M.Ed. / The aim of this study is to explore best practices instructional strategies for facilitating learner self-regulated learning in an online learning environment by determining, by means of a formal literature review, best practices instructional strategies that facilitate learners' strategy use and acquisition during learning. The knowledge gained by this study will be used to construct a matrix/guide that can be used by online higher education practitioners who would want to facilitate SRL in their online courses.

D.Ed. / You all know about population growth. When Oxford University was founded in the 13th Century there were about 500 million people in the world. When the Open University was set up there were 3 billion and when we celebrate our thirtieth anniversary at the end of this century there are likely to be 6 billion. To situate the same phenomenon ... in Africa you only have to note that in 1960 there were only three African cities with populations of over half a million. Now there are 28. In many countries population is increasing faster than gross national product. The conclusion is simple. By the next century the world will not possibly be able to train and educate its people by conventional means. We shall face the challenge of mega-education and mega-training. By the year 2000 half of the world's population will be less than 25 years old and half will live in the cities. In the developing world one third of the population will be under 14. The response to this challenge will determine the future of the world and we, as distance educators, have the nearest thing to a solution for educating and training the people of the 21st century" (Daniel, 1992:4). Seligman (1992:13) continues the above line of thought when he states: "We need a class of modern educators who are Ghandian in their commitments and concerns but who are at the same time highly modern in their technological competence and sophistication in the field of communication. This means they combine social sensitiveness with the technical capability to bend modern technology for a mass orientated education". The researcher in this study is therefore of the opinion that within the context of South African education, training and development of the workforce conventional training methodology as well as conventional delivery of programmes would futuristically not be appropriate if we consider the changing nature of local and global economies.

A research report submitted to the Wits School of Education, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education by combination of coursework and research Johannesburg, 2017 / Modern-day open and distance learning (ODL) educators are increasingly being called upon to apply different forms of knowledge to integrate web-based learning management systems (LMSs) effectively for teaching and learning. To test this assumption, this study set out to develop and validate a new reliable instrument for assessing ODL educators’ perceived learning management system technological pedagogical content knowledge (LMS-TPACK). Past empirical studies grounded in Mishra and Koehler’s TPACK framework (2006) were examined to construct the self-report survey. Quantitative data were collected from 332 educators. Descriptive analysis, exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency reliability using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were computed. The findings reveal key LMS-TPACK constructs that have proven to be both valid and reliable. Six out of the seven subscales used to assess LMS-TPACK were found to be significant, i.e. LMS knowledge (LMS-K), pedagogical knowledge (PK), content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), LMS pedagogical knowledge (LMS-PK) and LMS-TPACK, while LMS-CK failed to emerge in the factor structure. Several possible reasons are proposed for the lack or absence of LMS-CK. The resulting Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the different constructs as well as the overall instrument scale provide compelling evidence for stable internal consistency reliability. Alpha for the entire LMS-TPACK survey was found to be excellent (α = .931). Recommendations are made for improvements to the instrument and directions for future research are highlighted. / MT2018

This study argues in favour of the distance education student as being a decision-maker and scrutinised his choice criteria against the `open' education background. In particular, the study investigated the relative contribution of influential decision factors, as identified by previous research, in the choice students made when they chose between print-based and on-line modalities. A quantitative study, drawing data from 233 participants in two modules at the University of South Africa, was employed. The study showed that influential decision factors were transferable to a choice between printed or on-line instructional content, but their effects were less significant. Differences pertaining to previous experience with their delivery mode were apparent between students who selected the print-based option and students who selected the on-line option. The results also confirmed that of other research that a significant relationship exists between self-concept and optimal decision-making and self-concept and social environment. / Education Studies / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

This study argues in favour of the distance education student as being a decision-maker and scrutinised his choice criteria against the `open' education background. In particular, the study investigated the relative contribution of influential decision factors, as identified by previous research, in the choice students made when they chose between print-based and on-line modalities. A quantitative study, drawing data from 233 participants in two modules at the University of South Africa, was employed. The study showed that influential decision factors were transferable to a choice between printed or on-line instructional content, but their effects were less significant. Differences pertaining to previous experience with their delivery mode were apparent between students who selected the print-based option and students who selected the on-line option. The results also confirmed that of other research that a significant relationship exists between self-concept and optimal decision-making and self-concept and social environment. / Education Studies / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

