EURACADEMY OBSERVATORY

Átírás

1 EURACADEMY OBSERVATORY A EUROPEAN OBSERVATORY OF THE USE OF ICT-SUPPORTED LIFELONG LEARNING BY SMEs, MICRO-ENTERPRISES AND THE SELF-EMPLOYED IN RURAL AREAS Surveys of the Training Recipients and the Control Group (WP3.2) Country report, Hungary Irén Kukorelli Péter Tóth HAS CRS WHRI Győr

2 Content 1. Introduction 2. Methodology 2.1. The profile of the respondents 2.2. Problems in conducting the surveys 3. Results 3.1. Training Recipients Information about Training Methods of Training Delivery Motivation for Participating in the Training 3.2. Control Group The sub group that has received continuing training in the past The sub group that has not received continuing training in the past Views on IT-supported continuing vocational training 4. Comparison of recipients of ICT-supported training and the control group 4.1. Information on the training 4.2. Motivation for Participating in the Training 4.3. Respondents View 5. Conclusions 6. References 7. List of Tables 8. List of Graphs 9. Abbreviations 10. List of Appendices Appendix 1. The national questionnaire for the training recipients Appendix 2. The national questionnaire for the control group 2

3 1. Introduction A main objective of the European Union is to have its citizens remain marketable during the quickly changing economic circumstances and the challenges of globalization. The Lisbon Progress is the result of this objective. To reach the above mentioned goals the reform of educational systems is needed. The modern, useful labour force after finishing compulsory education continues the learning process in order to get new knowledge content from time to time. Globalisation and the technological revolution have modified the well-tried and age-old methods of acquiring knowledge. Newly appeared methods complement or even fully replace the old methods. But brings up the questions: Who can benefit from this opportunity? Is there any difference between the effectiveness in learning between certain groups of the society? The Euracademy Observatory has undertaken to map this segment of education. In this field an element which is said to be new was examined exhaustively: the part of education, supported by info-communication technologies. This research constitutes the part of the international project financed by the Leonardo da Vinci Programme of the European Union. Beyond the life of the project the 7 participating countries Hungary, Greece, Germany, Finland, Spain, Poland, United Kingdom are going to upload the nationally completed data to a database and make it publicly available in order to support further analyses and research. Hereunder the results of the survey research conducted in Hungary are reported. 2. Methodology In the course of our research we proceeded from the results of WP3.1. In this earlier survey, with help of an online questionnaire we have made contact with training providers, advertising ICT-supported courses. Because of the low response inclination further interviews had to be made by phone in order to correct the received information. The providers found this provided the single part of information, necessary to sampling of WP3.2 research. In the case of WP3.2 the research concentrated on the groups, who participated in educational services. Two online questionnaires were made: One for those participants who have previously taken ICT-supported courses. The other one is made for those who haven t participated yet (control group). Terms in order to be put into the control group were: 3

4 Respondent should have taken part in a non-ictsupoprted tranining Not taken part in any training at all before Because of the few numbers of training organisations and many other problems, we solved the data registration in concert with several methods in order to reach the adequate element number. Since the information about recipients, possessed by the organisation and passed to another third party raised data protection problems, we could only ask them to deliver our questionnaire to the recipients. Also the regional distribution, applied in research decreased the number of available people. In the course of the examination of received data we would have liked to make a regional comparison, we choose 2 from the 7 Hungarian regions Nyugat- Dunántúl region and Dél-Alföld region for the area of data collection (Graph 1). By this stage we eliminated those service providers who haven t got any activities in these 2 regions. Because of regional differentiation one more question was put in the Hungarian version of the online questionnaire in order to be able to select the responses according to regions. New institutions, dealing with education and training were taken into the examination along with the organisations of WP3.1. For example the regional labour centres and the Regional Training Centre in Szombathely (ReMeK). The regional differentiation was also taken into consideration here. We asked for the organisations mentioned above to deliver our informative regarding the questionnaire to recipients, who previously participated in their courses or trainings. In the South Alföld region we managed to have a surveyor personally interview participants in courses currently running. But our efforts didn t produce suitable results, as the intermediate organisations made it more difficult to get in touch with the desired population and we could only deliver our questionnaire directly. 4

5 Graph 1 The research area in Hungary In order to fulfil the required number of questionnaires the research had to be by making direct contact. We delivered our s urging to fill out the questionnaire by the users of the most popular social network site in Hungary. The number of users of the International Who is Who (in short: iwiw.hu) reached 2,5 million in 2007, it means that almost every Hungarian citizen that is an Internet user is registered on this website. Hungary s population is 10 million, the rate of Internet penetration according to the latest World Internet Project survey is that 25% of the Hungarian population can access the web in some way at home, workplace, school and common access (ITTK 2006.). Also we believe that we found, among the users, people who have participated in ICT-supported courses. In our research the people living in rural areas had an advantageous role so the recipients were filtered before sending the s. Among other things the iwiw database contains the residency and the age of members. Based on these issues we sorted out those people who are living in rural areas the regional differentiation was taken into consideration here also. The table below shows how many users we could calculate in these 2 regions. 5

