Come in spinner! Opportunities and meanings emerging through distance study for professional educators

Abstract

This article has been anonymously peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in the International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning, an international, peer-reviewed journal that focuses on issues and trends in pedagogies and learning in national and international contexts. ISSN 1833-4105. © Copyright of articles is retained by authors. As this is an open access journal, articles are free to use, with proper attribution, in educational and other non-commercial settings. This paper reports on emergent meanings, professional dilemmas and the students' need to negotiate workplace commitments while balancing off-campus study with family and personal responsibilities. By examining data from a participant-orientated study, we explore the burning issue of student retention within their complex and evolving contexts. Our research investigates the reasons why students take a break from their study and then resume. As one student explains, "1 actually find this break experience rejuvenating because 1 am savouring the learning journey. 1 don't feel obliged to race through the MET [Master of Education Technology]. 1 want the time to learn in a course and then take the time to apply what 1 have learned on the job"Through the data we observe 'in practice' opportunities and meanings that emerge from these students' contexts, cognisant of the complementary imperatives of retention and progression -typical concerns of educational providers.Three relevant themes were identified from survey data to be elucidated through focus groups: students' jobs, university administration processes, and personal or life dilemmas. The demands of the job appear to be an important factor why people take a break. University protocols may contribute to, or compromise retention. Personal circumstances, related to family and health issues, might influence students' ability to continue studying. Our students, postgraduates, face the challenge of fine-tuning competing demands. Thrust into novel situations and sometimes unexpectedly caught off balance, students pool their 'war time' stories and share pragmatics -playing the game.University-based retention initiatives are founded upon an understanding of the relationship between institutions and their students. Assimilation and adaptation models of retention vie for attention with many institutional initiatives premised on the assimilation model: counselling services, mentoring, orientation and transition programs. Retention models typically reflect a managerial-orientated view, either integrating the students to institutional norms through an assimilative culture, or, less frequently, adapting institutional infrastructure and policies to better align with student needs (Zepke, Leach, & Prebble, 2006). This dichotomy correlates with earlier 59