Conceptualizing student dropout in part‐time distance education: pathologizing the normal?

Woodley, Alan

doi:10.1080/0268051042000177845

Cited by 48 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Many educators believe that these tools offer new educational affordances and avenues for students to interact with each other and with their teachers or tutors. Considering the traditional dropout rate problem documented in distance courses (Rovai, 2003;Woodley, 2004), these tools may be of special interest for distance education institutions as they have the potential to assist in the critical "social integration" associated with persistence (Sweet, 1986;Tinto, 1975). However, as distance students are typically older than regular on-campus students (Bean & Metzner, 1985;Rovai, 2003), little is known about their expertise with social media or their interest in harnessing these tools for informal learning or collaborating with peers.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

IRRODL Volume 12, Number 6

Authors

2011

IRRODL

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

IRRODL Volume 12, Number 6

Authors

2011

IRRODL

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Fritsch's (1991) account of movement into and out of the German Open University and Woodley's (2004) more recent reference to the same phenomena in the UK Open University show that the true picture of lifelong learning is a multi-provider one, with learners moving within and between providers to suit their needs and circumstances. As a result, a more appropriate notion of routes in lifelong learning would see the involvement of more than one provider.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3. Learners are not required to enrol for a study programme and can opt instead to pursue a course-at-time approach (Woodley, 2004). This makes it difficult to know whether a learner successfully completing a unit of learning on a route is actually pursuing the goal associated with the route (and should be counted on the input side of the ratio) or was simply interested in the single unit of learning (and should not be counted).…”

Section: Measurement Of Educational Efficiency 393mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Case Study in the Measurement of Educational Efficiency in Open and Distance Learning

et al. 2006

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Open and distance learning (ODL) gives learners control of the time, place, and pace of learning, often being characterized as flexible learning. However, this flexibility goes hand-in-hand with procrastination and non-completion. As a result, the efficiency of the educational process is of importance to ODL providers, government funding agencies, and learners themselves. Despite its importance, measuring efficiency in ODL is problematic. This article presents a case study in measuring educational efficiency using a method which reflects the special characteristics of ODL. The article concludes with a discussion of the wider applicability of the measurement method in the context of lifelong learning.

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“…Beth preferred to defer study until she had bought a house: Such a decision as this may be an example of the 'cost-benefit' analysis referred to by Woodley (2004). Beth surveyed her options, and feeling that finance was a key issue for her, made a pragmatic decision about where best to direct her finances (in this case, a house purchase).…”

Section: Finances and Costs Of Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

What 'retention' means to me: The position of the adult learner in student retention

Hewitt¹,

Rose-Adams²

2013

wide particip lifelong learn

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Studies of student retention and progression overwhelmingly appear adopt definitions that place the institution, rather than the student, at the centre. Retention is most often conceived in terms of linear and continuous progress between institutionally identified start and end points. This paper reports on research that considered data from 38 in-depth interviews conducted with individuals who had characteristics often associated with nontraditional engagement in higher education who between 2006 and 2010 had studied an 'Introduction to HE' module at one distance higher education institution, some of whom had progressed to further study at that institution, some of whom had not. The research deployed a life histories approach to seek a finer grained understanding of how individuals conceptualise their own learning journey and experience, in order to reflect on institutional conceptions of student retention.The findings highlight potential anomalies hidden within institutional retention rates -large proportions of the interview participants who were not 'retained' by the institution reported successful progression to and in other learning institutions and environments, both formal and informal. Nearly all described positive perspectives on lifelong learning which were either engendered or improved by the learning undertaken. This attests to the complexity of individuals' lives and provides clear evidence that institution-centric definitions of retention and progression are insufficient to create truly meaningful understanding of successful individual learning journeys and experiences. It is argued that only through careful consideration of the lived experience of students and a re-conception of measures of retention, will we be able to offer real insight into improving student retention.

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Conceptualizing student dropout in part‐time distance education: pathologizing the normal?

Cited by 48 publications

References 9 publications

IRRODL Volume 12, Number 6

IRRODL Volume 12, Number 6

A Case Study in the Measurement of Educational Efficiency in Open and Distance Learning

What 'retention' means to me: The position of the adult learner in student retention

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