Learner Support: a South African programme perspective

Learner support is an integral part of course design and needs to feature prominently from the earliest stages of planning and budgeting. This is the unequivocal finding of SAIDE’s soon-to-be-released study: Learner support: a South African programme perspective. The study was conceptualized by Terry-Ann Selikow (currently studying in Canada) in response to various policy documents advocating the need for more, and better, learner support in South African education programmes. In this article, Tony Mays discusses the main findings of the study.

Aim of study

The aim of the study was to encourage good learner support practices by:

• Highlighting models of learner support that illuminate good practice;
• Identifying lessons of experience based on the research findings; and
• Stimulating debate between SAIDE and other organizations about learner support.

Methodology

Terry-Ann Selikow, Rabia Dawjee, Ephraim Siluma, and Chika Sehoole used a fourth-generation style of evaluation. In this process, a triangulation of qualitative data gathering techniques was used, which involved:

• Interviews with both learners and staff;
• Observation of contact sessions;
• Review of examination results; and
• Use of available documentation.

Case studies were compiled through ongoing consultation between researchers and stakeholders. This consultation culminated in a workshop at SAIDE’s offices on January 25th, 2000, at which participants were given an opportunity to finalize their case studies. They could also debate them, as well as adding and reformulating recommendations for good practice that emanated from the study.

The following case studies, from five programmes, form the core of this study.

• ACCESS Distance Learning and Tutorial College’s Early Childhood Development Reception Year Certificate Course (ACCESSDL&TC: ECD), targeted at educators or learners needing pre-primary, reception class, or school readiness qualifications, junior primary educators, and entrepreneurs wanting to establish or run créches and day-care centres.

• UNISA Institute for Adult Basic Education’s Certificate in Adult Basic Education and Training, targeted at ‘anyone who is a trainer or who would like to become a trainer of adults’.

• The University of the Free State Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences’ Bachelor in Management Leadership, targeted at working adults in business and other organizations (including government). These would be adults who do not have prior formal management and leadership training and need to develop leadership skills as they function in a variety of leadership positions.

• The University of Pretoria Faculty of Medicine, Department of Nursing Science’s B. Cur (I et A), targeted at learners who have completed basic initial training, as well as registered nurses with a diploma or degree.

• The University of the Witwatersrand’s Further Diploma in Education, targeted at working senior primary and secondary educators with a three-year diploma who wish to specialize in teaching English.

The research project was motivated by various policy documents that called for improved learner support. Research began with a review of available literature, as a result of which we began with a broad definition of learner support, such as ‘the entire range of methods and strategies employed in the presentation and delivery of courses aimed at assisting and enabling learners to comprehend fully, assimilate and master the skills and knowledge needed to achieve success in their studies’¹ and ‘the attempts made by educational institutions to meet the needs of their students and prospective students’.²

For the purposes of this research, we concentrated on those elements of the system that are responsive to the individual needs of the learner, as opposed to the standard and mass produced elements of the course (irrespective of medium). We therefore studied:

• The interface between the institution and its students’ (Sewart, 1982) as developed for a particular population of learners within a particular context;
  
• Activities and interventions other than those which are mass produced and prepackaged;
  
• Interventions that may take place through a range of activities, using a variety of mediums and a range of support staff at a variety of venues and at varying stages of a learner’s progress;

• Activities aimed at meeting the unique needs of the individual (although this may occur in groups) and which have as their specific goal counteracting disadvantage and ensuring opportunities for success and a quality educational experience.

Unsurprisingly, therefore, we found very few documented definitions and statements about learner support in the programmes involved in the research. Most of what we learned about perceptions of learner support arose from interviews with programme stakeholders (learners and staff).

Our general impression was that learner support is perceived as "part and parcel of the course", rather than a separate range of activities tacked on to a core programme. In this case, learner support, therefore, has to be built into programme planning from the start. This seems to have been the case with all five programmes. It is also clear from the case studies that learner support needs to embrace both academic support and personal support (dealing with challenges relating to personal problems, financial difficulties, etc).

