Mpho Allan Rakoma Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of ...

209 Pages·2017·3.86 MB·English

RURAL STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES OF ONLINE LEARNING SUPPORT IN AN
OPEN DISTANCE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Mpho Allan Rakoma
Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Philosophy (Higher Education)
Department of Curriculum Studies
Stellenbosch University
Supervisor: Prof EM Bitzer
March 2018
Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za
DECLARATION
By submitting this thesis electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained
therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent
explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch
University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its
entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification.
_________________________
MA RAKOMA
Copyright © 2017 University of South Africa
All rights reserved
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

‘God is good all the time. All the time, God is good’. I thank God for the energy and
commitment He gave me until the end of this project. It was a race with difficulties but
with Him beside me, nothing could stop me.
My sincere thanks go to my supervisor, Prof Eli Bitzer, for his constant and caring
unwavering support that steadied me throughout the study project when I felt like I could
stumble. The couching and guidance that I received from you is greatly appreciated.
My humblest thanks and appreciation to the UNISA students who participated in this
study, and to the College of Law for permitting me to use their students for this study. For
that, I dedicate this study to the rural students who often unintentionally forgotten in the
pursuit of an accessible and effective online learning environment.
To the team of professionals that stood by my side and motivated me throughout this
journey, I thank you: Prof Rambelani Malema, Prof Tebogo Mothiba, Dr Lesiba Molepo,
and my colleague Ms Fikile Kunene. I also wish to extend my sincere thanks to my
Regional Director, Prof Moloko Sepota for according me the space to trod-on.
As for my family, I am lucky to have you by my side. Many thanks go to you for the
encouragement, understanding, love and patience that you accorded me. I would not
have completed this journey without you. To my wife, Malesetja la Mmatau - Kholofelo,
you are a star. I love you.

