E-Tutors’ Practices in Facilitating a Signature Module in Open and Distance Learning at the University of South Africa

Abstract

The discourse on the dropout rate of young adult learners in open and distance learning is increasing in higher education. However, supporting students who use new technologies in open and distance learning is gaining attention. Currently, there is an understanding between the University of South Africa and its students to adopt the open distance e-learning model to increase access to higher education. It is against this background that I conducted the study to investigate e-tutors’ practices in facilitating a signature module in an open and distance learning environment. This is a study of e-tutors’ views on the adequacy of student support to adult students in undergraduate studies. In this study, I followed a qualitative research approach using a case study design. I used purposeful sampling to interview 15 e-tutors from a total of 27. The e-tutors were selected from module BPT1501 in an undergraduate programme in the College of Education at the University of South Africa. In this study, I adopted the Community of Inquiry Theory of Garrison, Anderson and Archer as a lens to analyse themes and research findings. The theoretical framework is suitable for online learning which offers student, teacher and content interaction. In the study, I indicated major findings such as in some rural areas there are no internet facilities, some students do not have access to electricity, and some students have access to electricity but no internet connectivity.