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ISSN 2424-6492

Volume: 05 | Issue: 01

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Volume: 05 | Issue: 01

ISSN 2424-6492

Edited by Global Academic Research Institute Publication Department

EDITOR TEAM

A.M.G.S. Priyankara – Sri Lanka (Chief Editor)

Prof. Aref Maalej - Engineering School of Sfax Director, Tunisia

Prof. Soufiane Belhouideg - Université Sultan Moulay Slimane, Morocco

Prof. M. Eswaramoorthy - ACS College of Engineering, India

Dr. Khaled Ghaedi - VR-CAM Technologies, Malaysia

Dr. Guelailia Ahmed - Research Department of Space Mechanics, Algeria

Dr. Dheeraj Nim - Lovely Professional University, India

Dr. Jagbir Singh Kadyan - University of Delhi, India

Dr. Raj Kumar Boora - Saudi Electronic University, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Zubair Ahmed Laghari - Sindh Agriculture University, Pakistan

Dr. Mayank Singhal - Academic Hospitalist at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, USA

132 Pages

All right are reserved according to the code of intellectual property act of Sri Lanka, 2003

Publish by: Global Academic Research Institute Publication Department http://multidisciplinaryjournal.globalacademicresearchinstitute.com

MUSLIM MINORITY WOMEN IN GREEK THRACE: FROM HOUSE-COCOONS TO E-LEARNING-BUTTERFLIES

1Dr. Keratso Georgiadou, 2Dr.Samaa Haniya, 3Prof. Matthew Montebello, 4Anastasia Olga Tzirides 1DUTH , 2,4University of Illinois USA, 3University of Malta, [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Information communication technologies Use of new technologies, based on the (ICT) and the Internet influence many Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). people have a global geographical coverage and are dynamic in terms of Key words: Muslim minority women, e- access to education, knowledge, learning, Greek Thrace information. They facilitate access to new processing technologies, new ways of INTRODUCTION learning, new ways of transferring knowledge, new ways of communication This study will focus on the aspirations and understanding. This paper focuses on and experiences of use of ICTs and e- the efforts of Muslim minority women in learning education of Muslim minority Thrace, residing in the North-Eastern women residing in Thrace, a North- Greek . There is much evidence Eastern Greek province, bordering of an increase in participation of female Bulgaria to the North, to the East, students in public and minority schools in and with its southern shores on the North Greece during the past years, their success Aegean. Thrace consists of three in graduating from Greek universities and : , Rodopi and the adaptation of Muslim minority women with their main Xanthi, to the information age. This paper is and respectively. grounded in qualitative research that The Muslim minority exists in Greek examined the views of Muslim women Thrace since 1923 after the collapse of the regarding their access to education and e- Ottoman Empire in 1922 and the Lausanne learning. It also presents data from Peace Treaty signed in 1923 which had as interviews with Muslim minority women a result a population exchange among the who have continued their studies through Muslims (356.000) living by that time in e-learning lessons in Turkish universities, Greece, and Christian populations from in order to receive degrees for higher the area of Minor Asia and the area of levels of education beyond primary school Pontus in the Black Sea (1.5 million levels. Included also is a quantitative surviving Anatolian Greeks or Pontic analysis of the factors that influence their Greeks and Caucasus Greeks) with the

