Towards an effective and empathetic student support system in an open and distance education and e-learning environment : a case study from a developing country context

Abstract

Faced with the influx of emerging technologies, educators must continuously equip themselves with the necessary skills to effectively impact on today’s learners. Central to successful curriculum reform and student retention is the realisation that educators need to engage in continuous professional development, to meet the learners’ needs. The purpose of this research study is to explore and study how educators’ skills, knowledge and experience in e-learning can contribute to the successful achievement of the institution’s and students’ educational goals and to the design of a quality support system in an ODeL environment in a developing country.

A mixed-method research approach was adopted. The target population was the University of South Africa (Unisa) academic staff members who enrolled for an elearning programme with the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) between the year 2012 and 2014. Convenience non-probability sampling was used and a total of 60 candidates were invited to participate in the study.

Most of the participants pointed to the empathetic support they received from the relevant UMUC staff and also indicated that they are now ready to create an empathetic learning environment for their own students at Unisa. It is the premise of this paper that academics cannot impart and/or transfer what they do not have or know to learners and it gives recommendations on striving towards an effective empathetic students support in distance education and e-learning continuous professional development to effectively impact on today’s learners. The importance of pace, assignment due dates, use of rubrics, turnaround time for feedback, built-in support, and appropriate assessment strategies are also key findings in the report.