Learners’ Attitude towards Learning through CD-ROM Courseware: A Case
Study of an Organisation
Prof. Dr. Mazanah Muhamad
Ahmad Zamri Mansor and On Lily
Institute of Social Science Studies, University Putra Malaysia,
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
+603-8947 2705; mazanah@ace.upm.edu.my
Keywords: Learners’ attitude, CD-ROM courseware
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Social Sciences
The forces of the knowledge-based and global economy have made it essential for every citizen to contribute
towards the development of the country. In the case of Malaysia where women comprise a crucial half of the
productive workforce, their contribution can have significant impact on the country’s development. Today, many
Muslim women in Malaysia are educated and making important contribution to the country’s economy and
monetary contribution towards better standard of living for their families. However, not many women further
their education once they have joined the workforce and started their families. This article reports on research
conducted among 85 Muslim women working in eight government and semi-government departments in Perak
(a northern state in Malaysia) and seeks to provide information on their (a) reasons for non-participation and
(b) relationship between reasons for non-participation and demographic variables. Data indicated three barriers:
financial constraints, family commitment and lack of benefits which reflect situational and dispositional barriers
consistent with earlier findings. The inquiries also showed that demographic characteristics together with deterrent
factors do have an impact on women particularly in advancing their education.
The paper seeks to explore two factors associated with learners’ attitude toward learning through CD-
ROM courseware: (1) learners’ characteristic; and (2) characteristics of CD-ROM courseware. Data were
administered using an instrument custom designed for the study. The respondents were 150 employees of the
selected organisation who had used any CD-ROM courseware in any of the organisation’s learning centres during
a specified one-month period. Results show that: (1) the majority of respondents surveyed found to have favorable
attitude toward the last CD-ROM courseware they had used; (2) learners’ attitude towards computers was found
to be highly correlated with learners’ attitude towards CD-ROM courseware; and (3) courseware characteristics
of textology and immediate feedback were identified as two of the most highly correlated factors. In learning
through CD-ROM courseware, learners’ characteristics such as learners’ attitude towards computers, their
working experience and educational achievement need to be taken into consideration. In CD-ROM courseware
development, characteristics such as textology and immediate feedback are important elements that facilitate
positive attitude towards learning. This study is useful to CD-ROM courseware developers and training managers
in developing a more appropriate training for learners.