“Challenges faced by Open and Distance Learners”

1.0 Introduction

Distance and open learning has been practice by more than 1300 institution in
about 130 countries offering 70,000 odd courses to nearly 90 million students
with varied academic, economic and cultural backgrounds .It has been estimated
that there are 36,000 distance learners (8th Malaysia Plan, 2001) in Malaysia and
this figure is reported to increase to 54,000 by 2005. The flexibility it offer has
made this mode of learning are increasingly popular .Traditional barrier to
education are fast disappearing thanks to communicational technologies that
tremendously influence the thinking of educationalist, policy maker and
practitioner of distance and open learning. Geographical, national and
institutional boundaries get broken or redrawn, allowing greater number of
students to choose the course they need and the way in which they want to
learn across the countries. This rosy global scenario, however, has it thorny side
too.

2.0 Definition of blended learning

To many people, learning is something that happens in a classroom, starting at

the age of five and finishing somewhere between the ages of 16 and 21. But
millions of others have already discovered that learning can happen at any time,
in any place: on the bus, in the office, on the night shift. It is no longer necessary
to be in a classroom in front of a teacher to be in a 'place of learning'. Traditional

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ideas about education are undergoing a metamorphosis as the concepts of open
learning, lifelong learning and distance learning gain familiarity.

Although the terms are often used interchangeably, there are important
differences. Open learning is an umbrella term for any scheme of education or
training that seeks systematically to remove barriers to learning, whether they are
concerned with age, time, place or space. With open learning, individuals take
responsibility for what they learn, how they learn, where they learn, how quickly
they learn, who helps them and when they have their learning assessed.

Distance learning, on the other hand, is one particular form of open learning in
which tutors and learners are separated by geographical distance. This is
sometimes called a home-study or correspondence course. But many modes of
communication are used for distance learning, not just postal correspondence. If
you stop to think about it, most of us use distance learning techniques in some
form in our daily lives: we read books and newspapers, watch programmes on
television and request information over the telephone. These are all learning
experiences which 'educate' in the broadest sense

3.0 Current Trend in Open and Distance Learning

The current trend in open and distance learning generated a new approach to
teaching and learning. Over the past 30 years, much expertise has been built up
in the writing and design of courses and learning materials. One of the most
important lessons is that distance learners need much more than a tutor who
marks assignments and sends them back. Any successful course provider needs
to ensure additional support for learners through excellent administration
systems and access to accreditation and qualifications. Many organizations also
provide full immersion by the end of year and social events for students, creating
a virtual learning community. This kind of networking is invaluable to all learners,
and more especially to students of distance learning.

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Although print is still the most popular and flexible medium for delivering open
learning, new technology will obviously play a key role in the next century. Radio
and television have been an essential part of Open University courses, and many
distance learning programmes incorporate computer-based packages. E-mail
and the Internet also offer exciting possibilities. There may come a time when
many learners will use multimedia as a matter of course, and communicate with
their tutors by e-mail. In the USA, the University of Madison, Wisconsin, is
already using new technology - it runs a course in disaster management, which is
offered over the Internet to students in disaster areas like Bosnia where all post
and telecommunications systems have broken down.

New providers have come onto the market as the demand for courses offering
vocational and managerial skills, many of them leading to professional
qualifications, has snowballed. One of the most prolific areas is for courses
leading to a master's in business administration (MBA). Another trend is the
increasing interest in providing on-the-job training through distance learning. In
the UK, companies like Coca-Cola Schweppes, Ford and IBM are taking distance
learning very seriously. No longer are limited to a few specialist institutions, open
and distance learning becoming part of mainstream delivery.

More further education colleges and universities now offer mixed-mode delivery
of courses, which enables people to learn at their own pace and in their own
time. Ten years ago, few people would have understood the terms 'distance
learning' or 'open learning'; now they are part of the educational vocabulary.

Distance learning has changed from being the last choice for people who couldn't
attend college or university to being the first choice for people who want flexibility
and guaranteed quality. It has also pioneered the concept of learner-centered
education. The future is one where learning boundaries will disappear, and
distance learning opportunities continue to expand.

4.0 Issues and challenges faced by open and distance learners.

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Distance education technologies are expanding at an extremely rapid rate. Too
often, instructional designers and curriculum developers have become enamored
of the latest technologies without dealing with the underlying issues of learner
characteristics and needs, the influence of media upon the instructional process,
equity of access to interactive delivery systems, and the new roles of teacher,
site facilitator, and student in the distance learning process.

