Benefits and Barriers of Learning and Using ICTs at Open University: A Case Study of Indonesian Domestic Workers in Singapore

ICT's biggest impact in higher education has been to facilitate distance learning, and open universities around the world have extended education to marginalized groups for whom it would usually be beyond reach. The conditions particular to migrant domestic workers warrant further investigation. Using Banuri et al.'s [2005] value-of-ICTs-to-education framework and adapting Chib et al.'s [2008] ICTs for healthcare development model for education, the present study employed a qualitative method to examine the benefits of using ICTs as an opportunity producer, capacity enhancer, knowledge producer and social enabler, as well as the economic, technological, infrastructural and sociocultural barriers to effective ICT use. In-depth interviews (N = 20) were conducted with Indonesian domestic workers enrolled in the Open University. The findings suggested that the women see value and gain various benefits from using ICTs for their learning process, in their current role as a domestic worker and professional orientation. However, multiple barriers need to be overcome, including the negotiation of multiple roles as their family's breadwinner, domestic worker and student. Implications and direction for future research are discussed.