6 Table 1 Users and settlements in the iwiw.hu database Number of settlements Number of users Number of inhabitants Name of region inhabitants Dél-Alföld Nyugat-Dunántúl Total Dél-Alföld Nyugat-Dunántúl Total Dél-Alföld Nyugat-Dunántúl Total inhabitants Dél-Alföld Nyugat-Dunántúl Total Total Dél-Alföld Nyugat-Dunántúl Total From the list above we sorted out those people who were doing their compulsory education studies, namely the age-group under 18 years. For sending the letters the internal correspondence of the website was used. The response rate reached 6%, which is a general measure in the case of online questionnaires. More then 8000 messages were sent, in order to achieve the adequate number of questionnaires. The questionnaires filled out in this way complemented the earlier fewer number of questionnaires. It should be mentioned here that the gathering of control groups questionnaires happened faster and more easily. Although the project partners agreed at the discussion of report's content that it is enough to have only 50 questionnaires in the control group, we gathered 10 times this number. (The requesting letter for filling in the questionnaire was sent to everybody: after reading this letter the consignee could decide which one they wanted to fill in and could proceed to the given link.) Such a large number of the control group s questionnaires signify the relation to ICT-supported courses, but we will return to this issue later. 6

7 The online data collection occurred from April 2007 to July Finally, we managed to query 539 recipients of ICT-supported trainings and 569 respondents belonging to control group. The sampling can be considered as simple and contingent The profile of the respondents Filter questions were used in both questionnaires in order to avoid incorrectly filled out questionnaires. Both in the Training Recipient s questionnaire and in the Control Group questionnaire a question was asked if the respondent participated in any form of formal or informal vocational training after completing their initial education. The second question asked was about the presence of ICT in the training. The questions were in inverse order in the control group s questionnaire. The questionnaire didn t allow the recipients to continue if their courses weren t supported by ICT. In the case of the control group the respondents weren't allowed to continue if they have already participated in any ICT-supported courses. In both cases the questionnaires offered the opportunity to go the other questionnaire, but we have no information on how many respondents have took this opportunity. Those recipients who answered no on the second question fell out from the research. Table 2 Distribution of answers to the filter questions of the two questionnaires Yes to filter question 2 No to filter question 2 Total Training Recipients n=513 Yes to filter question Control Group n=559 No to filter question The division of received answers to the filter questions is shown in Table 2. As it can be seen 450 recipients and 559 from the control group got into our final database. 310 from the control group had already participated in training before, but 249 have never participated in any kind of vocational trainings so far. The control group received more responses than it was previously planned. Maybe it is the consequence of the lower dispersion of ICT-supported trainings. 7

8 To analyse the basic data of respondents we merged the 2 databases. (Table 3). 85% of the gathered data comes from the Nyugat-Dunántúl region in regards to the control group. That is why we set it aside from regional differentiation; the received data is used together and totalled only in some cases, by the examination of training recipients data. Examining thoroughly the data it became clear that the different methods of data collection interfere with the distribution of gathered data. (Table 3). Table 3 Distributions of interpretative variables in the two questionnaires (%) Control Group (Total N=569) Training recipients (Total N= 450) Gender N=555 N=450 male 41,8 39,3 female 58,2 60,7 Age class N=553 N=449 up to 35 years 66,5 76, years 32,9 23,6 over 65 years 0,5 0 Educational background N=536 N=449 No school degree 0 0 Completed compulsory education 0,9 3,8 Received secondary (post-compulsory) 62,3 55,9 school or technical college Received higher technical education 20,0 32,1 Received university education 8,0 8,2 Place of residence N=543 N=440 Village up to residents 51,7 29,1 Town from to residents 33,9 35,5 Small City from to ,2 23,2 residents City more than residents 7,2 12,3 Internet connection at home N=543 N=447 Dial-up (PSDN, slow) 9,6 14,5 ISDN (a little faster than dial up) 6,4 10,1 Broadband (ADSL, fast) 63,9 49,4 No Internet connection at all 20,1 26,0 Internet connection at work N=450 N=411 Dial-up (PSDN, slow) 3,1 6,8 ISDN (a little faster than dial up) 6,9 10,2 Broadband (ADSL, fast) 53,3 58,9 No Internet connection at all 36,7 24,1 Work Status N=512 N=438 Employee of a micro-enterprise (up to 10 staff) Employee of a small enterprise (11-50 staff) Employee of a medium enterprise ( staff) 12,1 3,9 11,5 6,8 14,3 24,4 8

