Understanding the Early Adjustment Experiences of Undergraduate Distance Education Students in South Africa

Much research in face-to-face contexts outlines the importance of early adjustment on students’ higher education experiences. However, few studies have replicated this research in distance learning contexts to unpack the early multifaceted adjustments associated with studying in absence of a physic...

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Autores principales:	Jenna Mittelmeier, Jekaterina Rogaten, Dianne Long, Mwazvita Dalu, Ashley Gunter, Paul Prinsloo, Bart Rienties
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Athabasca University Press 2019
Materias:	distance education higher education student adjustment South Africa Special aspects of education LC8-6691
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/039975a07b264f5481166a3c6f82d591
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:039975a07b264f5481166a3c6f82d591
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:039975a07b264f5481166a3c6f82d5912021-12-02T18:02:59ZUnderstanding the Early Adjustment Experiences of Undergraduate Distance Education Students in South Africa10.19173/irrodl.v20i4.41011492-3831https://doaj.org/article/039975a07b264f5481166a3c6f82d5912019-01-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/4101https://doaj.org/toc/1492-3831 Much research in face-to-face contexts outlines the importance of early adjustment on students’ higher education experiences. However, few studies have replicated this research in distance learning contexts to unpack the early multifaceted adjustments associated with studying in absence of a physical campus. This is particularly needed from a Global South perspective, where countries like South Africa have become regional hubs for distance learners. To explore distance learners’ adjustment experiences, this study analysed results from a Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) with 320 distance learners at the University of South Africa, mixed with qualitative thematic analysis of open-ended questions. The results outlined key factors that impact distance learning experiences for students in South Africa, including demographic variables, class, language, and access to resources. These findings, compared with similar work in face-to-face contexts, suggest areas in need of additional support from distance education providers in South Africa and beyond. Jenna MittelmeierJekaterina RogatenDianne LongMwazvita DaluAshley GunterPaul PrinslooBart RientiesAthabasca University Pressarticledistance educationhigher educationstudent adjustmentSouth AfricaSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691ENInternational Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Vol 20, Iss 3 (2019)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	distance education higher education student adjustment South Africa Special aspects of education LC8-6691
spellingShingle	distance education higher education student adjustment South Africa Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Jenna Mittelmeier Jekaterina Rogaten Dianne Long Mwazvita Dalu Ashley Gunter Paul Prinsloo Bart Rienties Understanding the Early Adjustment Experiences of Undergraduate Distance Education Students in South Africa
description	Much research in face-to-face contexts outlines the importance of early adjustment on students’ higher education experiences. However, few studies have replicated this research in distance learning contexts to unpack the early multifaceted adjustments associated with studying in absence of a physical campus. This is particularly needed from a Global South perspective, where countries like South Africa have become regional hubs for distance learners. To explore distance learners’ adjustment experiences, this study analysed results from a Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) with 320 distance learners at the University of South Africa, mixed with qualitative thematic analysis of open-ended questions. The results outlined key factors that impact distance learning experiences for students in South Africa, including demographic variables, class, language, and access to resources. These findings, compared with similar work in face-to-face contexts, suggest areas in need of additional support from distance education providers in South Africa and beyond.
format	article
author	Jenna Mittelmeier Jekaterina Rogaten Dianne Long Mwazvita Dalu Ashley Gunter Paul Prinsloo Bart Rienties
author_facet	Jenna Mittelmeier Jekaterina Rogaten Dianne Long Mwazvita Dalu Ashley Gunter Paul Prinsloo Bart Rienties
author_sort	Jenna Mittelmeier
title	Understanding the Early Adjustment Experiences of Undergraduate Distance Education Students in South Africa
title_short	Understanding the Early Adjustment Experiences of Undergraduate Distance Education Students in South Africa
title_full	Understanding the Early Adjustment Experiences of Undergraduate Distance Education Students in South Africa
title_fullStr	Understanding the Early Adjustment Experiences of Undergraduate Distance Education Students in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed	Understanding the Early Adjustment Experiences of Undergraduate Distance Education Students in South Africa
title_sort	understanding the early adjustment experiences of undergraduate distance education students in south africa
publisher	Athabasca University Press
publishDate	2019
url	https://doaj.org/article/039975a07b264f5481166a3c6f82d591
work_keys_str_mv	AT jennamittelmeier understandingtheearlyadjustmentexperiencesofundergraduatedistanceeducationstudentsinsouthafrica AT jekaterinarogaten understandingtheearlyadjustmentexperiencesofundergraduatedistanceeducationstudentsinsouthafrica AT diannelong understandingtheearlyadjustmentexperiencesofundergraduatedistanceeducationstudentsinsouthafrica AT mwazvitadalu understandingtheearlyadjustmentexperiencesofundergraduatedistanceeducationstudentsinsouthafrica AT ashleygunter understandingtheearlyadjustmentexperiencesofundergraduatedistanceeducationstudentsinsouthafrica AT paulprinsloo understandingtheearlyadjustmentexperiencesofundergraduatedistanceeducationstudentsinsouthafrica AT bartrienties understandingtheearlyadjustmentexperiencesofundergraduatedistanceeducationstudentsinsouthafrica
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Understanding the Early Adjustment Experiences of Undergraduate Distance Education Students in South Africa

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