The issues addressed in this research paper will reflect some challenges faced
by the open and distance learners. These include :

4.1. Situational variables, it can be inferred two main problems faced by the
students that were influencing their study, they were:

* Poor learning environment (such as: lack of support from family as well
as lack of learning facilities)

* Lack of time to study (as a result of multiple roles and responsibilities as

adult learners; took more time to study than expected; and change in
circumstances)

4.2. Institutional variables, it can be said that the students were disturbed in
their study due to:

* Tuition fee that they could not afford to pay (general cost like tuition fee
semesterly and cost for buying written learning materials)

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 * Problems caused by institutional procedures (such as availability of course
materials, delay in registration, and poor communication with institution)

* Problems with course scheduling and pacing (tight schedule and course
poorly paced –too slow, uneven, or too fast)

* Poorly organized tutorial assistance (such as unavailability of tutor, hard to

get in touch with tutor/poor communication)

* Problems in terms of instructional design (for examples: lay-outing of

learning materials, the quality of printed materials, problems with language
and style of the course materials, and unavailability of equipment/media
for learning processes)

4.3. Based on dispositional perspective, it can be implied that there were six
main problems that influenced students performance, they were:

* Unclear goal (both from student’s standpoint and from institutional

perspectives)

* Pressure as a result of multiple roles and responsibilities of the students

(working, taking care of family, involvement in society, and at the same
time they were studying)

* Time management

* Learning style problems (usually most of the adult learners need more
face to face interaction, and working with peers)

* Adult pride problems (such as the need for respect, independence, and
achievement –high marks or fear of failure)

* Psychological problems (also viewed from social and economic

perspectives)

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4.4. Viewed from epistemological variable, it was clear that the most significant
effect that disturbed student performance could be divided into four major
areas, they were:

* Epistemology of course differed from student’s epistemological position

(for example: the content was too technical or scientific on one hand and
the content was too theoretical or abstract on the other hand)

* Internal epistemological gap between presented content and student

expectations

* Content was lacking in generating personal interest

* Lack of prerequisite knowledge.

Discussion, Implication, and Consequence

4.1 Situational Variable

A study showed that student’s learning circumstances was a key situational

variable. A lack of family and peer support was problematic for students who
lacked self-confidence. In accordance with these findings, Bartels (1982) found
that students were less likely to follow their courses if their families, friends, and

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colleagues did not support them appropriately. In addition, this conditions was
shared by both successful and failed students in the ODL course. A more
concrete environmental problem was the student’s physical milieu, the resources,
both material (library) and intellectual (expert who might provide tutoring or
companionable discussion), and the home environment. A quiet place to study
and away from the interruptions and distractions of normal family life were
absolutely required. A number of students found achieving this separation
problematic.

Time was undoubtedly a barrier even though it was not in itself necessarily the
key to success in the course. Here lack of time was related to time available, as
impacted by changes in the student’s circumstances, the fact that the course
took more time than anticipated. This might be in turn related to course demands,
an institutional variable, or problems with content that required them to spend
more time, an epistemological variable, or study style. Besides, lack of time might
be caused by multiple roles as spouse, parents, and full time employees. Most of
the students, moreover, found that time allocation was very critical in order to be
able to follow the course effectively.

4.2 Institutional Variable

Although students had already leapt the barrier of fee costs, but there are
concern about “add-on” cost, such as the cost of additional textbooks, deposits
for the audio or video programs, and considerable expenses of attending on-
campus activities (tutorials or laboratory work). Apart from cost problems,
students’ performance was also influenced by bureaucratic procedures.
Restricted office hours and difficulties reaching staff for information and
assistance, for examples, were problems for students, who felt that the institution
did not understand their needs. Some delay in registration and the late arrival of
learning materials alienated affected students and exacerbated their time
constraints. A number of student found that these conditions happening in almost
every occasion during they were doing the course.

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The identified problem of course scheduling seemed related to institutional
insensitivity or inability to respond to students’ needs. Most of students who were
taking the ODL course were those currently in the work force. Therefore, it was
not easy for them to follow the schedule accordingly. Time problems, moreover,
were related to overall course length. Assignment pacing was somewhat
intertwined as well. The problem of students not having enough time as the pace
was too quick and they found difficulties to make some readjustment to follow the
course effectively.

The problems some students experienced involving the course tutors were
diverse and disturbing. Inappropriate tutorial assistance, according to Woodley &
Parlett (1983), as variable in dropout but perhaps not so explicitly as it was
expressed here by most of the students observed. Some students had difficulties
reaching their tutors, who invited calls at restricted time only. One student was
offended by the unavailability of the tutor and written feedback suggesting to her.
In fact, tutorial was far from adequate provided institutionally.

Tutor accessibility was also a psychological problem for some students who were
hesitant to initiate contact. The ethnographies showed that those students were
intimidated and though their tutor had better things to do. They were particularly
hesitant to phone when they thought their question was too easy; something that
they should know but they did not. In a couple of topics (within the modules), the
apparent absence of desirable tutor characteristics like unconditional positive
regard for student, empathy, cordiality and supportiveness were reflected in the
personality/communication conflict aspect of the tutorial support problems.

