Persuading student involvement via peripheral services offered

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of peripheral services offered by distance education (DE) institutes on student involvement in DE and, examine whether this impact is mediated by student experience quality. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative research approach based on cross-sectional survey design was used where data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Sample consisted of 400 undergraduates of the Open University of Sri Lanka, drawn using simple random sampling technique. Collected data were analyzed using the structural equation model. Findings Data analysis revealed that there is a significant direct impact of peripheral services offered by DE institutes on student involvement in the Sri Lankan context. Furthermore, it is validated that this impact is mediated by student experience quality. Research limitations/implications Focus of the study is only on the impact of contextual elements rather than personal or demographic factors of students which can have an important impact on their experience quality as well as involvement. Practical implications Findings are useful in designing and redesigning service offering and policy development by DE institutes to make their services more appealing. Originality/value Even though previous studies have identified student dropout and lower academic excellence as issues in DE, how service offering can be used to overcome them via student involvement has not received considerable attention. Hence, the tested conceptual model developed on multiple theories is a novel contribution to the existing knowledge base.

Impact of Service Package Offered on Student Involvement: Case of Distance Education in Sri Lanka

“…Majority of studies have identified consequences of student involvement rather than what drives students towards academic involvement. They have considered student involvement as an independent variable which is contrary to this study where student involvement is investigated as a dependent variable (Astin, 1984;Dassanayake et al, 2017;Fraser et al, 1987;Pace, 1984). However, by analysing scattered findings in the same study context, a relationship between core services and peripheral services on student involvement can be established.…”

“…However, identifying its antecedents, has not yet received due concern in the existing knowledge base. Particularly as per the Theory of Student Involvement, the impact of contextual elements in enhancing student involvement is subject to empirical validation (Astin, 1984;Dassanayake, Nishantha, & Senevirathne, 2017). Therefore, this study primarily aims to investigate the impact of the service package as a contextual element in the DE system to improve student involvement and thereby overcoming issues in the DE system.…”

“…Reviewing scholarly work on DE revealed that studies that have specifically focused on service package are limited (Astin, 1984;Dassanayake et al, 2017;Fraser, Walberg, Welch, & Hatties, 1987). However, there are studies on quality dimensions of, and assessment of quality in DE.…”

“…They specify the nature of the service offer; study programmes, their content, teaching methods, nature of evaluation, supportive services, and infrastructure facilities they use to deliver the service. As a whole, these factors are related to the services offered by educational institutes and thereby it demarcates that those educational policies and practices encompass core services and peripheral services offered (Dassanayake et al, 2017). Theory of Student Involvement further highlights that students are more likely to be involved when there are high quality educational programmes and services which challenge students and stimulate them (Astin, 1984).…”

Impact of e-servicescapes on student engagement: mediating impact of experience quality

“…Despite the form of student engagement, previous studies have reported that it has a direct positive impact on educational outcomes such as student success, performance and achievement (Miller et al , 2011; Sun and Rueda, 2012). Importantly, educational institutes also have a significant role to play in enhancing student engagement as it has identified that the quality of services offered, level of interaction and communication with students as well as resources and learning environment facilitate student engagement in academic activities (Dassanayake et al , 2017; Vogt, 2016).…”