Exploring the mediating role of graduate attributes in relation to academic self-directedness in open distance learning.

Abstract

The objective of this study is to add to the extant literature on graduate attributes by examining the mediating role of global/moral citizenship and lifelong learning attributes in the relation between students’ scholarship attributes and their academic self-directedness in a higher education open distance learning (ODL) environment. The Graduate Skills and Attributes Scale and Adult Learner Self-directedness Scale were administered to a stratified proportional random sample of N = 1102 undergraduate ODL students in the economic and management sciences field. Data analyses consisted of an analysis of correlations and two simple meditational models. The results revealed significant direct and indirect effects between the variables. The academic self-directedness of the participants was positively influenced by their scholarship, global/moral citizenship and lifelong learning attributes. The influence of scholarship attributes on academic self-directedness is significantly mediated through global/moral citizenship and lifelong learning attributes. These findings contribute new knowledge that informs the design of teaching and learning activities aimed at enhancing the academic self-directedness of students pursuing educational studies in an ODL environment.