Towards the development and enhancement of Open and Distance Learning policies in Africa: A step by step guide to the game
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/jodl.2295Keywords:
Epistemological Access, Transactional Distance, Curriculum Justice; Distance Education, AndragogyAbstract
Purpose: This study sought to explain and understand possible steps for developing and enhancing open and distance learning (ODL) policies in Malawi.
Methodology: It thus deployed descriptive and interpretive phenomenological research as advanced by Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger to deeply understand policies, practices and perceptions within higher education institutions (HEIs) in Malawi. It was assumed that human experiences can best be understood through ones immersion into documents, conversations and lived-experiences of the research subjects. Accordingly, we used document analyses, observations and systematic conversations followed by practical activities to enhance the available draft-ODL policies at the selected HEIs.
Findings: The study established that many academics had inadequate knowledge on policy formulation using paradigmatic and marginalized philosophical theories. It was also established when policy-makers combine different theories to inform their policies, they gain more advantages than they would have otherwise done. Since education is usually confronted by complex issues, such theoretical amalgamation has paid dividends. While this study inherently took an eccentric approach to research by reconciling Husserl and Heidegger’s contradictions, it also infused some elements of empiricism and conceptual ideals ushering in a mixed methodology that culminated into a transformative paradigm.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Since research is about discovering new knowledge, this study garnered its uniqueness and credibility through such methodical surprises; the approaches that transcended mere theoretical analyses to yielding a tangible ODL policy product. We acknowledge our methodological limitations although such limitations cannot lender our findings invalid. We therefore recommend researchers to try this approach, and share with us their findings.
Downloads
References
Al-Shekh Hassan, M.J. (2023). The use of Husserl's phenomenology in nursing research: A discussion paper. Adv Nursing. 79(8), pp. 3160-3169. doi: 10.1111/jan.15564. Epub 2023 Jan 31.PMID: 36718849
Anderson, T., and Dron, J. (2011). Three generations of distance education pedagogy. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 12(3), 80–97. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v12i3.890.
Biesta, G. (2015). What is Education for? On good education, teacher judgement and educational professionalism. European Journal of Education, 50(1), pp. 75-87.
Biesta, G. (2020). Risking ourselves in education: Qualification, socialization, and subjectification revisited. Educational Theory, 70(1), 89-104. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.12411.
Bowles, S. and Gintis, H. (2003). Schooling in Capitalist America Twenty-Five Years Later. Sociological Forum. Vol. 18, pp. 343–348. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024052016064
Bowles, S. and Gintis, H. (1976). Schooling in capitalist America: Educational reforms and contradictions of economic life. New York, NY Basic Books.
Chibambo, M. and Divala, J.J. (2019). The flip side of open and distance learning: the case of Mzuzu University in Malawi. A collection of peer reviewed papers for the 63rd International Conference organised by the Council on Education for Teaching (ICET); held at the University of Johannesburg - South Africa. 8-11 July 2019.
Chibambo, M.I. (2023). Epistemological access and injustices in higher education: the case of ODL in Malawi. Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Thesis in Philosophy of Education; Faculty of Education, Department of Education and Curriculum Studies, University of Johannesburg 11/2022 Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/10210/503467. Accessed from https://ujcontent.uj.ac.za/esploro/outputs/doctoral/Epistemological-access-and-injustices-in-higher/9924608507691.
Chibambo, M.I., and Divala, J.J. (2020). Problematizing the question of quality: Malawi’s ODL context and implications on the education sector. In Amutabi, M.N. (Ed.). Strategic governance and sustainable development in Africa. Nairobi: Centre for Democracy, Research and Development (CEDRED): Chapter 11), 173–188. ISBN: 978-9966-116-64-2Ndeto.
Chibambo, M.I., and Divala, J.J. (2022). Problematizing the fourth industrial revolution in education: the case of Malawi and South Africa online initiatives. In Amutabi, M.N. (Ed.). Integrated development in Africa. Centre for Democracy, Research and Development (CEDRED), Nairobi, Kenya. ISBN: 978-9966-166-49-9: Chap: 12, pp. 177–191.
Chirwa, G. and Naiodoo, D. (2014). An Exploration of Pedagogic Practices of Expressive Arts Teachers in Malawi Primary Schools. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences 5(16).