Most learners and programme tutors talk about learner support in terms of the types of activities and interventions offered rather than in terms of an underpinning concept or educational philosophy. Our sense from both tutors and learners is that learner support involves ‘assisting learners to continue with their studies…to obtain the necessary knowledge and skills…[and] being available…in a manner that is required by the learners…not only during classes but whenever there are difficulties’. In short, ‘what you need is guidance that you are on the right track’.

In all five cases, learner support could be broadly linked to our working definition above. In addition, some ‘pre-packaged’ material (including print materials, which was not a focus of this research), was seen to have a support function stakeholders (learners and staff) place a high premium on the need for ‘interaction’. Yet, there is a danger in some cases that ‘interaction’ may be seen simply as meeting in person rather than fostering meaningful two-way dialogue. Form(s) of learner support offered are determined by the programme’s purpose, target audience profile, underpinning educational philosophy, and budgetary constraints.

In drawing out lessons of experience and formulating recommendations, it was first necessary to acknowledge that, because so many variables are involved in the provision of an effective and efficient distance or ‘flexible’ learning programme, inevitably any research undertaken will present only a limited perception of a complex whole. We therefore felt that, whilst it would be difficult to draw out lessons of experience and to make recommendations on practice for each individual case study, a number of interesting and useful lessons of experience did begin to emerge when they were considered together.

Below we provide a summary of the recommendations emerging from the research. Recommendations made in the study were couched as actions that providers ‘should’ or ‘might’ undertake. Readers should remember, however, that the actions referred to are simply that: recommendations. They are not prescriptions, and refer to actions that are indicated as potentially beneficial, emerging from reflection on the lessons of experience in the case studies. Providers are therefore urged simply to consider the relevance of each recommendation for their own particular circumstances and to prioritize action on those that seem both relevant and achievable.

Providers should:

• Formalize the educational philosophy underpinning their programme and how this is expected to impact on learning and teaching practices. Such a document should be used for induction of new learners and staff in order to offer clarity on roles and responsibilities. The document should probably be reviewed annually to ensure that practices remain relevant for the particular context. Formal or informal learning and teaching contracts could support the document.
• See learner support as an integral part of programmes offered, and therefore learner support strategies should feature in all initial planning and budgeting and should be subject to ongoing evaluation.
• Train, support, and monitor staff in their academic tutoring, as well as counselling relating to the programme.
• Supply support staff with contact details of experts able to provide professional counselling to learners on personal matters.

2. Learner support strategies

Providers should:

• Use a range of media in providing support (face-to-face contact, text, audio, video and multimedia), but need to ensure that learners have access to the facilities and skills necessary to make use of any technologies employed.

• Prioritize and implement a variety of learner support strategies to cope with a wide variety of learner needs. The precise combination of strategies needs to take cognisance of the particular target audience and context. It also needs to be reviewed before the start of each programme cycle to ensure the continuing relevance and optimal functioning of the system. Such a process presupposes a well-maintained database and thoroughly researched learner profiles.

• Give thought to providing wider access to the variety of technologies now available, in order to enrich their programme offerings. Although it may not be feasible to provide individual learners with their own PCs, VCRs, and so forth, it may be possible to ensure that these are available in learning centres.

• Consider the relevance to their own circumstances of the following issues, mentioned in learner support literature but not in the case studies: record management; learning and teaching contracts; newspapers (mass media and internal); career guidance; support and provision for disabled learners; support and provision for minority sub-groups; support services linked specifically to helping adult learners who may never have completed a formal programme of learning or who may have been out of a formal learning situation for some time; support for speakers of languages other than that used as the medium of instruction; sensitivity to acknowledging cultural diversity among learners; and organization of social events.

