The internet access and use from a gender perspective: a case study of secondary school teachers in Kinondoni and Bagamoyo districts, Tanzania,

This study investigated the internet access and use from a gender perspective by secondary school teachers in Kinondoni and Bagamoyo districts. The study was conducted at Loyola High School and Marian Girls Secondary School in Bagamoyo and Dar es Salaam respectively. Structured interviews and self-administered questionnaires were used and distributed to 60 respondents 30 from each school proportionally divided by gender. Purposive and random samplings were used to obtain study sample. The finding revealed that 42 (100%) male teachers use the internet as compared to 16 (94%) female teachers. The majority of respondents (54 respondents, 90%) used the internet for searching teaching materials, email (50 respondents, 83%), using search engines to obtain facts (39 respondents, 65%). Only 21 respondents used the internet for general entertainment (35%). Respondents confirmed a belief in the gender gap in internet use, as 23 (38%) listed male interest in the internet as the reason they believed more males used the internet while 14 others (23%) claimed that more males used the internet in school settings because more males were present in the school environment as teachers, thus creating inequality through access. Thirteen respondents (22%) attributed the gender gap to greater exposure and technology knowledge of male teachers and 12 respondents (12%) credited the gender gap to female technophobia. While respondents generally supported the existence of the gender gap in internet use, this research challenges the notion by finding that while slightly more men than women use the internet overall, those who use the internet use it at the same rate on a weekly basis. Yet, female users of the internet had significantly more institutional barriers to overcome in order to access the internet. Therefore this study recommends: First, ICT training for secondary school teachers to ensure that teachers have equitable training. Second, early exposure of female teachers to technical training will provide them with greater confidence.