ISSN 2424-6492 | Volume: 05 | Issue: 01 | 15-06-2019 exception of the Muslim populations in Kanakidou, 1994, Tressou, 1997; Greek Thrace of Turkish, Pomak and Askouni, 2002; Imam & Tsakiridi, 2004). Roma origin and the Orthodox The year of 1990 was a milestone for populations of Greek origin living mainly the minority as the policy of the Greek in Istanbul. According to Aarbakke (2000) state changed towards them due to the life of Muslim minority people was continuing pressure from European much influenced by the relations among organizations, particularly the Council of the states of Greece and Turkey during the Europe. A law on intercultural education turbulent 20th century. Through the years was voted in 1995 which gave privileged of the past century people of the minority admission to higher education, to the high mostly resided in , a big part of school graduate members of the minority, them were uneducated and unacquainted with additional posts of 0.5% of those with the . For the reader of admitted to Greek universities (the this paper in order to figure better the measure had a strong effect on speeding up situation of people’s lives in this part of social mobility as young Muslims could Greece, statistics from the General obtain tertiary education and live in other Secretariat of Adult Education at the end parts of Greece). A five-thousandth (5‰) of 1990s can be indicative. According to rate was set for the exceptional these statistics, the highest rate of illiteracy recruitment of minority members to Pan- among all of Greece by that time Hellenic competitions in the Greek public was observed in Thrace (15.13%). The sector. Finally an educational program rate of under-educated people in Thrace (1997-2013) funded by E.U. for children was 72%, 15 points above the national of the Muslim minority in Thrace was average of 57% . implemented by the University of Another challenging aspect affecting with multiple results (Georgiadou, 2017). women’s rights in Thrace is the negative The Muslim population in Thrace is stereotype that has been infused by the composed approximately of 100.000- society and accumulated throughout the 120.000 people, half of them female with years of cultural misconception and false almost 25.000-30.000 of them adult information in mainstream media. women. Members of the minority are Unfortunately, this misconception considered to be 60% of Turkish origin, positions women as oppressed, 33.6% of Pomak origin and 16.4% of uneducated, and weak, confining their Roma origin. The main part of the roles merely as housewives and caring population resides in the of mothers (Bullock & Jafri, 2000). Rodopi and Xanthi and a very small part Consequently, this deprived these women in the prefecture of Evros, mainly of Roma from joining the local labor market, as origin (Mavrommatis, 2005). According they mainly worked in the fields. In to Eurostat for the year 2017, the particular, Muslim minority families in unemployment rate in East Macedonia and Thrace were reluctant to send their Thrace, rose to 19.5%, while the European daughters to school. This is due to their average is 7.6%, and is considered as one fear of having their daughters being of the three highest rates of unemployment discriminated in schools as being a in the prefectures of Greece. The minority group, having insufficient unemployment rate for the people under knowledge of the Greek language to the age of 25 who live in the area of East represent themselves, or because of the Macedonia and Thrace is 43.6%. male status quo that some people The ICTs, especially the Internet which mistakenly believe in (Georgiadou 2017, according to Turkle (1995) is the material expression of the philosophy of

ISSN 2424-6492 | Volume: 05 | Issue: 01 | 15-06-2019 postmodernism, are the gates to the distance education through internet and information society as they hold great television broadcasts opens up avenues for potential for economic, political and social women to continue with their education at empowerment of women, and promotion their own pace and from the confines of of gender equality (Hafkin & Huyer, their homes even after having 2006). Bhatnagar (2006) presents the ways discontinued it due to family or social ICTs can offer new options in education: responsibilities. e-learning, distance learning, learner- Taking in consideration all the above centeredness, peer to peer exchanges, etc. and the results of previous findings we Oblinger & Hawkins (2005), Dublin tried to understand better the efforts of (2003), as well as Holmes and Gardner Muslim minority women for their social (2006) agree that there isn’t a commonly and economic integration. This study is accepted definition of e-learning, but each grounded in previous outreach definition reflects the viewpoints of the interventions involving the use of new academics that each time write papers on technology in the education of Muslim that domain. As Arkorful & Abaidoo minority women in Greece (Georgiadou, (2015) mention e-learning refers to the 2006, 2017). Our paper presents a follow facilitation of learning through the up to that work, exploring the factors utilization of digital technologies. Thus, influencing the enrolment of women in the term can encompass distant, fully or Open Distance Education programs at the hybrid online courses that are realized Anadolu University - Turkey. While through the use of the Internet (Gotschall, collecting statistics on education of 2000; Maltz et al, 2005) or learning minority women we found an increasing through the use of information and interest from the side of Muslim minority communication technologies as a women to enroll in different levels of complement to traditional, online or education in Greece and Turkey and we hybrid learning (OECD, 2005). Despite were informed that a big number (more the type of definition that each one than 200) of these women had enrolled in accepts, the important element of e- Open Distance Education programs at the learning is that is enhanced the interaction Anadolu University in Turkey, with the of students with their teachers and peers support of ICTs. and it enabled the differentiation of The purpose of the study was to learning, through which students can investigate the factors influencing the address their individualized needs (Tao et enrolment of women in Open Distance al, 2006; Arkorful & Abaidoo, 2015). This Education programs at the Anadolu characteristic of e-learning is the one that University in Turkey. The research sought corresponds to our study population, the to answer the following questions: What Muslim minority of women in Greece. socio-economic factors, political factors, E-learning enables those who have personal factors and cultural factors access to the equipment to obtain global influence women’s enrolment in Open culture and education by overcoming the Distance Education programs at the separation between educators and Anadolu University in Turkey; Given the learners. ICTs can function as portals for complexity of the task and prevailing life-long learning, providing chances to prejudices against these women, a variety obtain new skills and new possibilities of of sources are used to understand their work. As individuals have more freedom plight. The paper focuses on the lives of and greater possibilities for self- Muslim minority women in Thrace who realization, it paves the way for their participated in a range of online education empowerment. Nath (2001) believes that programs as they want to seek paid work