2.1 Face-to-face contact

General

Providers should:

• Allow for contact session times and venues to be negotiated between tutors and learners, where practical.

• Supply tutors with training, guidelines, and support for contact sessions that promote the underpinning educational philosophy of the institution, while allowing some leeway for adapting to any different needs identified in consultation with learners.

• Seek to increase access to well-equipped decentralized study centres, ideally through partnerships for establishment and sharing of facilities.

• Support tutors in adopting a more proactive strategy at key stages of a programme, even in an adult-oriented context.

Family support

Providers should:

• Be aware of the importance of families supporting adult learners, and should consider creating an enabling environment in which the demands of both studying and working can be communicated to families. This could perhaps be achieved through letters, newspapers, and open days, as well as actions suggested by learners themselves.

Peer groups

Providers should:

• Provide support on how to set up and sustain groups, manage group dynamics, and overcome logistical problems that arise outside of contact sessions, if they seek to promote formal peer group interaction. In addition, providers need to provide clarity on the outcomes and purposes of group interaction and the implications for assessment practices.

Previous learners

Providers should:

• Consider involving previous or more advanced learners in support roles, but will need to ensure that they have appropriate communication skills in addition to content knowledge. Providers will also need to consider what incentives they can offer (for example, course credits).

2.2 Use of new technologies to offer individualized support³

General recommendations

Providers should:

• Ensure that sound educational principles form the foundation of decisions about what technologies to use and how.

• Test the viability of using the particular technology (or technologies) for the intended educational purposes by exploring its potential in a chosen area with the best available educators, before committing to the technology.

• Be wary of sales talk in considering use of new technologies.

• Avoid getting locked into contractual arrangements that force commitment to a particular technological solution for an extended period.

• Ensure that technology choice does not lead to imbalances in fixed and variable costs.

• Ensure that technological re-sources are affordable, cost-effective, and accessible, and that suitable alternatives are offered for learners who do not have access.

• Ensure that sufficient time is budgeted for planning, designing, and developing an effective educational programme.

• Explore technologies that complement face-to-face contact rather than replacing it.

• Explore use of new technologies in promoting group-oriented learning.

• Provide support and training in use of new technologies for support staff, educators, and learners.

Counselling and orientation into a programme

Providers should:

• Take into account when support might be required (including before, during, and after a programme) when they plan.

• Consider how new technologies can be used to recruit and inform potential learners.

• Plan for orientation into the programme and the forms of learner support available early in the programme, perhaps mediated other than by print.

Group tutorials and peer group interaction

Providers should:

• Consider use of interactive audio and video technology to promote dialogue between learners and educators and learners and other learners.

Individualized consultation

As a complement to direct face-to-face interaction, the following technologies can be used to provide individualized support:

E-mail

Providers should:

• Consider establishing e-mail links between their various centres and increasingly offering access, training, and encouragement to learners to make use of these facilities as an additional means of communication to more traditional forms.

Facsimile

Providers should:

• Equip study centres with facsimile facilities, and learners should be taught how to use faxes to formulate focused questions about their studies.

Printed letters

Providers should:

• Make provision for training and budgeting for exchange of individualized learner support letters.

Radio

Providers should:

• Consider making greater use of radio as a support mechanism, perhaps using a phone-in talk-show format.

Tapes: audio and video

Providers should:

• Consider making greater use of audio and videocassettes to provide support, but need to consider how these technologies can be used to promote more individualized feedback and dialogue.

Televised interactive broadcasts

Providers should:

• Recognize that using technologies to support learners requires competent and professional technical support. It also needs ongoing training and monitoring of presenters to improve presentation skills, video back up, and a conscious effort to promote more interactive practices, as well as opportunities for personal contact to complement the technological support.

• Recognize that televised broadcasts could usefully be supported by additional information technology that allows for real-time interaction, as happens in a normal contact classroom setting.

• Recognize that, because technology changes so rapidly, programme planners should explore the possibilities of using existing facilities before creating new ones.

