Abstract
The study presented here investigated challenges of learning environments experienced by distance-learning (DL) higher education (HE) students in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The author interviewed students (n=24) in two DL centres, where they attended weekend face-to-face sessions. He asked them to share their personal experiences with respect to classrooms, learning facilities both inside and outside the classroom, and access to library support services. During each intensive one-on-one interview, which lasted 45–60 minutes, the author made audio-recordings and field notes for later analysis. The students’ views were complemented with audio-recordings and field notes from staff interviews (n=4), each lasting 1–2 hours. The 28 participants in the study were recruited from two University of Ghana Learning Centres, Accra and Tema. Data collection covered the period from April 2018 to December 2019. The field notes derived from all participant interviews were transcribed, coded, categorised and analysed using NVivo 10. Particular attention was paid to students’ educational and social well-being, and their sense of place. Findings include students’ struggle with poor infrastructure conditions, and most reported lack of access to power sources in the classrooms, lack of a cafeteria, IT labs, library space, a student hub, and support services as the most significant barriers to experiencing a meaningful HE as DLs. Participants stressed the importance of infrastructural support and services tailored towards DLs’ needs, with an emphasis on DL HE students’ physical, social and psychological well-being.
Résumé
Les écueils des environnements d’apprentissage pour les étudiants à distance au Ghana – L’étude présentée ici s’est penchée sur les difficultés que posent les environnements d’apprentissage aux étudiants de l’enseignement supérieur suivant un programme d’apprentissage à distance dans la grande région d’Accra au Ghana. L’auteur a interrogé des étudiants (n=24) dans deux centres d’apprentissage à distance où ils assistaient à des cours en présentiel le week-end. Il les a priés d’exposer leurs expériences personnelles concernant les salles de classe, les moyens d’apprentissage en classe et hors de classe, et l’accès au service de soutien à la bibliothèque. Durant chacun de ces entretiens individuels intenses d’une durée de 45 à 60 minutes, l’auteur a procédé à des enregistrements audio et pris des notes d’observation en vue d’une analyse ultérieure. Le point de vue de étudiants a été complété par la réalisation d’enregistrements audio et la prise de notes d’observation à l’occasion d’interviews du personnel (n=4) d’une durée d’une à deux heures. Les 28 participants à l’étude avaient été recrutés dans deux centres d’apprentissage de l’université du Ghana, à Accra et Tema. Les données recueillies couvrent la période d’avril 2018 à décembre 2019. Les notes d’observation prises à l’occasion de toutes les interviews des participants ont été transcrites, encodées, classées et analysées à l’aide de NVivo 10. Une attention particulière a été accordée au bien-être éducatif et social des étudiants et à leur sentiment d’appartenance. Les résultats font état du fait que les étudiants sont confrontés à une infrastructure de mauvaise qualité et, ce qui revient le plus souvent, à l’absence de prises électriques dans les classes, mais aussi au fait qu’il n’y a ni cafétéria, ni salle informatique, ni bibliothèque, ni espace étudiant, ni service de soutien, qui constituent pour eux les plus grands obstacles pour que leur parcours d’enseignement supérieur à distance leur soit utile. Les participants ont souligné l’importance d’un soutien infrastructurel et de services répondant aux besoins en matière d’apprentissage à distance, notamment en ce qui concerne le bien-être physique, social et psychologique des étudiants de programmes d’enseignement supérieur à distance.
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Notes
In a nutshell, sense of place refers to people’s attachment to a place and the meaning it holds for them. The concept is considered in more detail later in this article.
Nature schools, also referred to as forest schools, conduct a large proportion of their teaching in outdoor settings. The Child and Nature Alliance of Canada “define[s] Forest/Nature School as an educational ethos and practice that centres the Land and the child-at-play. Children and educators build a relationship with the Land through regular and repeated access to the same outdoor space over an extended period of time. Educators support learning through a pedagogical framework that is rooted in place and play, directed and inspired by the child (emergent curriculum), and driven by a process of inquiry” (Child and Nature Alliance of Canada 2023).
For more information on the Sakai LMS, visit https://www.sakailms.org/ [accessed 1 February 2023].
The University of Ghana has a total of 11 learning centres. For more information, visit https://scde.ug.edu.gh/department/university-ghana-learning-centres [accessed 1 February 2023].
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Agyekum, B. Challenges of learning environments experienced by distance-learning higher education students in Ghana. Int Rev Educ 69, 51–72 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-023-09991-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-023-09991-z