ISSN 2424-6492 | Volume: 05 | Issue: 01 | 15-06-2019 outside of their home. It is written for these Use, Computer Self-Efficacy, Subjective women but also for those men and women- Norm and Behavioral Intention to use policymakers, business leaders, civil technology, were developed based on the society leaders, who are interested not existing, well-established questionnaire only in the lives of these women but in used at the Umrani’s research (2003) with general in the economic prosperity and standardized tests on a 5-point Likert-type societal stability of Thrace. scale and data was collected from 137 Muslim minority women. TAM’s METHODOLOGY constituents in this survey were as follows: Behavioral Intention to Use Technology: This data that will be presented in this in terms of TAM, behavioral intention can paper consists of three parts: be used to directly predict behavioral achievement or actual behavior- Perceived I. Information on Muslim minority Usefulness refers to a person’s belief that women’s education; the use of the computer will result in the ii. Statistics from 137 questionnaires achievement of personally relevant goals- that describe the psychological factors that Perceived Ease of Use refers to a person’s influenced these women to use ICTs; belief that using computers will be free of iii. Interviews from 28 Muslim minority cognitive effort -Computer Self-Efficacy women who explain different factors that refers to the individual’s subjective influenced them to enroll in distance evaluation of efficacious ability in dealing learning programs. with computers -Subjective Norm refers to In the first part, information about an individual’s estimation of how others minority women’s participation in feel about one’s use of computers and education in Thrace will be presented by motivation to comply with their feelings using descriptive statistical information (Umrani and Ghadially, 2003). from a variety of sources. This information In the third part, the views gathered collection process was used to provide the from 28 interviews and conversations with reader with a more clear and defined Muslim minority women, and the socio- image of the educational level of Muslim economic, political, personal, and cultural minority women nowadays in Greek factors that influence Muslim minority Thrace and compare it to the past women’s enrolment in Open Distance experiences described above. Thus, their Education programs at the Anadolu aspirations and their intentions to continue University in Turkey will be presented. their studies whatever age they are will be Collecting information concerning the figured. In the second part, our study is Muslim minority in Greek Thrace and grounded in previous outreach especially minority women is not an easy interventions involving the use of new task. This can be explained by the fact that technology in the education of Muslim the Greek bureaucracy in the public sphere minority women in Greece (Georgiadou, sometimes instead of providing data to a 2017). The Technology Acceptance researcher blocks him/her from expanding Model (TAM), which has been widely the research. Huyer and Mitter (2003) used in technology adoption studies, was explain that most government statistics employed to provide the theoretical agencies do not provide a breakdown by foundation to study the behavior of gender; so globally comparable and Muslim minority women in Greek Thrace consistent data are not yet available. Much towards computer use. Our questionnaire like the digital divide, a statistical divide items, comprising the constructs of exists where the need is greatest; that is in Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of developing nations (Huyer et al., 2005).

