Chapter 8: Discussion of Research Question Two and Research Question Three
2. LITERATURE REVIEW 1 Introduction
2.2 Distance Education
Spector, Merrill, Merrienboer and Driscoll (2008) observed that distance learning has a history that covers nearly two centuries, and this period speaks to noteworthy changes in how learning happens and is conveyed. Distance education begins from postal correspondence and extends to
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the wide variety of devices accessible through the Internet. As stated by Gulatee and Combes (2007), in the 1970s and 1980s distance learning became common, and was done via mail until the rise of Internet usage. They noted that since the late 1990s the amount of advanced learning increased and the World Wide Web started to be a distributed learning mechanism to support on- campus students and distance learners. The assistance of communication technology enabled the learners to participate in a range of activities such as discussion forums, multimedia, chat, video conferencing and electronic blackboards.
According to US Department of Education (2003), the change in available technology brought about change in distance education in the previous decade; generally, taking classes outside of conventional brick-and-mortar institutions meant correspondence or televised courses. The integration of asynchronous web-based courses (where the instructor and student are not present at the same time) has extended the potential outcomes of distance education to conquer the time factor or geographical area obstacles confronted by students. The US Division of Education (2003) reported that 56% of all two-year and four-year organisations offered distance education courses within the 2000–2001 study years (US Bureau of Education, 2003). Dabbagh and Bannan-Ritland (2005) remarked that the introduction of Internet and web-based technologies have reshaped the boundaries and pedagogies of distance learning by stretching its scope and deepening its associations (Dabbagh & Bannan-Ritland, 2005). According to Dabbagh and Bannan-Ritland (2005), the introduction of Internet and web-based developments have reshaped the limits and teaching methods of distance learning by extending its degree and developing its links.
Owoeye (2004) recorded that distance learning in Nigeria goes back to the colonial period, and since then correspondence schools from UK have given middle-of-the-road and advanced-level training to various qualified Nigerians through correspondence courses. He explained that distance studies in Nigeria started during the 1970s at the University of Ibadan and this was followed by correspondence-focused, low-maintenance programs offered by routine colleges and different schools, proceeding with instruction projects of the Adult Education Department of the colleges, and programs offered by the Nigeria Teacher Institute (NTI) and NOUN.
Cavanaugh (2004) commented that distance learning can be traced to the early years of the nineteenth century, when courses were offered through correspondence. Abdulaziz (2008) commented that in the mid-twentieth century, distance learning was informally established in
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Britain until 1971, and was formalised by the Open University, and later spread to the US, Canada, Australia and other nations. Moore and Kearsley (2011) characterised distance education as means of instruction and arrangement of learning in independent spaces that require correspondence through technological and special institutional organisations. The correspondence innovations for distance education have advanced from paper-based correspondence to electronic delivery components, for example, TV, video conferencing, web learning administration frameworks and versatile applications. Geographic distance secured by distance training programs has extended from nearby towns and urban areas to remote nations and continents (Beldarrain, 2006; Zhang &
Kenny, 2010). As described by Allen and Seaman (2011) and Moore and Anderson (2012), distance education constitutes a basic part of the US higher education framework as there was a huge and developing number of school courses and degree programs offered online to geologically scattered students far and wide.
As indicated by Mason (2003), two decades after the opening of the Open University in the UK in 1969, numerous more open universities were established in Europe and other nations around the globe. This has led to significant development in the attainment of distance education. Distance education gives chances to the learners to pursue useful and accessible education which does not consider age, race and religion or ability. It gives room to individuals in various locations such as rural or urban to have the same opportunity and access to the latest technology. This method of instruction is practised in most developing nations throughout the world.
Dillon and Greene (2003) explained that distance education is described as a learner-focused framework, which puts learners in the first place, concentrating on the learner's states of mind, practices, capacities, choice and learning inclinations, with the educator as a facilitator of learning.
The obligation of the educator is to encourage self-determination in the learners and to supplement references and other essential materials that the learners need. In addition, it is essential for the educator to keep in mind that distance education solutions incorporate a broad role for the them.
Tait (2003) remarked that plurality, not uniformity, of approaches is needed in supporting learners occupied with distance education. Glen (2005) explained that open learning implies strategies and practices that allow passage to learning with no or few boundaries concerning age, sex or time requirements and with acknowledgment of earlier learning. Dhanarajan (2008) viewed distance education as a method by which the instructor is actually taken to the students, and it is a teaching
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and learning process in which students are isolated from the educators by a physical separation which is regularly crossed over by communications technologies.
There are several ways of defining the term open and distance learning (ODL). Adebayo (2007) defined ODL as the kind of education that takes place outside the customary educational system, and is imparted without having individual interaction with students. Soetan et al. (2015) described distance learning as an instructional procedure in which a large part of the instruction is led by somebody far in distance and/or time from the learners. Al-Dabbasi (2002) identified the advantages of distance education from three viewpoints. The first, from the learner's point of view, is that of higher education characterised by distance education as a removal of geographical barriers or flexibility in the requirements of time, place and age, with access to more opportunity for further training. The second one is the business’s point of view which saw distance education to mean giving chances to staff for building up their expert aptitudes, and empowering them to obtain new abilities with moderately low expenses without the need to disturb their professions for a drawn-out stretch of time. The third one is a state or nation’s point of view that education ought to mean expanding the quantity of students’ learning opportunities to the individuals who are far from higher institutions at affordable costs without the requirement for setting up new structures.
In the context of this research, distance education is viewed as education received by distance e- learners outside the four walls of the classroom and without regard to the location or distance of the learner. As indicated by UNESCO (2002), ODL is a standout among the most quickly developing fields of education, and its potential effect on all education delivery systems has been highlighted through the improvement of Internet-based information technologies, specifically the World Wide Web, using approaches that focus attention on opening access to education and training provision, liberating learners from the constraints of time and place and offering adaptable learning chances to people and gatherings of learners. According to Jimoh (2014) distance education implies the conveyance of valuable learning opportunities at an advantageous place and time for learners, independent of their background.
Does this reflect in the academic performance of distance learners? Investigating this is the purpose of this study. Edvardsson and Skarsson (2008) showed that distance education has allowed access to educational institutions at the university level to different groups of non-conventional students, for example individuals in rural groups, married couples with children and individuals over 25.
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This has resulted in countless students acquiring a university education through distance education.
The extent of distance education is wide. It has demonstrated that it can connect with an extended portion of the unreached, underestimated and the poor.
With regard to this research, distance e-learners are defined as learners who are working class and those who are not able to attend conventional universities due to high demand for enrolment and limited human and material resources.