The timelines, quality, or quantity of feedback on assignments was also

problematic in most cases. Slow turnaround time distressed students, as they did
not know how they were doing. The reported that the feedback’s tardiness, its
illegibility or insufficiency in clarifying what proportion of their answer was correct
and explaining what a full mark answer would be lowered their motivation. In
addition, characteristics of good feedback should be immediate and self-

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explained rather than judgmental. This positive type of feedback was clearly
absent in most cases here.

The most difficult problems found by students, in terms of instructional design

problems, were the lack of media support; the management acknowledged this
condition. Most students felt happy with media support like video program; this is
relevant with the characteristics of ODL course. Furthermore, some students had
problems with the course materials itself. They found the course manual
confusing and the textbooks inappropriate. In addition, problems with language
and style of the modules were related to the epistemology of the subject matter
disciplines. Students described the language as tight, rigid, and formal. The
course readability and ease of comprehension were affected negatively not only
by the use of a great deal of specialized, scientific jargon but also by the author’s
style. The way the module written was the same as how the textbook was
written. This implied that the module had not been designed adequately as
distance learning course material, i.e., it was not self-contained material. The
students, therefore, found difficulties to study and comprehend the materials in
the module.

4.3 Dispositional Variable

There were several reasons why students enrolled into one or more study
programs. Three of them were: (i) achieving their degree, (ii) acquiring a
professional qualification, and (iii) increasing their knowledge and skill. For some,
the course was a try-out instrument to see if they liked it or they could handle it.
Nevertheless, most of the students cited uncertainty about their goal. In addition,
the problem of the stress of multiple roles was separate from that of the time

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constraints imposed by multiple roles considered previously. Here the students
specifically indicated it was stress, trying to study effectively when one was under
stress condition.

The students’ problems with time management reflected their time priorities. That
is their willingness to devote time to study at the expense of other activities.
Students also revealed a number of problems that can be loosely described as
not being in learning mode. Nevertheless, it can be inferred from the comments
of successful students that it took them a while to realize that there was a way to
be more effective in their achievement. Problems with not being in a learning
mode, furthermore, seemed related to the students had been away from school
and their unfamiliarity with effective studying habit, either as they had forgotten or
because they never knew. Most of the students had been “away” for such a long
period of time (say 10 or more years) from studying environment. Note: 95% of
the student body of the OUM were people who were coming from work force and
they had been away from studying circumstances for 10-15 years in average
(OUM, 2004).

Problem that can be said to involve adult pride posed another major dispositional
barrier for mature students. This was critically relevant, as around 70% of the
students were in the age of 30-40 years old (OUM, 2004). Some had needs of
achievement that went beyond passing to include a need for high achievement.
Adult pride was also behind the problem about their desire to do the course
independently on one hand and their need of face-to-face tutorial assistance on
the other hand. This is to say that those students wanted help but were reluctant
to seek it and it was not proactively available. Besides, psychological, social, and
economic factors could also being barriers to students in distance learning mode
(Snyder et al, 1978). The psychological aspect (also viewed from social and
economic perspectives) discussed here needs to be studied further in the future
comprehensively.

4.4 Epistemological Variable

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The epistemological problems reflected a lack of congruence between the
student’s cognitive and affective characteristic and perceptions of knowledge,
and the nature of the knowledge presented in the modules. The student’s
epistemological position was a screen through which new knowledge must be
acquired. The screen might become a barrier when the epistemological position
of a course’s content or expectations was incompatible. The student’s conceptual
framework could not easily accommodate it. The study described that this was a
major and main problem that were experienced by the students.

Someone might anticipate that most of students would have difficulties with the
scientific, technical nature of the course. They were seemingly comfortable with
generalities, abstract concepts, and broad context but not with scientific,
technical, and mathematical specifics. Nevertheless, there were some students
who felt comfortable with the general emphasis on scientific facts and principles.
This was in accordance with Schmeck (1988) who insisted that there were
contrary issues concerning analytic/serialist/field-independent/left-brained versus
global/holistic/field-dependent/right-brained.

In reality, most of students believed that most of difficulties in understanding the

materials (the ODL course) were due to an epistemological gap between
presented course content and course expectations. A gap existed because the
course materials and behavioural objective seemed to suggest the content as
something mainly to be learned not by rote learning. All the same, most of
students did not get used to this learning style. Furthermore, most of the
assignments, written tutorial activities, as well as the final exams were
demanding students to have ability in terms of synthesizing, inference and
abstracting of meaning, and ability to cope with ambiguity and the contextual,
interrelated nature of knowledge. This was to say that the course demanded
higher level of cognitive skills of knowledge.

