Abstract:
Effective student support is key in stemming the dropout in distance education. This article reports on the student
support provision in a hybrid teacher education programme. Altogether 160 participants were purposively
selected; 126 completed a survey, 33 (30 students and 3 administrative staff) took part in six focus group
discussions; and one instructional designer took part in a one-on-one interview. Tait’s framework on student
support guided the study. The data analysis involved descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The findings
revealed that, although the institution is striving to support its students, areas that need attention include call
centre services, tutor support services, tutor-student communication, and funding. Recommendations include
the need for providers to pay particular attention to students’ whole experience to ensure effective student
support. Further research is needed regarding the contextualisation of each aspect of Tait’s framework; the
author suggests some guidelines to guide this process.