9 Self-employed, entrepreneur 8,83 3,4 Unemployed 17,2 12,6 Other 36,1 mostly employees of the big companies Region N=569 N=450 48,9 mostly employees of the big companies Nyugat-Dunántúl 90,3 50,2 Dél-Alföld 9,7 49, Problems in conducting the surveys The characteristics of the online survey are that it is simpler and shorter than the normal face-to-face survey. But the excessive simplification presented difficulties, since many continuous variables got into the data base only as a categorical variable. The simplification of age is the best example to show this problem. The so called Sulinet Generation 1 had to be taken into consideration in Hungary while creating the age groups for the survey. The motivations and competencies of this group were determined by the governmental subsidies of the IT scene in Hungary. This age-group covers the Hungarian citizens, who participated in compulsory public education from 1996 until the present. They have a different approach to ICT than older people. It would have been interesting to demonstrate what kind of effects the expansions financed by government contributions were on the attitudes and opinions of this special group. The National Broadband Strategy also highlighted this generation as the primary transmitter of IT innovation in Hungary (NSZS 2005). The grouping of settlements was also a problem in Hungary, since there are many towns where the population similar to the population of a bigger village. The legal status of municipalities is not connected strictly to population. 3. Results 3.1. Training Recipients The recipients of ICT-supported trainings were generally females. The proportion of female respondents is 58,2%. As it was mentioned above, creating the age group 1 The Sulinet initiative was described in the Hungarian National Report in WP 2 9

10 categories wasn t necessary for Hungary. Two thirds of the respondents came from the youngest age group. It isn t surprising, as many researches have confirmed that this age group has a skill level that coincides with the accomplishments of digital epoch. It is here that we can find the largest Internet penetration too (WIP 2006). Since the group is quite broad it is from ages 18 to 35 and the Sulinet generation hasn t been defined, we had difficulty using this variable as explanatory variable. The fact that the over 65 years old respondents were in small numbers, isn t surprising. 98% of this age group is digitally illiterate (MSZS 2005). Based on the results by the age group, the majority (62.3%) has only secondary school degree. The open questions revealed that many of the respondents were students but at a tertiary level.. The division of Internet owners is also particularly interesting/unique/significant. Taking into consideration the data of KSH, our research surpasses the data gathered KSH in 2006 (KSH 2006), where the Internet penetration was much smaller (25%). In our research the proportion of Internet owners at home is 80%. These unconfirmed results can be explained by the use of online questionnaires, where Internet connection was a necessary requirement for filling out the forms. We received the same large proportion or results in the case of the unemployed as well. This is due to the fact that we involved the Regional Labour Office and it s clients in the research. (Table 3) Information about Training In the listed ICT-supported trainings all types of trainings were included that had some form of ICT in the teaching process. Not only e-learning methods, but also the use of conventional multimedia equipment was taken into consideration. We have already pointed out in WP3.1 that currently most training is related to the use of ICT (WP3.1). This fact proved true in this situation as well. Two fifths of respondents had training in IT skills (Graph 2). Graph 2 Distribution of the trainings types within the ICT supported trainings (%) (N=440) 10

11 17% 13% 28% 42% Business Skills IT Skills Technical Skills Other A fifth of respondents marked the other category, i.e. the given categories didn t offer an adequate alternative. Among these respondents the trainings handling with communication appearance in largest proportion, 18 people wrote in this type of trainings, 3 people mentioned trainings concerning the acquisition of general technical knowledge inside a company. Regarding to duration of courses the maximum 1 month long, the longer than 3 month and the 1-3 month long trainings were in equal proportion (Graph 3). Graph 3 The duration of the last training (%) (N=444) 39% 30% 11% 20% Up to a month More that tw o months and up to three months More than a month and up to tw o months More than three months The distribution of the financial backing of the training differs from the distribution examined among the training providers in WP 3.1, because in this case clients of the 11

12 training providers dealing with different training types came into focus. While in WP 3.1 the majority of trainings were self-financed, in this research the vast majority of trainings were partly or fully subsidized (Graph 4). A significant correlation can be proved between the financial backing and the residence of the recipients. Graph 4 Distribution of the several types of financial backing of ICT supported trainings Who covered the cost of training (%) (N=446) 40% 9% 21% 30% My employer all of it Myself all of it Fully subsidized by Public funds (e.g. National/Local Government, EU, etc) Other There is a medium-strong relation between the 2 variables. In the West region where there are better economic indicators, the training recipients usually pay for the trainings, while in the Dél-Alföld region subsidised trainings are more common. Table 4 A Distribution of types of financial backing within the regions (%) (N=446, Chi 2 =0,00, Cramer sv=0,428) Who covered the costs of training The employer- all of the costs The trainee all the costs Subsidies all the cost Other Total Region Nyugat-Dunántúl 39,64 31,98 19,37 9, Dél-Alföld 21,43 10,27 58,93 9, Total 30,49 21,08 39,24 9, The ratio of trainings fully financed by the recipients is one third larger in the Western-Dunántúl, while in the Southern-Alföld the ratio of subsidized trainings is 12

13 triple (Table 4). This difference could be a result of different research techniques used in the two regions. In the other category a vast majority of answers were half and half financed, where the employer paid half of the expenses and the other half was subsidized. It is important to mention some of the free trainings that are available. For example, if someone is on maternity leave (GYES) the Hungarian laws allow him or her to participate freely on several trainings. Graph 5 A Distribution of the methods of registration to ICT supported trainings (%) (N=448) 24% 4% 11% 61% I registered myself I w as approached by the training organisation I w as registered by my employer Other At the trainings fully financed by the recipient s, the participants seemed more independent, as two thirds of them registered for the trainings by themselves. Where the employer paid 100% of the expenses, in two thirds of these cases the employer registered the employee. It was mentioned before that data collection included the Regional Labour Offices. This led to many answers on other category where the Labour Office was mentioned as the recommender of the training. The division of certificates differs from the results given by the training providers where in the majority of cases ECDL courses and Highway Code trainings and their 13