In developing countries, the mobile phone market has matured in terms of subscription, penetration and mobile centric1 services. In turn, people have integrated mobile phones into their daily lives. The interaction opportunities that have evolved in business and social life have given students at Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) grounds to anticipate similar opportunities within their learning environments. In the context of developing countries, students primarily access information through mobile phones and there seems to be a disconnection between how HEI provide informational services and how students want to access the services. Therefore, HEIs are challenged with shifting from their traditional information distribution practices into integrating mobile centric services. Literature describes several models of providing mobile centric services in learning settings but there is a paucity of research that address the disconnection between students’ mobile centric needs and expectations against the HEIs’ provision of such services. Therefore, this study proposes a Framework for providing mobile centric services to students at HEIs in Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) context in South Africa. The potential contribution of the framework is that it can facilitate strategic planning and implementation of mobile centric services whilst ensuring the needed synergies with students and academics. The research is grounded in interpretive philosophy and was undertaken as a single case study. The case study employed mixed method design for data collection. The advantage of mixed method design is that it enables both qualitative and quantitative data to be collected from a variety of sources and triangulation of results to get a complete picture of the phenomenon under study. The research was undertaken in four phases. Phase 1 of the study was a literature analysis carried out to identify the components for providing mobile centric services that facilitate students with information access and interaction. The objective was to provide a conceptual framework that would direct the search for evidence and organise the results. Phase 2 of the study employed the conceptual framework developed in Phase 1 to identify the units of analysis and to design the data collection instruments. Phase 3 of the study focused on collecting data within a single case study with embedded units of analysis. Data collection included Policy document analysis, Tool observation analysis, Student surveys and Lecturer interviews. The data collected from the case study was analysed with the view of enhancing the components of the conceptual framework developed in Phase 1. The enhancement of the components of the conceptual framework carried out in Phase 3 directed the development of the Framework for providing mobile centric services to students at HEIs in ODeL context in South Africa as presented in Phase 4. This adds new knowledge in addressing the literature gap between the mobile centric needs and expectations of students and the provision of mobile centric services at HEIs. The framework has practical value in that its components can guide HEIs in determining the mobile centric readiness of their institutions, the needs of the stakeholders, the context of use, the identification of mobile centric resources and the managing of constraints. Mobile centric refers to the preference of accessing and interacting with information services through a mobile device such as a mobile phone. / Computing / Ph. D. (Information Systems)

There is a paramount need for online university education to effectively contribute in the development of students' ability to construct and create new knowledge. Online learning should thus go beyond the production of knowledge for knowledge's sake, but should result in relevant and meaningful learning on the part of the online learner. In addition, online learning ought to result in the application of knowledge to practice. While gains made by constructivism and observational learning are well documented, research addressing online media blends that best encourage constructivist and observational learning in open and distance and e-learning (ODeL) contexts is limited. In addition, guidelines that can be used by online learning facilitators and policy makers regarding media for constructivist and observational learning were lacking when this research was conducted. The research was deemed significant in contributing to the development of an online learning framework that could be used to guide policy formulation and practice in the area of online course implementation in ODeL institutions. Using an explorative qualitative approach, this study explored online media blends for constructivist and observational learning. The study comprised three phases. The first phase was a meta-ethnography study whose objective was to synthesise previous research theses in order to gain an understanding of lecturers' and students' experiences of online media, constructivism and observational learning. The second phase consisted of a phenomenological study conducted at the University of South Africa, to explore lecturers' experiences of online media in the facilitation of constructivism and observational learning. The final phase of the research was the development of a framework based on constructivism and observational learning to guide online teaching and learning. The findings of this research study revealed that lecturers did not use media blends to a large extent in their interaction with students. The study indicated that some cognitive processes need to be exercised on the part of the facilitators when online learning is offered. It is concluded that during the curriculum planning phase, lecturers should decide on methods and media to arouse the students' attention during online courses. This also implies a more reasonable lecturer­ student ratio because large numbers of students per lecturer is not feasible in online learning. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

