A Comparative Study on Attitudes towards the Educational Use of the Internet between Male and Female Students of the M.Ed Programme at Bangladesh Open University

This study was carried out to compare the attitudes of male and female students enrolled in the distance-mode Master of Education programme at Bangladesh Open University towards the educational use of the internet. A quantitative research method was used to collect data from 480 students (240 males and 240 females) across eight study centres from eight divisional cities representing the eight regions of Bangladesh. A questionnaire consisting of 10 statements adapted and modified from the scale developed by Usun (2003) was administered to measure students’ attitudes. Data were analysed on SPSS version 25, focusing on mean (M), standard deviation (SD), and t and p values. Key findings showed that in the matter of using the internet for educational purposes, both male and female students agreed with nine items (M > 3.00) and disagreed with only one (M < 3.00). Independent samples t-tests indicated that there were significant differences by gender in eight of the 10 attitude dimensions. The item, “Internet proficiency is necessary for students” received the highest scores from both male (M = 4.14) and female (M = 4.28) participants, while the item, “I conduct research using the internet” received the lowest scores from both male (M = 2.37) and female (M = 2.16) participants. The standard deviation for each of the 10 statements was not statistically significant (SD < 0.50), suggesting that the average distance between the data points was quite low. To comprehend the disparities in attitudes between male and female students, a more in-depth analysis of the relationships between genders and distance learning students’ attitudes regarding the use of the internet is warranted.