14 internationally accepted certificates were mentioned. In this case the national certificates (most likely OKJ certificates) made up the majority (Graph 6). Graph 6 Types of certificates mentioned Nationally recognised certificate/qualification Internationally recognised certificate/qualification A certificate for successfully completing a course ( a part of a larger qualification) Just a certificate from the training organisation for completing the course No certificate at all The certificate of the training organization was also mentioned a lot: 157 times. 10 % of all the respondents declared that hadn t been given any certificate after completing the course Methods of Training Delivery The type of training has an influence on the location of the training. Crosschecking Graphs 7 and 9 we can see that the towering number of those trainings held in facilities provided by the training organization is a result of the dominance of two educational methods used. One is the face-to-face learning and the other is blended learning where face-to-face learning is supplemented with distance learning elements. 94 % of the respondents took part in one of the fore-mentioned trainings. Graph 7 Location of training s delivery mentioned 14

15 At a communal space 15 At home In the facilities provided by the training organisation In other facilities provided by my employer At my workplace Equipment used in the trainings are also related to this trend, the use of CD-Roms and DVD-s are wide spread. The dispersion of the mentioned equipment used is the same as we discovered in the training provider s research. Our opinion is that the use of and websites play the same role here, these are used for communication purposes and not as methodological elements. Recipients mentioned e-learning platforms more than the providers, which is a real methodological element in the educational process. The number of times it is mentioned are as many as the mentions of , although we must emphasize that the two elements are linked to each other and to the websites. Graph 8 Equipment used during the ICT supported training 15

16 Other Special educational broadcast Telephone conferences (3 or more participants) Telephone tutorials CD-ROMs, DVDs, Videos, audio tapes Chat-rooms or discussion groups Teleconferences (including or not video) Web-sites E-learning platforms In two thirds of the completed trainings one or two types of equipment were used. The average was 2,146 types of equipment used. Table 5 Distribution of the number of equipment used during the ICT supported trainings Equipment used N % 0 7 1, , , , , , ,22 Total If only PC and Internet related equipment (chats, websites, s, e-learning platforms) are taken into consideration then the average changes to 1,28. Special software for practicing was mostly mentioned under the other category. Graph 9 Distribution of the methods used (%)(N=449) 16

17 19% 1% 5% 75% Distance learning, self-administered by the student Face to face learning aided by electronic material Blended learning (distance learning and face to face learning) Other Motivation for Participating in the Training Behind the will to participate there is always a goal for all of the recipients, like getting a better position on the labour market. All of the recipients had expectations. Two questions dealt with this issue: one tried to map the expectations and the other was a question about the realisation of these expectations Since the online questionnaire saved all the answers including those that dropped out by answering the question with the not category, we only used those pairs of questions where one question was marked as yes. The chance of getting a job or continuing on their present job as an expected and realised result occurred most often (Table 6). Its ratio is six times larger than those where this event was expected but not realised. There was also a fair amount of answers in the group where a new job was expected and realised. But the ratio of the group where the result was expected but not realised is almost the same. This ratio is also similar in the improve a personal interest category. The lowest result was connected to the issue of salary increase. Table 6 17

18 Expected and the realized effects of the ICT supported courses in relation to all the answers (%) (N=450) Expected it and it was realized Expected it but it wasn t realized Not expected it but it was realized Allowed to get a job/continue with my present job 41,33 7,33 7,56 Promoted at present job (higher position) 6,89 9,78 1,78 Salary increase 1,56 4,00 2,00 Chance to apply for a new/better job 19,78 13,78 3,78 Improved a personal interest/development 18,22 15,11 3,11 If the first category is split and examined by regions a significant correlation can be found (Table 7). Table 7 Division of regions between how the expectations toward the result of trainings realized (N=450, Chi2=0,00, Cramer sv=0,312) It allowed to get a job/continue with one present job Expected it and it was realized Expected it but it wasn t realized Not expected it but it was realized Not expected it and not realized Nyugat- Dunántúl 26,55 8,85 7,52 57, Dél-Alföld 56,25 5,80 7,59 30, Total 41,33 7,33 7,56 43, Total In the Southern-Alföld region successfully reached goals dominated, while in the Western-Dunántúl region unrealized objectives are more typical. We don t know exactly what kind of trainings are being evaluated in these categories, but most of the trainings offered by the Labour Offices come with exact job offers, which can influence the division of Table 7. Respondents considered the trainings to be a positive experience, and this was reflected in their answers on IT supported learning (Graph 9). 18