Facilitation of learning through the use of tutors is a worldwide approach that is supported by most Open and Distance Learning institutions. This approach was expanded by integrating face-to-face mode of delivery and online delivery with the purpose of increasing access and participation of students at Unisa. However, the practicality of this integration cannot be overlooked and this reality led to this study. Given the background, this dissertation presents a study on tutors’ perceptions of effective facilitation through the use of an integrated tutor model (ITM) in an Open Distance Learning (ODL) environment. This study sought to explore the views of Unisa tutors focusing on the success factors, challenges and the impact this model has on tutors’ behaviour in terms of tutorial delivery in the implementation of the integrated tutor model in tutorial classes. This was done with an aim of expanding access and participation. A qualitative research method was conducted with Unisa Gauteng Region tutors. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews. The findings of the study showed that the level of academic staff involvement in the tutorial program is very low and there was no involvement at all in other colleges. The training and development provided to ODL tutors is highly appreciated by tutors, however, it needs to be intensified to yield the desired outcomes. Findings further revealed that the institution needs to attend to the provision of access to students. Based on these findings, recommendations were made that academic staff members need to increase their level of involvement in the tutorial program in order to support tutors who provide support to students. Practical training of tutors on the use of technology is necessary and the institution must increase access to computers and the internet for students. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Open and Distance Learning)

Delivering education through open and distance learning (ODL) mode imposes upon ODL institutions a responsibility to provide support services deemed adequate to address students’ expectations and learning needs. Student support services are a vital part of academic success in distance learning environments because of the nature of distance education. Therefore, it is critical to provide student support services whose quality levels are acceptable to those who use them. Quality and its measurements are a contentious issue in higher education and distance education. Efforts to help service quality researchers in distance education understand service quality and its evaluation have come from marketing researchers. Among different approaches of service quality assessment is the SERVQUAL model. This study explored and examined the quality of students’ support services in distance learning environments from students’ perspective, using a modified SERVQUAL model. The objectives of the study were to examine students’ expectations and perceptions of the quality of support services; analyse the gaps between expectations and perceptions; develop and validate a service quality model and a scale to evaluate the quality of distance education students’ support services. A sequential mixed methods design was used to collect and analyse the data. Data were collected in two phases. The first phase involved collecting data qualitatively. The qualitative data were used to develop a context specific service quality model and a scale. The model and the scale were validated in the second (quantitative) phase of the study. The results of the study showed that the students’ expectations exceeded the perceived performance levels of the student support services. The largest gaps related to feedback, study material delivery and spaces for quiet learning. The study also found that distance education student support services can be measured by four service quality dimensions, namely: tangibles, reliability, delivery and assurance. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

Following the postmodern discourses of spatial conceptualisation, this study examined the manner in which space in an Open Distance Learning (ODL) University enables or constrains academics’ work as they go about the process of constructing their academic identities. Focusing on academics’ engagement in one college of the University, the study was premised on the assumption that, in the current higher education (HE) dispensation, academic identity construction presumes and demands the existence of supportive space for academics to effect the academic practices. Lefebvre’s (1991) social production of space and Soja’s (1996) Thirdspace were used as lenses to examine the multiple dimensions of space in relation to spatial practices in the College, the spatial policies and the experiences of academics as the users of the Institutional space. Qualitative ethnographic research methods that were used to collect data included a review of the Institutional policies, intranet posts and emails; the observation and photographing of academics’ offices and administrative office space; observation of departmental meeting proceedings and the conducting of semi-structured interviews with academics of different academic ranks. Findings suggested that although some forms of space are supportive of spatial practices that contribute to academic identity construction, the imagined space of the ODL Institution can be unfairly inclusive and inconsiderate of academics’ unique spatial needs. Such inclusivity of space seemed to be inconsistent with the appropriate ODL space as imagined by some participants where academics may work comfortably and with limited restrictions. The study concluded by making recommendations on how the Institution and the academics may manage space for optimal academic identity construction in the College. / Educational Foundations / D. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)