Factors that drive student achievement in a school-level distance education ecosystem

Abstract

Distance education service providers, parents, and tutors need to know exactly what drives learners to achieve in a distance education ecosystem so that they can create the correct enabling environment for the learners. The aims of this research were to understand what a learning ecosystem is in the context of distance education, to determine the factors that drive student achievement in a school-level distance education ecosystem, and to gain a deeper understanding of these factors. Furthermore, this research aimed to discover which of the identified factors has a greater influence on achievement when combined with another factor. This would enable service providers, parents, and tutors to create a distance education ecosystem that ensures achievement. A qualitative, exploratory research methodology was followed to gain new insights into the different factors that drive achievement in this unexplored area of study. Twenty semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with six tutors, six parents, and eight learners engaged in a distance education programme. The interviews were each analysed using thematic content analysis which took approximately 2.5 hours per interview. The concepts of learning ecosystem and student achievement were defined in the context of distance education to gain an understanding of the participantsÕ perceptions of these concepts. To guide stakeholders when setting up or reviewing a distance education ecosystem that ensures achievement, a framework was developed to assist stakeholders in understanding the factors that drive student achievement. The four themes that emerged and were presented in the framework are: Environment and support, Learner input, Resources and content, and Practice, assessment, and feedback. This framework is important for service providers, parents, and tutors in that they will be better informed to support a distance education student to achieve well academically.