19 Graph 10 Rate of agreement and disagreement with statements related to ICT supported learning The most notable advantage of IT-supported training is the flexibility of training times IT-supported training was more motivating for me than taking a traditional training Using IT-tools in the training course saved time The training organisation had a good support system for the participants Studying with IT support is more time-consuming than I expected IT-tools made learning easier I had not enough computer knowledge and skills for the course I had good access to the technical equipment Cost of the course was too high % 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Agree Disagree There was a general agreement that IT tools made learning easier. Respondents disagreed with all of the negative statements concerning IT supported learning. A full examination of these answers can be found in the comparison with the control group Control Group The board of the project didn t expect a high number of respondents for the control group as only 50 were planned. Despite this there were as many respondents for the control group as there were for the training recipient group. We divided the control group into two groups according to the respondents' answers to the filter questions. As we mentioned before in the Southern-Alföld a different data collection method was used so this is why this region has a lower number of respondents than the other region (Table 8). This is the reason we didn't use the region as the independent variable. 19

20 Table 8 Distribution of independent variables in control group database (%) Control Group trained (Total N=310) Control Group not trained (Total N= 249) Gender N=307 N=248 male 40,7 43,1 female 59,3 56,9 Age class N=306 N=247 up to 35 years 55,9 79, years 43,8 19,4 over 65 years 0,3 0,8 Educational background N=295 N=241 No school degree 0 0 Completed compulsory education 8,1 10,0 Received secondary (post-compulsory) 61,0 65,1 school or technical college Received higher technical education 21,7 17,1 Received university education 9,2 7,1 Place of residence N=299 N=244 Village up to residents 52,8 50,4 Town from to residents 33,8 34,0 Small City from to ,7 9,0 residents City more than residents 7,7 6,6 Internet connection at home N=301 N=242 Dial-up (PSDN, slow) 8,3 11,2 ISDN (a little faster than dial up) 7,0 5,8 Broadband (ADSL, fast) 65,4 62,0 No Internet connection at all 19,3 21,1 Internet connection at work N=259 N=191 Dial-up (PSDN, slow) 3,5 2,6 ISDN (a little faster than dial up) 6,9 6,8 Broadband (ADSL, fast) 54,4 51,8 No Internet connection at all 35,1 38,7 Work Status N=286 N=226 Employee of a micro-enterprise (up to 10 staff) Employee of a small enterprise (11-50 staff) Employee of a medium enterprise ( staff) 12,2 11,9 11,9 11,1 14,7 13,7 Self-employed, entrepreneur 9,43 8,0 Unemployed 16,8 17,7 Other 35,0 employees of big firms, students, public sphere, young mothers etc. Region N=310 N=249 37,6 employees of big firms, students, public sphere, young mothers etc Nyugat-Dunántúl 90,0 90,4 Dél-Alföld 10,0 9,6 20

21 The sub group that has received continuing training in the past In the control group we asked about the number of trainings one had attended previously. We didn t asked about the type of training that s why only a general description can be given. The majority, more than 50 %, of the respondents (52%) has attended two to five trainings during their life. If we break down the data by age groups it s obvious that the older generation has had more trainings than the younger one (Table 9). Table 9 Distribution of the number of fulfilled trainings in the control group in relation to age (%)(N=446, Chi 2 =0,00, Cramer sv=0,291) Number of trainings one participated One 2-5 More than 6 Total Under 35 48,21 46,43 5, Over 35 23,13 58,96 17, Total 37,09 51,99 10, Contrary to the distribution of ICT supported trainings in this group an almost equal ratio was measured by these groups: business skills (29%), other skills (30%), IT skills(25%). It s surprising that learning IT skills in a not ICT supported course according to this group. Graph 11 Distribution of the types of trainings the control group last attended (%) (N=187) 30% 29% 16% 25% Business Skills IT Skills Technical Skills Other In the other category answers show a variety of trainings, including tourism, interior design, flower arrangement, security training and many trainings related to social 21

22 sphere and public health. It was also discovered that language courses were mentioned in this category and this is an area of education where multimedia assisted teaching is inevitable. Graph 12 Duration of the trainings in the control group (%) (N=295) 8% 7% 15% 70% Up to a month More than a month and up to tw o months More that tw o months and up to three months More than three months Looking at the duration of trainings the "more than three months long" trainings dominate. Weak significant correlation occurred between the age groups and the financial backing. The employer funded trainings of the elder respondents while the younger respondents paid for themselves (Table 10). In the other category, just as in the training recipient, the partly subsidized, partly employer funded trainings were mentioned. Table 10 Division of age groups in relation to the financial backing of the trainings (%) (N=302, Chi 2 =0,00, Cramer sv=0,238) My employer - all of it Fully subsidized - by Public funds (e.g. National/Local Government, EU, etc) Other Total Myself - all of it Under 35 19,05 42,86 25,00 13, Above 36 40,30 32,84 15,67 11, Total 28,48 38,41 20,86 12,

