Work in Progress

Dr. Lee GrahamJune 29, 2016Canadian International Education Conference, Toronto, ON

This presentation is available for download athttp://www.slideshare.net/drlee66/

EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION FOR RETENTION OF STUDENTS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

The ProblemInitiatives to increase educational access for citizens of African countries remain high priority within the world community. Even though access for African students has increased in recent years, this improvement sees only 5% of the Sub-Saharan African population enrolled in tertiary education.[2]This project will explore literature and government reports related to the specific attrition issues of students in Sub-Saharan Africa and will further seek to identify specific academic instructional interventions that may be effective for these students. Through systematic review of the literature, and identification of recurring themes, researchers will create a model of common obstacles to persistence in academic programmes, and potential interventions faculty may enact to remediate these obstacles.

Acknowledgements• Sub-Saharan Africa is made up of many countries. While we can’t draw generalities from one to another, there are trends in the literature that exist – and this is the information I am seeking. • I am not going to examine race, socioeconomic status nor gender inequalities. These are important topics in and of themselves. I am going to focus on learner characteristics in the style of a needs assessment. • The purpose of this study is to make recommendations for improvement of programs serving high numbers of Sub-Saharan African students, and particularly In-Service Teachers seeking initial credentials through a Master’s Program.

Systematic Review of the Literature: Search engine: Google Scholar linked to Egan Library (University of Alaska Southeast)

Resources: Peer-reviewed journals, government, consortium and university reports, and peer reviewed conference proceedings

Search terms: retention students Sub-Saharan Africa higher educationrural Africa tertiary education open enrollment university Sub-Saharan Africaprimary learning styles Sub-Saharan Africa tertiarySub-Saharan Africa University challengeslearning styles African Students onlineInfrastructure tertiary education Africa

Full Disclosure: In some cases, followed links for “similar articles” and “cited by” to more deeply delve into the concepts represented by the most relevant results

31 Relevant Results

Themes

ThemesAccess• General

Infrastructure• University

Infrastructure

Schooling• Reading Scores• Language Barriers• The “Wicked

Problem”

Teacher Quality• Teacher Shortage• Outcomes

Accountability

The Experience of Distance Learning• Instructional

Materials/Methods• Expectations for

InteractionLearning Styles• Low engagement in

Constructivist methodologies

• Learning Centers on “Teacher Talk”

AccessGeneral Infrastructure What does this mean?The infrastructure of SubSaharan Africa is underdeveloped. This leads to frequent power outages or no access to electricity which are frequently cited as an access problem. [1, 3, 15, 16, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31]

Disparities exist between connection in urban areas and rural areas. While urban areas may have fiberoptic and more affordable internet, this has not been extended to rural areas. [1, 26, 30]

Students who are participating in online learning from rural African locations will have frequent and sometimes extended power outages. These students may not have internet at home and may not have easy access to computers.

What can we do? We can set flexible due dates for assignments. An ideal due date could span three to four days to ensure that students have ample opportunity to ask questions and complete assignments in view of the unique challenge that a loss of power presents. Synchronous activities could happen over extended periods of time in order to allow students opportunity to log in and participate.

AccessUniversity Infrastructure What does this mean?Many universities lack infrastructure. The lack of availability of computers for faculty and for students and the internet speeds that are available are obstacles for both students and faculty. [2, 24, 25, 27, 30]

Many universities serve students through regional centers. These regional centers lack support, internet connectivity and computers for students or faculty/tutors. Library services are limited particularly where online services are concerned. [24, 27, 29]

Generally, students who enroll in an online program even after successful engagement in University will not have a developed set of ICT skills to draw upon as they engage in online learning. Students may not even have seen technology being used in the way that they are being required to use it.

What can we do? We can provide students with direct instructions for accessing text based resources to walk them through common tasks for the online platform and frequently encountered problems. We can create opportunities for students to interact with others who entered the program with similar skills and discuss their process for managing their studies.

Schooling• Language Barriers • What does this mean?Most SubSaharan Africans speak at least two languages and sometimes more. The language spoken at home may be English; however, it most likely is not. By some accounts over 3000 languages are spoken in Africa, and 500 are spoken in Nigeria alone. It is very likely that English is the second or third language of a student. [19, 20, 21]

Students may have attended school and learned through English; however their teachers may have engaged in code switching to enable learning of the content. [20]

These students may not be independently proficient in reading.

What can we do? We can provide support documents in the classroom with visuals when possible. We can scaffold the learners whenever possible with context cues and multiple written presentations of concepts. We can also design group activities to support reading comprehension and check for accuracy of understanding.