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Muslim minority women in Thrace live DATA ANALYSIS in their own neighborhoods and are not usually connected to Christian population Education experience of Muslim thus they are reluctant to speak about minority women themselves to Christians. The use of a mediator - who was familiar to them and supported them to speak in the Turkish According to Georgiadou (2017) at the language-, was required. This made them end of the 1980s, a tendency towards feel comfortable as our meetings were urbanization was observed in the minority held in their local association in Komotini. populations of Greece as many of its members moved from their residence in The interview questions were a set of 22 the mountains to urban areas. In the 1990s, questions used in a previous research of as mentioned above, the rapid changes Magoma (2012) that was planned to inside Greek society resulted in a policy investigate the factors influencing the change which favored minorities, and was enrolment of women in Distance based on equality before the law and state Education programs at the University of and the equality of rights. The changes in Nairobi from Masaba North . The the policy for the minority made by the questionnaire included 17 structured Greek state had their impact on the status questions of multiple choices, yes/no of the minority. Ascouni (2006) in her answers, and five no structured questions. book about minority education in Thrace All questions were translated into Turkish. claimed that in the past one out of five Snowball sampling method was used to minority women had not received primary gather the structured interviews from 28 education and only 1.6% of the minority Muslim minority women who all women had entered secondary education. possessed the characteristic of having enrolled in the Anadolu University- In the area of Thrace there are 129 Turkey at the Open Distance Education primary minority schools (school that Program. The interviewees were offers a wide-ranging curriculum in approached by the mediator who happens Turkish), 2 bilingual secondary schools to be the representative of this program in located in Xanthi and Komotini and 2 Thrace. religious schools (Madrese). Furthermore, for secondary education they can attend The semi-structured interview was either the minority schools mentioned chosen as this protocol ensured that the above or the monolingual Greek schools questions of the interviews would not (Tsitsou, 2017). provoke any inconvenience to the participants. Interviewees were assured of At minority primary schools for the the use of pseudonyms for protecting their school year 2017-2018 there were 5061 identity while presenting the selected students, 2464 of them were girls and 2597 exemplar views from the interviews. of them were boys. At the two minority According to Holloway and Jefferson secondary schools (high school and (2005) confidentiality can be one of the lyceum) there were 1788 students, 910 of least problematic of the ethical issues. If whom were girls and 878 boys and 268 information is treated and used in such a students (girls and boys) at the two way as to be secure and to ensure the minority religious schools (data received anonymity of participants, the ethical from the Regional Directorate of Primary responsibility usually ends there. and Secondary Education of Thrace).

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universities with a quota system (0.5% of the total number of students entering the Greek universities each year). Due to the quota system, in order to gain a place in tertiary education, Muslim students participated in pan-Hellenic exams as a separate group competing among themselves. After the establishment of the quota system, an increase each year has As mentioned above in 1995, the been observed in the number of Muslim Ministry of Education instituted a law, minority pupils gaining a place in Greek giving minority students the opportunity universities. Not all of these students who to enroll firstly in the secondary schools gained places attended lessons in Greek without the lottery system in place as in universities as many of them enrolled in the past, and secondly in Greek Turkish universities (Georgiadou, 2017).

For the year 2017-2018 there is an minority, many of these students finally estimation of 2.484 students, of Greek enroll to Turkish universities. citizenship, in Turkish universities (data It should be noted that the continuing provided by the secretary of the Muslim increase of the number of Muslim female Association in Komotini). This means that students in public and minority schools although Greek State provides to the during the past 25 years, their success in students of the Muslim minority a place in graduating from Greek universities and a Greek university, with very low marks the adaptation of Muslim minority women compared to the levels needed from the to the information age by using ICTs, as students who don’t belong to the Muslim confirmed by one of our previous studies (Georgiadou, 2006, 2017), suggest an

ISSN 2424-6492 | Volume: 05 | Issue: 01 | 15-06-2019 increasing trend towards the socio- respectively, p<0.01). In other words, professional integration of these women. when women think of computers as being easy to use and useful they adopt the use Technology Acceptance Model of this technology. For the TAM questionnaire, as we read A significant positive relationship in Georgiadou (2017), the internal between Perceived Ease of Use and consistency reliabilities were found higher Perceived Usefulness (r=0.47, p<0.01) than 0.7, thus considered satisfying, was also examined. Subjective Norm was except from the TAM’s constituent of found to be significantly associated with Behavioral Intention, considered to be of Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived medium standard, but for research Usefulness (r=0.30, r=0.41, p<0.01 purposes, an internal consistency respectively). On the other hand, reliability of 0.56 was acceptable. Subjective Norm was not highly correlated with Behavioral Intention