23 Most of the certificates given are national certificates similarly to ratio of certificate types in the training recipient group. Half of the certificates were mentioned as nationally accepted certificate (Graph 13). Graph 13 Division of certificate types between the control group (%) (N=302) 20% 7% 8% 51% 14% Nationally recognised certificate/qualification Internationally recognised certificate/qualification A certificate for successfully completing a course ( a part of a larger qualification) Just a certificate from the training organisation for completing the course No certificate at all From 256 respondents 186 (71,6%) answered 'yes' to participating in an ICT supported course in the future The sub group that has not received continuing training in the past It s a remarkable fact that the same proportion of non-trained (never taken part in any re-training or further training since finishing compulsory or higher education) is interested in further trainings as the group of trained. 74 % of the non-trained members of the control group are interested in further education. This group of respondents is significantly younger than the other group in the control group. We suspect that the numerous students in tertiary education in this group give us this difference but it can t be proven from our data. A training dealing with IT skills will be ideal for this group of people. If they can choose a training one third of them would choose IT skills. Another large group would take part in a training dealing with business skills (Graph 14). If age groups are taken 23

24 into consideration the younger participants would choose business skills and the elderly would choose IT skills if they take part in a training. Graph 14 What would be the chosen course type for those who have not attended any training course before (%) (N=168) 23% 27% 16% 34% Business Skills IT Skills Technical Skills Other Answers to the open question couldn t be arranged into groups due to the diversity of the trainings mentioned. We wanted to find out what kind of results the respondents thought would be accessible if they finish a training in the future. A better job and a chance for getting a new job were mentioned most (Graph 15). Graph 15 The expected results of a training in the future mentioned by the control group I did not expect the training to be beneficial at all 7 Take forward my personal interests/development 67 Possibility of applying for a new/better job 133 Salary increase 58 Promotion at present job (higher position) 85 Get a job/continue with my present job

25 Views on IT-supported continuing vocational training Although the members of the control group didn t take part in an ICT supported training their opinion on this segment of education was asked. Results were compared to the results of the Hungarian Broadband Strategy and the Hungarian Information Society Strategy. We measured if the respondents know this segment of education and if they are interested in an ICT supported training. Although 70% of the respondents haven t heard of ICT supported trainings at all, 57 % would take part in one (Graph 16). Graph 16 Distribution of learning of ICT supported trainings in relation to the willingness to take up a training yes no Have you ever heard about IT-supported continuing vocational education and training (e.g. e-learning)? Considered taking up any form of training after completed initial education (school, college, university)? Not considered taking up any form of training after completed initial education (school, college, university)? Although only 29,6 % heard about ICT supported trainings sharp opinions were given by the majority about the problems associated with the trainings in rural areas. Most of them mentioned the existence of digital illiteracy as a major setback. 48 % of the respondents feel that too many people had been left on the other side of the digital divide. Respondents feel the depth of this problem correctly as the last research conducted made evident that 90 % of the Hungarian society can be declared digitally illiterate (NSZS 2006). A correlation can be proven between the existence of the respondent s Internet access and if one has selected this item as a problem. Twice of 25

26 those who have Internet access at home feel that digital illiteracy is a problem than those who haven t got Internet at home. 21 % feel that there is no suitable infrastructure in rural areas. Since the density of population correlates with the spread of new technologies we examined settlement type and the Internet connection of those who marked infrastructure as a problem. None of the two variables show a significant correlation. The expensive Internet access and the lack of need were both considered to be an important factor as a quarter of the respondents mentioned them but none of the independent variables shown a correlation to them (Graph 17). Graph 17 Problems associated with ICT supported learning in rural areas mentioned There is no expert staff to provide support to the learner 39 IT illiteracy is widespread 271 There is a belief amongst people in rural areas that there is no need to gain IT skills 147 There is no suitable infrastructure 117 Buying a computer and Internet access is too expensive Comparison of recipients of ICT-supported training and the control group To compare the two groups, the two separate databases of the control group and the training recipients were combined. Only those were taken into consideration from the control group who attended trainings previously Information of the training Comparing different trainings could run into difficulties, since trainings are only grouped by the method used and no other criteria was taken into consideration. In spite of this a very weak but significant correlation was found. 26

27 It s obvious that on most of the ICT supported trainings one can learn IT skills, as it is shown on Graph 18. Graph 18 Distribution of training types within the two research groups (%) (N=745, Chi 2 =0,00, Cramer sv=0,502) Total 23,76 31,41 13,83 31,01 Training Recipients 27,95 42,50 16,59 12,95 Control Group 17,70 15,41 9,84 57,05 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Business Skills IT Skills Technical Skills Other Earlier we identified that there were numerous IT related trainings mentioned in the control group. That ratio is lower here, only one third of the training recipients. The ratio of business skills related trainings are also larger in the training recipients group. The only category where the ratio in the control group is higher is in the other category. This group s ratio is 1,5 times larger than in the training recipient s group 27

28 Graph 19 Distribution of duration of trainings within the two research groups (%)(N=739, Chi 2 =0,00, Cramer sv=0,359) Total 20,97 14,88 12,58 51,56 Training Recipients 29,50 20,27 11,04 39,19 Control Group 8,14 6,78 14,92 70,17 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 1 month 1 month to 2 months 2 months to 3 months More than 3 months Trainings in the control group are more likely to be longer (3 months or longer). The ratio of these longer trainings is two times higher than in the group of recipients, where ratio of shorter trainings was higher (Graph 19). The financing of the trainings only shows a slight difference between the two groups. Self-financed trainings are more likely to occur in the control group, while the other group has a higher rate of subsidised and employer-financed trainings. 28