SchoolingThe “Wicked Problem” What does it mean?More money is being spent on schooling, to attempt to enhance education for all; however this is not producing the desired results, and most students are still leaving their schooling underprepared. [5, 6, 7, 8]• Students who are behind in 3rd

year seem to stay behind and do not catch up. They become a silent casualty.

• Students start school at R (reception year) and school goes to grade 12. Discernable drop-off occurs during grades 6-7. Many students do not attend beyond year 9. [6, 7, 9, 10, 12]

Our students from Africa may be less academically prepared than we expect they will be. Students who are highly motivated and wish to further their education can do so when given the opportunity – but they will need appropriate supports.

What can we do? We can prepare to build supports intentionally specifically for African students. We can expect to support their writing as a rule, and we can choose readings that emphasize content and concepts in a straightforward manner.

Teacher QualityTeacher Shortages What does it mean?In high need areas (most of rural Sub Saharan Africa) teachers may be hired after completion of secondary school or primary school. These teachers may be placed with no training in conditions of student:teacher ratio of 113:1. Sometimes these teachers are provided training via distance (Tanzania) sometimes they are not (Malawi). [23, 13]

For Master of Education programs with open admissions this means we could have students entering the program who have completed only a primary education formally, yet they are inservice teachers.

What can we do? Design intentional resources into course and student support structures. One focus could be placed on a reading level appropriate to this group with many visual cues where announcements, instructions, help documents and course requirements are concerned. A mentor structure could built where in more senior students and teachers from similar areas mentor each other which would provide these students with much needed support.

Distance LearningThe Experience What does it mean?Distance Learning has been in existence in Sub Saharan Africa at least since 1970 and possibly before. Distance Learning consists most frequently of paper based materials. These materials may be supplemented with meetings at a regional facility with a tutor, interactive radio class meetings, or a trip to the university for in-class meetings. Students resist use of email. Dependence on SMS messaging is high. [15, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29]

Universities in SSA have been engaging in Distance Learning. We can learn from their experiences. [23, 27]

Ongoing review of rural access capabilities is important given the swiftly changing technological landscape. [31]

Our students in SSA believe they know what distance learning is. They have likely participated in it or know someone who has. They will come to our program with a preconception of distance learning as they know it.

What can we do? We can intentionally teach the student the learning model. This could be a lecture based component (for reasons to soon be explained) with a testing requirement. Entrance to first module could be contingent on passing the test with a very high score.

Learning PreferencesCollaborative/Group Activities What does it mean?Students are taught from an early age using “teacher talk”. They expect a clear power distance between themselves and their instructor. [2, 16, 20, 22, 25, 26, 28]

When asked to complete ill defined collaborative activities most simply don’t. Unless a collaborative activity is structured with well defined interaction with the instructor and students, the most frequent behavior is avoidance. Even repeated reminders yield no participation.Problem based learning is seen as complex and time consuming. A “culture of lurking” exists; when the majority of the class lurks, learning does not occur. [16, 20, 22, 28]

Just as our students believe they know what online learning is, they believe they know what teaching and learning is. They have a specific set of expectations which have informed their participation in formal education and which have worked well for them to this point (presumably).

What can we do? We can scaffold new learning experiences with instructor guidance, support materials and clearly defined outcomes. We can ensure that roles are clearly defined within the discussion. We can understand that these students will desire a clear delineation between student and teacher and may not perform well if that doesn’t exist. When an activity will not allow this, we can outline roles and expectations explicitly.

Things are changing quickly (but not quickly enough)

Figure 1. African UnderSea Cables, 2009 - 2012Resource: Oxford Internet Research

http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/projects/?id=59

MODEL• Access to TECHNOLOGY• Well organized, downloadable and printable and easily navigable HELP documents written at an accessible grade

level supported with plentiful visual cues• Downloadable, modestly sized media • Mobile friendly content• Clear and equivalent alternatives for lowest bandwidth students with limited onine time

Access to QUALITY PROGRAM DESIGN• Explicitly outlined instructor and student roles for group discussions/activities• Flexible due dates• Extended synchronous windows for interaction• Explicit instruction in the design of the programme and the student role• Explicit instruction in academic writing and citation processes• Ongoing evaluation and revision to adjust to changing access and conditions

• Access to CONTENT• First language discussion opportunities with colleagues through accessible tools• Comprehension check and affirmation with colleagues and instructor• Multiple paths to content through varied textual materials • Visual cues and graphical representations whenever possible• Multiple media for reinforcement of key concepts• Acknowledgement of the need for creation of scaffolds for learning wherever possible

Feedback?

• Next Steps: • Integrate colleague feedback• Fill gaps• Publish • Research further: Implement recommendations and study

their impact on the learning of students from the African Continent.

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