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Abstract
Online learning is the new form of teaching and learning delivery used by education
institutions worldwide, particularly in distance learning institutions. The University of South
Africa introduced online learning in 2007 as a mode of teaching, learning and student
support in order to be in a position to reach all students and particularly those who live in
the remotest rural areas and yet, to this date, students are inadequately using online
learning platforms available. There are already a number of studies conducted regarding
this phenomenon at UNISA; however, the focus has been mostly on urban students.
Hence, the focus of this study was on rural students’ online learning experiences at
UNISA in Limpopo region. The study was informed by Moore’s theory of transactional
distance to determine the reported challenges and experiences of UNISA students in the
usage of online learning platforms, particularly the e-tutoring platform. A descriptive
qualitative case study, using individual interviews was used to investigate the problem.
Eleven participants were interviewed and the findings highlighted both internal; those that
UNISA can manage; and external problems which would need other outside role players.
Most gratifying from this study was the positive attitude of participants towards online
learning-that it is helpful for them and therefore need not to be discontinued. This study
concludes by providing conclusions and their implications and emphasises that an
effective student support for online learning could help reduce the transactional distance
experienced by students and potentially increase student usage of online learning
platforms.
Key words: Online learning, Open Distance Learning, Open Distance e-Learning.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii
ABSTRACT iv
LIST OF TABLES x
LIST OF FIGURES ix
CHAPTER 1: ORIENTATION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM 1
1.3 RESEARCH PROBLEM 3
1.4 AIM AND OBJECTIVES 3
1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4
1.5.1 Study design 4
1.5.2 Data collection 4
1.5.3 Sampling method 5
1.5.4 Data analysis 5
1.6 DATA QUALITY MEASURES 6
1.7 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 6
1.8 LAY–OUT OF THE STUDY 7
1.9 CLARIFICATION OF KEY TERMS 8
CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES 10
2.1 INTRODUCTION 10
2.2 MOORE’S (1993) THEORY OF TRANSACTIONAL DISTANCE 10
2.3 DISTANCE EDUCATION THEORIES 11
2.3.1 Background to the evolution of Distance Education 11
2.3.2 Otto Peters on industrial theory 12
2.3.3 Holmberg on guided didactic conversation theory 14
2.3.4 Garrison, Anderson and Archer’s theory on communities of enquiry 15
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2.4 JUSTIFICATION FOR SELECTING MOORE’S THEORY AS A
THEORETICAL LENS 17
2.5 MOORE’S THEORY OF TRANSACTIONAL DISTANCE IN CONTEXT 18
2.5.1 Instructional dialogue 21
2.5.2 Course structure 23
2.5.3 Learner autonomy 24
2.6 BACKGROUND OF STUDENT EXPERIENCES WITH ONLINE LEARNING 27
2.6.1 Student experiences with online learning 27
2.6.2 Students’ readiness or lack of readiness for online learning 30
2.6.3 Students’ challenges with online learning 33
2.7 SYNTHESIS 35
2.8 CONCLUSION 37
CHAPTER 3: OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING IN SOUTH AFRICA AND
BEYOND 39
3.1 INTRODUCTION 39
3.2.1 Open Universities Internationally 39
3.2.2 A brief overview on the origin of Open universities 39
3.2.3 United Kingdom Open University (UKOU) 41
3.2.4 Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) 42
3.2.4 Open Universities Australia (OUA) 43
3.3 OPEN UNIVERSITIES IN AFRICA 44
3.3.1 A brief overview on the establishment of open universities in Africa 44
3.3.2 University of Botswana (Centre for continuing education) 45
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3.3.3 National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) 46
3.3.4 Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) 47
3.4 OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING IN SOUTH AFRICA 48
3.4.1 Brief overview of legislative background towards an expanded ODL
Landscape 48
3.4.2 The white Paper for post school education 49
3.4.3 ODL context at University of North-West 51
3.4.4 ODL Context at the University of Pretoria 52
3.4.5 ODL context at University of KwaZulu-Natal 53
3.5 OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING AT UNISA 54
3.5.1 Historical background 54
3.5.2 UNISA’s past ODL practices 55
3.5.3 UNISA’s current ODL practices 56
3.5.4 UNISA’s envisaged future ODL practices 58
3.5.5 Online learning developments at UNISA Limpopo 60
3.6 SYNTHESIS 61
3.7 CONCLUSION 62
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN 63
4.1 INTRODUCTION 63
4.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 63
4.3 RESEARCH CONTEXT 64
4.4 STUDY DESIGN 65
4.4.1 Case study 65
4.4.2 Population of study 67
4.4.3 Sample management 68
4.4.3.1 Inclusion criteria 68
4.4.3.2 Bias 69
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4.5 DATA COLLECTION METHODS 69
4.5.1 Interviews 70
4.6 DATA ANALYSIS PROCESS 72
4.6.1 Techniques for analysing data 72
4.7 DATA QUALITY MEASURES 73
4.7.1 Credibility 73
4.7.2 Transferability 74
4.7.3 Dependability 75
4.7.4 Confirmability 75
4.8 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 76
4.9. CONCLUSION 76
CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 78
5.1 INTRODUCTION 78
5.2 OVERVIEW OF DATA COLLECTED 79
5.2.1 Demographics and the profile of participants 79
5.2.2 THEMATIC PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS 83
5.2.2.1 Dominant stories related to participants’ experiences 83
5.2.2.2 Factors influencing access to computer use, Internet and online learning 99
5.2.2.3 Participants’ knowledge related to the use of computers, Internet and
online learning facilities. 103
5.2.2.4 Participants’ views related to online learning and Internet facilities 108
5.2.2.5 Existing computer training course at UNISA for students 111
5.2.2.6 Difficulties experienced by students for internet and e-learning facilities 113
5.2.2.7 Participants’ suggestions related to the potential for improvements 118
5.3 DISCUSSION ON EXPERIENCES OF ONLINE LEARNING
SUPPORT 123
5.3.1 Experiences related to awareness of the e-tutoring online learning
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Facility 124
5.3.2 Experiences related to the use of online learning facilities 125
5.3.3 Experiences with factors related to access to computers and the Internet 126
5.3.4 Experiences with difficulties for online access 128
5.3.5 Participants’ suggested propositions for online learning 133
5.4 SYNTHESIS 133
5.5 CONCLUSION 135
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 137
6.1 INTRODUCTION 137
6.2 CONCLUSIONS 139
6.3 IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY 142
6.3.1 Implications for theory 142
6.3.2 Implications for practice 143
6.3.2.1 Suitability of devices 143
6.3.2.2 Student preparation for online learning 144
6.3.2.3 Technology development programmes for rural students 144
6.3.3 Implications for further study 145
6.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 145
6.5 CONCLUSION 146
REFERENCES 147
ADDENDA 162
Addendum A: University of Stellenbosch ethical clearance certificate 162
Addendum B: University of South Africa ethical clearance certificate 166
Addendum C: University of South Africa permission for using UNISA students 168
Addendum D: Coding reports 170
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Addendum E: Coding certificate 171
Addendum F: Interview protocol 176
Addendum G: Briefing letter 182
Addendum H: Consent form 186
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Organisation of the study 7
Table 5.2.1.1: Distance between UNISA campuses and participants’ residences 79
Table 5.2.1.2: Socio–economic profile of participants 80
Table 5.2.1.3: Ownership of devices vs family size 81
Table 5.2.1.4: Technologies commonly used by participants 81
Table 5.2.1.5: Internet and computer access points by participants 83
Table 5.2.1.6: Internet and online learning facilities utilised 84
Table 5.2.1.7: E-tutoring usage according to registration periods 88
Table 5.2.1.8: Participants’ Internet and online learning facilities utilisation
Reasons 89
Table 5.2.1.9: Frequency of accessing online learning facilities per registration
Category 91
Table 5.2.1.10: Different places where participants gained access to computers 96
Table 5.2.1.11: Participants’ knowledge regarding the use of computers, Internet
and online learning facilities 106
Table 5.2.1.12: Sources of computer and Internet support according registration
Periods 107
Table 5.2.1.13: Cell phone usage by participants according to registration periods111
Table 5.2.1.14: Participants’ awareness of online learning training support
x