The other epistemological problems for students could be categorized into the
following, such as: (i) lack of personal relevance of the subject matter content,

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and (ii) lack of prerequisite knowledge. Lack of personal relevance caused the
students could not relate it into their everyday experience. Accordingly, the
problems the students encountered with a lack of prerequisite knowledge were
related to the structure/specialized competence dimension. High structure fields
with considerable hierarchy of knowledge required more specialized knowledge
on the part of the learner. Theoretically and practically, students could only be
mastered in the ODL course if they had already been mastered in Calculus
course. If, for example, they did not pass Calculus adequately then they will find
difficulties in studying the ODL course. As a matter of fact, the study showed that
most of the students found the ODL course difficult, as they did not follow the
Calculus course adequately. This was to say that the study confirmed
significantly that the lack of prerequisite knowledge was the most influencing
factors to their performance.

5.0 Implication and Consequences

The results and discussions above showed us that there were several problems
faced by the students who did the ODL course. The main factor affecting
student’s performance was epistemological variable; especially the lack of
prerequisite knowledge, there should be a special effort like break-through
program from the Department to improve student achievement. The prerequisite
knowledge is very critical. In general, most of students failed in writing down the
specific solution of questions asked in the final exam, as they had to first master
the elementary concept that was provided in Calculus course.

Meanwhile student understanding elucidated in the ethnographies had identified

numerous situational, institutional, dispositional, and epistemological variables
which pose problems and impact ability to success in the course. These
variables were very complex and context-dependent. This is so as each student
was subject to a complicated interplay of positive factors encouraging success
and negative factors encouraging failure in the course. The balance tips to
overcome this matter was to pay more attention on an individual basis, as each

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person was unique, possessing different values, beliefs, needs, attitudes,
motives, past-experiences, and abilities. Therefore, both professional
development and institutional improvement should focus on creating the uniquely
optimal conditions for each and every learner to persevere, while acknowledging
that we may not understand all the factors at work. Specifics effort could include
proactive tutorial assistance, providing prerequisite knowledge transitions or
separate primer materials, paying greater attention to clarity and readability in
written materials, and increasing interactive opportunities.

Clarification of the problems termed epistemological problems brought into

sharper focus the role of course content in distance education student
persistence. The content itself was an essential element in the educational
transaction that cannot be ignored in any theoretical consideration of distance
education friction. Making explicit the problematic nature of course epistemology
would bring practitioners having better ability in:

i. Defining their education aims more clearly

ii. Specifying appropriate course goals and objectives

iii. Designing and implementing effective instructional strategies.

6.0 Concluding Remarks

From previous discussions, it can be obviously inferred that students’

performance was influenced by situational, institutional, dispositional, and

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epistemological factors. This implies that further multivariate studies with
disciplinary coverage would be significant enough in adding to the body of
knowledge concerning students’ performance in distance learning mode in the
future. In this case, the students’ skills as an independent learner play an
important role. Planning and managing the smart way, applying smart time
management, self- motivation, and developing learning strategies are some of
the techniques on which to be mastered by an independent learners.

Finally, psychological factors need to be explored in the future, as most of

students in open and distant learning mode came from work force. This implies
that they are mature students. Consequently, how to administer adult and mature
learners psychologically is critically relevant and important to be noticed in future
research.

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my great appreciation to Mr. Wan Mohd Amin bin Wan
Zainal Abidin (Open University, Malaysia) for his support to make this
assignment possible. I am also grateful to Professor Dato’ Ir Dr Mohammad Nor
bin Haji Salleh (The Vice President for Management and Development of

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Learning Centre, Open University, Malaysia) for his interesting presentation at
Politeknik Seberang Perai,Pulau Pinang during orientation and ODL seminar
(2005) that positively inspired and motivated me to complete this assignment.

References

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Malaysian experience’, Paper presented at the ICDE conference on distance
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Government of Malaysia (1996) Seventh Malaysia Plan 1996-2000, Kuala

Lumpur: Government

Daing Z. I. and Abu Daud S. (2000) ‘Barriers to self-directed learning in a virtual

environment among adult students’, Paper presented at the 14th Annual
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Brindley, J.E. (1988) A model of attrition for distance education, ICDE, 131-137.

Effah, E. (1991) Dispositional factors and assimilative levels, Research in

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Gibson, C.C. & Graff, A.O. (1992) Impact of adults’ preferred learning styles and
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programs, Journal of Distance Education 8(1): 39-51.

Herrmann, A. (1988) A conceptual framework for understanding the transitions

of external students, Distance Education, 9(1): 5-26.

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