Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
FrancoAngeli Journals

Articles/Articoli

Vol. 16 No. 1 (2025): Pedagogy as a science between theory and empiricism

Women’s Empowerment as an Emerging Dynamic in Italy’s Largest Telematic University

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/ess1-2025oa19743
Submitted
marzo 14, 2025
Published
2025-06-26

Abstract

Despite the efforts of Italian universities in recent years, gender equality in higher education remains far from fully realised, with persistent segregating models in several countries. Drawing upon this state of affairs, Mezirow and Marsick’s (1978) Transformative Learning Theory, which initially emerged from the observation of female emancipation through the American College Re-entry Programs between the 1960s and 1970s, provides significant insights into current gender relations within educational contexts. With reference to the theories of Mezirow (2000) and Bateson (2021), this article aims to analyse the role of distance learning in fostering women’s empowerment. Starting with an analysis of student population data from Italy’s largest telematic university, the paper considers how distance learning supports women’s educational fulfilment and identifies emerging “invisible dynamics” that warrant greater attention from the Italian higher education system.

References

  1. Barone C. (2011). Some things never change: Gender segregation in higher education across eight nations and three decades. Sociology of Education, 84(2): 157-176. Doi: 10.1177/0038040711402099.
  2. Barone C., & Assirelli G. (2020). Gender segregation in higher education: An empirical test of seven explanations. Higher Education, 79: 55-78. Doi: 10.1007/s10734-019-00396-2.
  3. Bradley K. (2000). The incorporation of women into higher education: Paradoxical outcomes? Sociology of Education, 73(1): 1-18. Doi: 10.2307/2673196.
  4. Briese P., Evanson T., & Hanson D. (2020). Application of Mezirow’s transformative learning theory to simulation in healthcare education. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 48: 64-67.
  5. Carrera-Fernández M. V., & DePalma R. (2020). Feminism will be trans-inclusive or it will not be: Why do two cis-hetero women educators support transfeminism?. The Sociological Review, 68(4): 745-762.
  6. Christiaens R. (2024). Desire, refusal, world-making, and underworlding: Transfeminist praxis as a transfemme educator in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.
  7. Cranton P. (2016). Understanding and promoting transformative learning: A guide to theory and practice. Routledge.
  8. Ernani F. (1971). Education and conscientization. In L. M. Colonnese (Ed.), Conscientization for liberation (p. 123). United States Catholic Conference.
  9. Hakimi N., Hakimi M., Hejran M., Quraishi T., Qasemi P., Ahmadi L., ... & Ulusi H. (2024). Challenges and opportunities of e-learning for women’s education in developing countries: Insights from Women Online University. EDUTREND: Journal of Emerging Issues and Trends in Education, 1(1): 57-69.
  10. Kahn S., & Zeidler D. L. (2017). A case for the use of conceptual analysis in science education research. Journal of research in science teaching, 54(4): 538-551.
  11. Maturana H. R., & Varela F. J. (2012). Autopoiesis and cognition: The realization of the living (Vol. 42). Springer Science & Business Media.
  12. Mezirow J. (1997). Transformative learning: Theory to practice. New directions for adult and continuing education, 1997(74): 5-12.
  13. Mezirow J. (2018). Transformative learning theory. In: Contemporary theories of learning (pp. 114-128). Routledge.
  14. Mezirow J., & Marsick V. (1978). Education for perspective transformation: Women’s re-entry programs in community colleges.
  15. Mezirow J., & Rose A. D. (1978). An evaluation guide for college women’s re-entry programs.
  16. MUR -- https://ustat.mur.gov.it/dati/didattica/italia/atenei-non-statali/napoli-pegaso.
  17. O’Sullivan E., Morrell A., & O’Connor M. (Eds.) (2016). Expanding the boundaries of transformative learning: Essays on theory and praxis. Springer.
  18. Pegaso Telematic University (2024). Gender Balance Report 2024.
  19. Romano A. (2022). On the feminist origins of transformative learning theory. In: Transformative Learning Theory and Praxis (pp. 15-35). Routledge.
  20. Tefera A. A., Powers J. M., & Fischman G. E. (2018). Intersectionality in education: A conceptual aspiration and research imperative. Review of Research in Education, 42(1): vii-xvii.
  21. Tudor A. (2023). The anti-feminism of anti-trans feminism. European Journal of Women’s Studies, 30(2): 290-302.
  22. Wilkes K. (2015). Colluding with neo-liberalism: Post-feminist subjectivities, whiteness and expressions of entitlement. Feminist review, 110(1); 118-33.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...