Challenges Experienced by Lecturers in Supporting Students at an Open Distance E-Learning Institution

Institutions of higher education in South Africa have seen a shift in the student demographic of student population, and from contact teaching approaches to distance and online approaches to instruction. This has posed challenges as students find themselves without adequate support in online environments to successfully fulfil their studies. There are few studies that focus on the challenges lecturers experience in an open distance e-learning (ODeL) setting. This paper seeks to narrow that gap by exploring the challenges experienced by lecturers in an ODeL institution, which offers massified higher education for part-time students. The study is aimed to determine and explain how lecturers could use their concerted skills to benefit students. The research is embedded in Moore's transactional distance theory and adopted Vygotsky's social constructivist approach. In terms of methodology, a qualitative research approach with a phenomenological design was used. Data were collected through open-ended semi-structured interviews from participants of the College of Education (CEDU) at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Transcription and thematical analyses of data were completed to identify themes. Findings from the study revealed that lecturers in CEDU were not inducted on their core functions hence the shortcomings in delivery of student support services. The study recommends that further research be conducted on how to support and empower lecturers within CEDU to give students leading-edge support. [For the complete Volume 19 proceedings, see ED613922.]