(r=0.25, p<0.05). A. The mean score on the Computer Self-Efficacy was Behavioral Intention scale was high: significantly related to a positive (mean= 8.57, possible range 5-10) Behavioral Intention (r=0.33, p<0.05) and implying that women strongly intended to to Perceived Ease of Use (r=0.33, p<0.01). use computers in the future. Women This indicated that the more efficacious trainees appraised computers to be the women perceive themselves to be, the moderately easy to use (mean=26.07, stronger their intention is to use computers possible range 14-35). The checklist and think that are easy to use. Computer assessing magnitude of perceived Self-Efficacy and Perceived Usefulness usefulness indicated that overall women were not correlated in a high level (r=0.23, appraised computers to be very useful p<0.01). (mean=77.63; possible range 45-100). The subjects perceived themselves to be highly Hence, a positive relationship between Self Efficacious using the computers: Computer Self-Efficacy and Behavioral (mean=16.46; possible range 4-20), where Intention, Perceived Ease of Use, they revealed a positive view of their Perceived Usefulness, Subjective Norm cognitive capacities in dealing with towards using computers was partially computers. They appraised the Subjective accepted. Pearson’s product-moment Norm to be quite important (mean=7.43; correlation coefficients calculated show possible range 2-10), indicating a that most variables are strongly motivation to comply with the interconnected. expectations of others significant to learn C. Reliability results and correlation computers; results provided a favorable condition to B. A Pearson’s correlation analysis test the Technical Acceptance Model with was computed in order to detect the regression analyses. Thus, in order to relationships among the variables and to detect the causal linkages between the stress the differences or similarities among psychological variables and Behavioral the Muslim minority women as shown Intention to use computers, a regression below. During the statistical analysis of analysis was conducted. the data collected, a positive relationship Perceived Usefulness and Computer was found between Perceived Ease of Use Self-Efficacy had a direct effect on and a significant positive relationship Behavioral Intention and emerged between Perceived Usefulness to significant (β=0.39, and β=0.20 Behavioral Intention (r=0.36 and 0.50 respectively, p<0.05). Perceived Ease of Use and Subjective Norm had no direct

ISSN 2424-6492 | Volume: 05 | Issue: 01 | 15-06-2019 effect on Behavioral Intention (β= 0.10, of Use (β =0.33, p<0.05), implying that and β=0.04, respectively). when a woman sees herself as competent, All the variables taken together she views computers easy to handle; explained a 28 percent variance in b) Subjective Norm was a Behavioral intention, the indicator of significant determinant of Perceived technology acceptance (Figure 3). Usefulness (β=0.41, p<0.05), that is, when Significant causal linkages were found women feel that important people in their for two sets of variables: lives expect them to learn computers, they a) Computer Self-Efficacy was a assess the technology in question as significant determinant of Perceived Ease useful.

Experiences and aspirations: the voices master studies. The university is in the of Muslim minority women of Edirne which is also very near to the These days more than 200 Muslim border with Greece. minority women study at the “Anadolu” In the year 2015, 98 people from Open University of Turkey and attend Komotini enrolled to Anadolu Open lessons of secondary or tertiary education University. Fifty of them were women as distance learner students. Their studies’ who chose to study at the departments of duration for their foundation degree is two sociology, Turkish literature, theology, years and for their bachelor degree is four business administration, public relations, years. The exams of each semester take commerce, philosophy, economy, place at the Turkish of Kessan, 30 agriculture (this information was received kilometers east from the Greek-Turkish from the representative of the University border. Minority women show also a in Komotini). The distance education preference to “Trakya University” for their programs are: 1) “e-sertifika-e-