Chizengo, T.A. (2023). Director of ODeL Quarterly Report for October, 2023 (unpublished). Blantyre, MUBAS.
Cross, M., Mungadi, R. and Rouhani, S. (2002). From Policy to Practice: Curriculum Reform in South African Education. Comparative Education, 38, 171-187.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03050060220140566.
Cuban, L. (2019). Schools as factories: metaphors that stick: on school reforms and classroom Practices. Access on 20 September from. https://larrycuban.wordpress.com/2014/05/08/schools-as-factories-metaphors-that-stick/.
Diehl, W.C. and Cano, L. (2019). Chapter twof of Charles A.Wedmeyer and the first theorist. In Moore, G.M and Diehl, W.C. (Eds.). Handbook of Distance Education, Routledge. DOI:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n16p261
Driver, J. (2014).The History of Utilitarianism. In Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Accessed on 12 September 2023 from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/
du- Plooy, L. and Zilindile, M. (2014). Problematizing the concept of epistemological access with regard to foundation phase education towards quality schooling. South African Journal of Child-hood Education, 4(1), pp. 187-201.
Fantastic Five. (2020). Distance Education Theories. https://detheories.wordpress.com/2020/10/27/independence-and-autonomy/
Freire, P. (2005). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Continuum.
Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T. and Archer, W. (2000). Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based Environment: Computer Conferencing in Higher Education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2, 87-105.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1096-7516 (00)00016-6.
Hoadley, U. (2017). Pedagogy in Poverty: Lessons from Twenty Years of Curriculum Reforms in South Africa. London: Routledge.
Hoadley, U. and Jansen, J. (2009). Curriculum: Organizing knowledge for the classroom, (2nd Ed). Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
Holmberg, B. (1995). Theory and practice of distance education. New York, Routledge.
Holmberg, B. (2005). The Evolution, Principles and Practices of Distance Education. Open Learning, Vol. 21, pp. 273-277. Accessed on 12 August 2023 from https://www.scirp.org/(S (351jmbntvnsjt1aadkposzje))/reference/referencespapers.aspx?referenceid =1284220.
Isaacs, S. and Mohee, R. (2020). Baseline Situational Analysis on Open Distance Learning (ODL) in Southern African Development Community (SADC) Member States. UNESCO and SADC, Gaborone. Accessed from https://www.sadc.int/sites/default/files/2022-07/Situational_Analysis_of_ODL_Intricacies_in_SADC_Member_States.pdf.
Isaacs S. (2015). Open School Providers in Malawi and Mozambique. A Baseline Study for the Innovative Open Schooling Initiative. Vancouver, Commonwealth of Learning.
Jansen, D. J. 1998). Curriculum Reform in South Africa: A Critical Analysis of Outcomes-Based Education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 28, 321-331.
Keegan, D. (1994). Otto Peters on Distance Education: The Industrialization of Teaching and Learning. London, Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203350249.
Keegan, D. (1996). Foundations of Distance Education. London: Routledge.
Makoe, M. (2018). Avoiding to fit a square peg into a round hole: A policy framework for operationalizing ODL in dual-mode universities. Distance Education, 39(2), 159– 175.
Makoe, M. and Gatsha, G. (2020). Policy Brief SADC-ODeL Response to Covid-19 for the Distance Education Association of Southern Africa (DEASA) and Commonwealth of Learning (COL). Gaborone, SADC.
Matua, G.A. Van Der Wal, D.M. (2015). Differentiating between descriptive and interpretive phenomenological research approaches. DOI: 10.7748/nr.22.6.22.e1344
Matiki, D. R. S., Chibambo, M. I., & Divala, J. J. (2023). A comparison of teacher’s involvement in curriculum development in developing and developed countries: a case study of Namibia. Frontiers in Education, 8, Article 1243573. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1243573
Miyazoe, T. and Anderson, T. (2010). The Interaction Equivalence Theory. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 9(2), pp. 94-104.
Moore, M. (1989). The types of interaction. American Journal of Distance Education, 3(2), pp. 1-7, Doi: 10.1080/08923648909526659.
Moore, M. (2019). The Transactional Distance Theory. In Moore, M. and Diehl, W. (Eds.). A handbook of Distance Education, Routledge.
Morrow, W. (2009). Bounds of democracy: Epistemological access to higher education. Pretoria, HSRC Press: Pretoria.