29 Graph 20 Distribution of financial backing within the two research groups (%)(N=752, Chi 2 =0,00, Cramer sv=0,230) Total 29,79 28,06 31,78 10,37 Training Recipients 30,49 21,08 39,24 9,19 Control Group 28,76 38,24 20,92 12,09 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% My employer all of it Myself all of it Fully subsidized by Public funds (e.g. National/Local Government, EU, etc) Other Both of the other open questions were filled out partly paid and partly subsidised trainings Motivation for Participating in the Training Significant correlations were found between the motivations and the two groups with the exception of the category promotion at present job. The correlation was very weak in each case. Graph 21 shows only the number one statement was selected and the results of the crosstabs will be examined separately. The rate of those who didn t expect the training to be beneficial was the same in each group. There were no correlation between this statement and the independent variables. In Graph 21 one can see that for the ICT training recipients getting a job or continuing a present job is the main motive behind the registration for a training. 48 % of this group stated this motive as a main motive while only 28,7% of the control group stated the same. 29

30 23% of ICT trainees had a chance of getting a better or a new job in mind while only 10% of the control group had taken this into consideration. Improving one s personal interest was a mobilizing motive for the control group. Twice as many from this group mentioned this motive than the ICT trainees. Graph 21 Motivational elements mentioned by the members of the two research groups 73 Training Recipients I did not expect the training to be beneficial at all Take forward my personal interests/development Possibility of applying for a new/better job 53 Salary increase Control Group Promotion at present job (higher position) Get a job/continue with my present job Respondents View While gathering the respondents' views the two databases were merged again. In the case of ICT supported learners views represent the real experience, in other cases it only represents a general view. Those who took part in a non-ict supported training before were renamed Control group 1, those who never took part in any training became Control group 2. In the three cases there were no significant correlation between the three groups and the division of those who agreed with the statements and those who did not. In most cases there was a weak correlation. These three statements dealt with issues that can only be judged suitably if someone had finished an ICT supported training previously. All the other statements had weak or medium correlation with the division of three groups. The strongest connection could be proven in case of the expensiveness of the trainings. Less of those who have 30

31 finished an ICT supported training think that these trainings are expensive than those who haven t. This rate is doubled if compared to control group 1 and tripled if compared to control group 2 (Graph 22). The next strongest connection can be proved with the opinions about IT skills. Members of control group 2 think that they are less competent and skilled in IT than the other two groups. The ratio of the difference is quadrupled if compared to the members of the ICT trainee group. Everybody thinks that IT equipment makes the learning process easier. But the ratio of control group 2 members who disagree with this statement is triple than the other two groups. In this case the correlation was the weakest between the variables. All three groups think the same if in regards to saving time by using IT equipment during the learning process. Taking part in an ICT supported training motivates learning for those who have already had experience with such trainings. Members of control group 2 disagree with this statement. 31

32 The most notable advantage of IT-supported training is the flexibility of training times (N=446, Chi2=0,372) IT-supported training was more motivating for me than taking a traditional training course (N=630, Chi2=0,00, Cramer sv=0,279) Graph 22 Distribution of agreements and disagreements by statements about IT Using IT-tools in the training course saved time (N=677, Chi2=0,116) The training organisation had a good support system for the participants(n=635, Chi2=0,853) Studying with IT support is more time-consuming than I expected (N=653, Chi2=0,00, Cramer sv=0,158) IT-tools made learning easier (N=687, Chi2=0,03, Cramer sv=0,130) I had not enough computer knowledge and skills for the course (N=735, Chi2=0,00, Cramer sv=0,309) I had good access to the technical equipment needed for the course (N=680, Chi2=0,00, Cramer sv=0,208) The cost was too high (N=567, Chi2=0,00, Cramer sv=0,484) Total Training Recipients Control Group 2 Control Group 1 Total Training Recipients Control Group 2 Control Group 1 Total Training Recipients Control Group 2 Control Group 1 Total Training Recipients Control Group 2 Control Group 1 Total Training Recipients Control Group 2 Control Group 1 Total Training Recipients Control Group 2 Control Group 1 Total Training Recipients Control Group 2 Control Group 1 Total Training Recipients Control Group 2 Control Group 1 Total Training Recipients Control Group 2 Control Group 1 22,97 18,29 34,26 30,09 22,04 11,37 41,40 31,41 22,87 45,95 52,73 39,68 87,52 86,15 89,43 90,15 66,98 76,53 54,05 47,27 89,96 91,51 85,12 89,39 88,35 88,37 89,52 87,00 77,03 81,71 65,74 69,91 94,18 96,51 89,68 90,84 77,96 88,63 58,60 68,59 86,62 91,49 73,11 82,54 60,32 77,13 76,84 68,75 12,48 13,85 10,57 9,85 33,02 23,47 13,38 8,51 26,89 17,46 23,16 31,25 10,04 8,49 14,88 10,61 11,65 11,63 10,48 13,00 5,82 3,49 10,32 9,16 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Agree Disagree 32

