Postgraduate Students’ Experiences of Distance Learning

It used an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach and data were collected by online questionnaire in the quantitative phase and by interview in the qualitative phase; 115 students took part in the quantitative phase and nine in the qualitative phase. Analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS and content analysis. The results indicate that perceived enjoyment and usefulness were found to have positive and statistically significant correlations with students’ perception and use of distance learning.

Furthermore, perceived usefulness and enjoyment were the only two variables that uniquely contributed to the prediction of intention to use distance learning. The aspects of distance learning that students found most beneficial in the qualitative phase, included people engagement with both students and academics, interactive engaging content and plenty of practice backed up by timely quality feedback. These aspects could also be mapped to enjoyment and usefulness.

The findings from this study have the potential to aid future course design and delivery, enrich the student experience and enable them to effectively participate in their online courses while removing barriers to its success.