ISSN 2424-6492 | Volume: 05 | Issue: 01 | 15-06-2019 certificate”, 2) “Açıköğretim Fakültesi attend such a program the main reason was Önlisans Programları-Foundation their aim and dream to gain their economic degree”, 3) “Açıköğretim Fakültesi Lisans independence, secondly their zeal to face Programları -Bachelor degree” and 4) gender equality inside their marriages and Masters at Anadolu Open University in the thirdly five said that they were influenced School of Distance Education. The cost for by their husbands. Ayse said something the foundation degree is 35 € per semester that was heard from most of the women: “I and for the bachelor degree 40 € per want to improve myself”. semester. For the master studies, with Another woman, Birsen, explained that duration of 3 semesters, the cost is 550 €. being a student in a classroom “helps to The duration for the 100 e-certificate social adaptation, improves the interaction programs offered is 6 months and the cost of the culture of people who meet together. is 40 €. On the other hand e-learning can The target population (more than 200 contribute to the improvement of women) for this study is comprised of someone’s self-esteem and personal adult women students, who have enrolled growth as it brings together people of and those who have gone through distance different places, with different education programs. From the 28 women personalities in an impersonal way and interviewed, we found that 19 were you have to find ways for communication. married, eight were single and one was a ” widow. Twenty did not have anyone to The political factors they quoted 14 of take care of and only seven of them had them were discrimination between children although 15 of them were married genders, three of them gender policy that and over the age of thirty. Seventeen had Greek state follows and 11 gave no graduated from lyceum, two of evening answer. Muslim minority women said they lyceum, one of high school, one of evening did not want to feel inferior to their male high school, and six had a bachelor degree. relatives. Twenty-three catered for their own The personal factors of the respondents program tuition and only five were were mainly their desire to join the sponsored by their family. Eleven of them academic community, to obtain had dropped off school more than ten knowledge and have the chance to change years before they joined the Distance their lives. Education programs. The years of leaving The cultural factors that influenced school, ranged from 2-30 years and the them to choose a distance learning ages of interviewees ranged from 25-48 academic program were their cultural years old with a mean of 36 years old. Ten traditions (11 women), the religion for of them were jobless, nine were self- three of them as they attended a program employed mainly in the fields, five were to become teachers of the Koran and 14 of employees and four gave no answer. them claimed some other reasons like Twenty said they had no other income and Zeynep who said: “I want to become an some said they found an income from their example to my children”. work in their family’s fields. They claimed All of the women felt of being ready to that they stopped going to school due to attend such a program describing probably their early marriage, due to financial their desire to become educated as many problems their family had to face, and to of them explained at the end of their social reasons but 12 of them gave no interviews some of the problems they answer. faced. Twenty-three said they had a target When they were asked to explain the when they decided to join the distance social factors that influenced them to learning program and as they explained

ISSN 2424-6492 | Volume: 05 | Issue: 01 | 15-06-2019 during the interviews their main target for one point is added to the score of mistakes them was to be able to find a job. They and at the end they counts as five mistakes. even had the intention that they would This gives them a lot of stress for their manage to achieve their targets, as they final results. They also said that they want felt due to this experience, self- confident, to get their books as earlier as possible in courageous, and optimistic. a printed way and not only as pdf archives. Zuleiha commented: “Here in Thrace Early morning lessons were mentioned as for the women of the minority there are a problem for women who had kids. They many limits. I want to be surrounded by also expressed the desire for a more educated people and so we have to try to approachable exam center in the city of become educated. I want to finish my Komotini. studies by getting not only a bachelor’s Feriste commented: “During my two degree but also a master’s degree”. Hulya years studies I did not have any obstacles added that “I want to gain my life on my in my personal and professional life. I own and have a job that I really love to do would do it again as it is very convenient it”. Emine commented that “I want to for an adult”. share my knowledge on the Koran with It can be said that the ideas and other people” as she is enrolled in the thoughts selected from all the interviews program of Religious Studies. are the ones that represent most They mostly felt that the University emphatically the interviewees’ helped them through the e-campus overarching willingness to become more platform as there is e-guidance and educated, more qualified, to find a job and counseling from faculty members of to improve their personalities. Anadolu University, via webinars, one hour in the morning and one hour in the DISCUSSION afternoon on weekdays. The faculty members use their expertise to offer Breaking down the stereotype academic counseling to students via When giving an opportunity, Muslim webinars. women were able to challenge the The main reasons they choose this negative stereotypes in the society and program was that they think it is reveal a side of themselves that was convenient, it is flexible, it is low cost, it previously kept under wraps, a side of has an easy way to enroll, it has a dedicated strong women that can be convenient time-structure for someone superior beyond the confined role of being charged with family responsibilities. housewives. This can be seen in both Zuleiha made a comment when answering quantitative and qualitative data analysis. this question: “This program helps me feel In specific, our quantitative data have better psychologically as my marital status shown a rapid increase of the number of and the fact of being a mother of twins and Muslim female students’ enrollments in jobless make me feel unsafe and tired”. primary and secondary schools as well as One of the women, Sandrie, plans to get in higher education settings throughout the her bachelor degree with the aim to enroll years. Although, this is in part because of for a master’s degree: “The next target the new government law has enacted after I finish the “lisans program” is to recently, it also reflects a determination of apply for a master.” Muslim minority women to break down The only problem they mentioned the stereotype of women in the society and several times is the system for the exams educated and active participants. In fact, they give every semester. During the these results are consistent with exams if someone makes four mistakes