33 5. Conclusions Since there hasn t been any research in Hungary related to the impact of ICT supported learning in rural areas, results can only be interpreted in a wider context by comparing results to more general Hungarian results. A vast majority of the target group showed an open attitude toward the topic. This population of respondents is interested in new technology and novelties. They have a clear view of the terms of Hungarian education. They could point out the difficulties and the possible breaking out points of the system. Their decisions have rational motives when they have to choose from the available training and educational possibilities. For them ICT supported training is part of their everyday life. A vast majority of them step onto the lifelong learning pathway after leaving the secondary or tertiary education and re-train themselves continuously. They expect to get a better position in the labour market, which can lead to better or new job opportunities. They consider ICT definitely a useful element in trainings, which saves time and helps in the adaptation of knowledge. Moreover it motivates the trainees more than the traditional methods. It would be fruitful to segment the group of ICT supported training recipients into more groups using attitudes toward the use of technology to get a clearer view on the issue. But it also became clear while treating the data of Internet access at home that a very special and privileged population was reached with the online survey. The cause of this was the method of data research and the filter questions used. If we want to reach those who have already taken part in an ICT supported training it s obvious that we would only find people equipped with PCs, Internet and having minimal IT skills. The group of those who really lag behind couldn t be reached with an IT based questionnaire. Our belief is that real problems related to the issue of ICT usage in everyday life can only be revealed if one focuses on the control group especially on those who have never been to a normal offline paper-based training before. This is the only way to reach those who are on the other side of the digital divide. 33

34 6. References IHM (2003): Magyar Információs Társadalom Stratégia. Budapest. IHM (2006): Nemzeti Szélessáv Stratégia. Budapest Központi Statisztikai Hivatal (2006): A háztartások információs és kommunikációs technológiai eszközellátottsága és használata, 2005 Szörényiné Kukorelli Irén Tóth Péter(2007):WP3.1 Report : survey for training providers. National report Hungary, kézirat 7. List of Graph Graph 1 The research area in Hungary Graph 2 Distribution of the trainings types within the ICT supported trainings (%) (N=440) Graph 3 The duration of the last training (%) (N=444) Graph 4 Distribution of the several types of financial backing of ICT supported trainings Who covered the cost of training (%) (N=446) Graph 5 A Distribution of the methods of registration to ICT supported trainings (%) (N=448) Graph 6 Types of certificates mentioned Graph 7 Location of training s delivery mentioned Graph 8 Equipment used during the ICT supported training Graph 9 Distribution of the methods used (%)(N=449) Graph 10 Rate of agreement and disagreement with statements related to ICT supported learning Graph 11 Distribution of the types of trainings the control group last attended (%) (N=187) Graph 12 Duration of the trainings in the control group (%) (N=295) Graph 13 Division of certificate types between the control group (%) (N=302) Graph 14 What would be the chosen course type for those who have not attended any training course before (%) (N=168) Graph 15 The expected results of a training in the future mentioned by the control group Graph 16. Distribution of learning of ICT supported trainings in relation to the willingness to take up a training Graph 17 Problems associated with ICT supported learning in rural areas mentioned Graph 18 Distribution of training types within the two research groups (%) (N=745, Chi2=0,00, Cramer sv=0,502) Graph 19 Distribution of duration of trainings within the two research groups (%)(N=739, Chi2=0,00, Cramer sv=0,359) Graph 20 Distribution of financial backing within the two research groups (%)(N=752, Chi2=0,00, Cramer sv=0,230) Graph 21 Motivational elements mentioned by the members of the two research groups Graph 22 Distribution of agreements and disagreements by statements about IT 8. List of Tables Table 1 Users and settlements in the iwiw.hu database Table 2 Distribution of answers to the filter questions of the two questionnaires 34

35 Table 3 Distributions of interpretative variables in the two questionnaires (%) Table 4 A Distribution of types of financial backing within the regions (%) (N=446, Chi2=0,00, Cramer sv=0,428) Table 5 Distribution of the number of equipment used during the ICT supported trainings Table 6 Expected and the realized effects of the ICT supported courses in relation to all the answers (%) (N=450) Table 7 Division of regions between the (N=450, Chi2=0,00, Cramer sv=0,312) Table 8 Distribution of independent variables in control group database (%) Table 9 Distribution of the number of fulfilled trainings in the control group in relation to age (%)(N=446, Chi2=0,00, Cramer sv=0,291) Table 10 Division of age groups in relation to the financial backing of the trainings (%) (N=302, Chi2=0,00, Cramer sv=0,238) 9. Abbreviations ECDL European Computer Driving Licence IWIW International Who is Who KSH Központi Statisztikai Hivatal - Central Statistical Indtitute of Hungary REMEK Regionális Munkaügyi Képző Központ Regional Training Centre NSZS Nemzeti Szélessáv Stratégia - Hungarian National Broadband Strategy MITS Magyar Információs Társadalom Stratégia - Hungarian Information Society Strategy 10. List of Appendices Appendix 1. The national questionnaire for the training recipients Appendix 2. The national questionnaire for the control group 35