Telephones

Providers should:

• Note that learner support using telephones could be enhanced by greater proactivity on the part of tutors, teleconferencing, and provision of voicemail and toll free numbers.

• Make provision for training telephone users.

Website

Providers should:

• Consider using a web site for those who have Internet access; introducing appropriate support technology at study centres for those who do not yet have access, and building provision of appropriate technologies and training into course fees for certain programmes.

2.3 Feedback on assignments

Providers should:

• Supply tutors with guidelines on the use of assignment feedback as a teaching tool. Quality of feedback – as well as turnaround times – should be carefully monitored.

• Promote transparency and room for interaction in promoting clarity on the purpose and requirements of assignments, as well as on the marking process, assessment criteria, and mediation of feedback.

• Consider providing for extraordinary tests and assignments and alternative assessment procedures, where learners have a valid reason for failing to meet a deadline.

• Encourage a formative approach to assessment and consider adopting a model of optional and compulsory assignments or a model of feedback, interaction, and resubmission.

• Consider assignments and feedback that are not paper-based, such as formative online assignments and feedback as part of total feedback, where it is feasible.

3.3 Other forms of support

Financial support

Providers should:

• Attend to the need to provide financial support, perhaps in the form of advice, loans, or arranging sponsorships.

Practical experience

Providers should:

• Make provision for practical work and workplace observations, where possible.

• Provide service guidelines to other providers to whom they may subcontract support functions.

• Arrange for workplace performance to be observed by programme tutors, where possible. Alternatively, other innovative forms of workplace support should be considered, including ment-oring, micro-teaching, practically based assignments, and portfolios of practical work.

• Design programmes that promote reflection on the learning experiences of all participants.

Study centres

Providers should:

• Ensure that learners have access to well-equipped study centres at all times.

• Seek innovative ways to – and form collaborative partnerships to – take learner support to learners rather than requiring learners to come to them.

Study skills

Providers should:

• Include a formal study skills course and/or provide an experienced study-skills tutor in their programme design.

Technology training

Providers should:

• Consider building into their programmes expectations of the use of, as well as opportunities and training for the use of, appropriate technologies.

Workplace support

Providers should:

• Target employers in programme promotion, involve employers in curriculum design, and include them as partners in the learning cycle.

• Challenge employers to create an environment for learners that makes the workplace an extended learning environment.

3. Support staff

Providers should:

• Use regional coordinators to provide ongoing staff development, support, and monitoring, where large numbers of learners are spread over decentralized learning centres.

4. Quality assurance and monitoring

Providers should:

• Assign a formal quality assurance responsibility to each programme tutor.

• Plan for opportunities to capture feedback from learners and tutors on quality of materials, contact sessions, and other forms of support, and budget provision to respond to feedback by making necessary improvements.

• Appoint an operations manager for programmes comprised of multiple courses and presenters to ensure continuity.

• Consider sharing professional support staff (for example, a psychologist) between programmes and institutions.

• Take careful account of logistical and financial implications with a view to ensuring the programme’s sustainability, in their attempts to take learning to the learners.

• Implement a formal quality assurance mechanism, which should be backed up by a sufficiently responsive database.

• Consider appointing an overall coordinator for learner support services, to ensure that various strategies are mutually reinforcing in contributing to the achievement of programme goals.

5. Costing

Providers should:

• Budget for learner support from the beginning of programme design.

• Establish mechanisms to monitor the cost and effectiveness of learner support interventions.

• Seek cost savings through partnerships, collaborations, external funding, streamlining, and other activities, rather than cutting back on learner support.

Notes

1. UNISA (1997/8) Draft report on Integrated Learner Support.
2. Northcott (1986:6) cited in King 1983.
3. This set of recommendations is based on those made in the Technology-Enhanced Learning Initiative (TELI) report, which was used in the case studies as a basis for exploring use of new technologies.