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Georgiadou (2006, 2017) previous works technological availability, not only still on Muslim women minority in Greece and managed, in one way or another, to reach their education experiences. Along the tertiary education, but have the will and lines of increasing their existence in determination to pursue further studies education, Muslim women minority in and enrich their knowledge and skills. The Thrace, hoped to further their qualitative results are testimony that achievements by being active participants emarginated persons that are cast-off by in the society in the work place as seen in society are eager to further engage into the qualitative data analysis. educational activities and that the e- learning medium has made it possible and Technology as a catalyst for a change attainable. The circumstances of these Muslim women go to prove once more the For Muslim women minority, effectiveness of technologies to assist the technology was not just a tool, but a learning process despite the difficulties catalyst for a change aiming for social and restrictions they encountered. The justice and gender equality in Thrace, appeal and affordances of e-learning have Greece. As seen in the data analysis, these once more proved to be instrumental in women have seen in technology the providing an ideal vehicle for an promises to reach their dreams and make a educational process that delivered more change culturally, nationally and socially. than schooling but also an alternative Muslim women were happy with their outlet to a challenging way of living. achievement and utilizing the technology tools to learn, advance, participate, share knowledge and come together to define REFERENCES and combat the social, economic and political injustices of the society. This Aarbakke, V. (2000), The Muslim minority study is consisting with Eubanks’ work on in Greek Thrace, PhD thesis. Norway: The women and digital citizenship. Eubanks University of Bergen. (2012) found that the appropriate use of Arkorful, V. and Abaidoo, N. (2015), “The technology has empowered poor and role of e-learning, advantages and disadvantages of its adoption in higher working-class women in the United States education”, International Journal of to fight for human rights and social justice. Instructional Technology and Distance More studies are needed to further Learning, 12(1), pp.29–42. investigate the experiences of minority Askouni, N. (2002), “Η μειονοτική women and their use of technology in εκπαίδευση στη Θράκη σαν πεδίο έρευνας: other parts of the world as they work to πολιτικές διαστάσεις της έρευνας (The challenge gender inequality and inaccurate education of minority in Thrace as a research stereotypes to prove themselves and show field: political dimensions of the research)”, in their success. proceedings of the Educational symposium: Minorities in Greece, November, 2002: 313•324. Athens: Society of studies for the CONCLUSION Modern Greek Civilization and General Education, ed. 2004. Muslim women are undoubtedly Askouni, N. (2006), Η εκπαίδευση της consumers of technology as much as they μειονότητας στη Θράκη (The education of are contributors to the body of knowledge minority in Thrace), Athens: Alexandria. and academia. This research has merely Bhatnagar, S. (2006), “ICTs to build a shown that even though these Muslim vibrant knowledge society”, Information for Development (i4d), , pp. 29-30 women are challenged by cultural Bullock, K. H. and Jafri, J.G. (2000), typecasting, gender constraints, and “Media (mis)Representations: Muslim Women

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ISSN 2424-6492 | Volume: 05 | Issue: 01 | 15-06-2019