Mutua, G.A. (2015). Choosing phenomenology as a guiding philosophy for nursing research. Nurse Res. 22(4), pp. 30-4. doi: 10.7748/nr.22.4.30.e1325.PMID: 25783150 Review.
Mzuzu University. (2022). Mzuni ODeL Draft Policy. Luwinga, Mzuni Press.
Nussbaum, N. (2010). Capabilities Approach: Perils and Promises. Journal of the Indian Law Institute, 52(2), pp. 230-266
Ngobeni, N.R., Chibambo, M.I., and Divala, J.J. (2023). Curriculum transformations in South Africa: some discomforting truths on interminable poverty and inequalities in schools and society. Frontiers in Education. 8:1132167. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2023.1132167.
Peters, O. (1988). Distance teaching and industrial production: A comparative interpretation in outline. In D. Sewart; D. Keegan, & B. Holmberg (Eds.). Distance Education: International perspectives, New York: Routledge: 95- 113.
Peters, O. (1998). Learning and teaching in distance education: analyses and interpretations from an international perspective. London: Kogan Page.
Peters, O. (2002). Distance education in transition. Oldenburg: BIS, Bibliotheks- und Information system der Universität Oldenburg.
Perraton, H. (2002). Open and Distance Learning in the Developing World, London: Routledge.
Rawls, J. (1985). Justice as Fairness: Political not Metaphysical. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 14(3).
SADC and UNESCO ROSA Joint Project. (2020). Baseline Situational Analysis on Open Distance Learning in Southern African Development Community (SADC) Member States. SADC. Gaborone.
SADC. (2022). Regional Open and Distance Learning Strategic Plan 2022-2030. Gaborone, SADC. Accessed on 10 October 2023 from https://www.sadc.int/sites/default/files/2022-07/Regional_ODL_Strategic_Plan_2022_2030.pdf.
Schneider, J. (2019, January 28). Betsy DeVos is fabricating history to sell a bad education policy. The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved on 23 September 2023 from https://newrepublic.com/article/152979/betsy-devos-fabricating-history-sell-bad-education-policy.
Schwab, K. (2020). The Fourth Industrial Revolution. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/about/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-by-klaus-schwab/
Sehlako, N., Chibambo, M. I., & Divala, J. J. (2023). The Fourth Industrial Revolution in South Africa’s basic education: a search for cogent curriculum justice. Frontiers in Education, 8, Article 1209511. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1209511
Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. New York Oxford.
Simpson, O. (2015). My car is my bond. News Letter of the Commonwealth of Learning Educational Media Centre for Asia. Commonwealth of Learning, Vancouver, 1(2):1-5.
Strauss, V. (2015, October 10). American schools are modelled after factories and treat students like widgets. Right or Wrong? Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
Tardi, C. (2021). What is utilitarianism? The Investopedia. Retrieved October 14, 2023, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/utilitarianism.asp.
Tuohy D., Cooney, A., Dowling, M., Murphy, K. and Smith, J. (2013). An overview of interpretive phenomenology as a research methodology. Nurse Research. 20(6):17-20. doi: 10.7748/nr2013.07.20.6.17.e315.PMID: 23909107 Review.
UNESCO (2000). World education report: The right to education; towards education for all throughout life. Accessed on 29 September 2023 from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000119720.
Vurayi, S. (2021). The covid-19 pandemic, online learning, and the ubiquity of pedagogic and assessment dysphoria in higher education in Zimbabwe. African perspectives of research in Teaching & Learning, (APORTAL). South Africa, Limpopo Province.
Vurayi, S. (2022). COVID-19 pandemic and the narrative of the digital divide gap in universities in sub-Saharan Africa. African Identity. Taylor and Francis. Doi: 10.1080/14725843.2022.212239
Ward, C. (2020). Theories of justice underpinning equity in education for refugee and asylum-seeking youth in the US: Considering Rawls, Sandel and Sen’s Approaches. Ethics and Education, pp. 315-335.
Zozie, P. (2020). Integrating e-learning technologies into conventional teaching and learning in education institutions with scarce resources: a case study of Mzuzu University. PhD thesis. University of Glasgow. Available at: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/81397/7/2020ZoziePhD.pdf (Accessed May 20, 2023).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Mackenzie Ishmael Chibambo (PhD), Joseph Jinja Divala (Prof),
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
