The Effectiveness of Learner Support Services in Blended Learning and Its Influence on Quality of Education in Kenya’s Public Universities

Abstract

Developed economies have considered increased investments in education as one of the key drivers of improving their productivity. The shift in the global world towards digitization of all sectors has not left education sector behind. The change of pedagogy in education instruction and assessment by using Information Communication Technology (ICT) means is the main paradigm shift in education globally in the last decade. Blended learning is the fusion of online instruction or assessment into the traditional lecture. The quality of education is assessed by the use of indicators that are preset at the input, process or output levels. Research has shown that if the indicators at the input and the process levels are achieved, then the output will be of good quality by implication. The emergence of Covid 19 made the use of blended learning in delivering education content be accelerated. The universities in different parts of the world, Kenya included were not ready for this new shift of pedagogy. Kenya’s development blue print – the Kenya Vision 2030, proposes blended learning as one of the development agenda to be achieved by the year 2030. The Commission for University Education (CUE), Kenya as a body mandated in ensuring that education offered in the universities is of good quality came up with the universities standards and regulation 2014 where Schedule IV deals with Open Distant and e-Learning (ODeL). This schedule highlights the main indicators to be assessed for quality education offered in blended learning. The study therefore aimed at assessing the effectiveness of learner support given to students in Kenyan public universities when adopting blended learning. To check on the learner support offered by Kenyan public universities when offering education in blended learning, the study focused on looking at the training of students on how to use the Learning Management System (LMS), whether the students have a training in computer course, whether the universities offer internet bundles while on-campus or off-campus and the level of engagement with the lecturers and course content on the LMS. The study used descriptive cross-sectional survey research design and was guided by Human Capital Theory under theoretical framework. The target population was Kenya’s public universities students, lecturers or directors of digital schools. The study adopted a cluster and stratified sampling technique to get the responses from students and lecturers and purposive sampling for directors of digital schools. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used as research instruments. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 25 and output presented in frequency tables, percentages, bar graphs and pie charts. Data was collected in 29 Kenyan public universities where 384 students across all the years and course programmes and 354 lecturers participated. The study found that students were trained on the use of LMS either through webinars or by self-directed modules. Majority of the students had done basic computer course before joining university while others did the course after joining the university.  The study also found that Kenyan public universities did not give internet bundles to students while on campus or off campus and the level of interactivity in the LMS was considered low. The study concluded that learner support services were not well implemented and recommended a policy change. The study also recommended that the universities need to undertake a basic computer course before online teaching is started in first year of student admission in the universities. The universities also need to adjust their budgetary allocation to offer internet bundles to students while on campus to be used in areas where Wi-Fi is absent and while off campus in hostels or their homes.

Keywords: Quality, Leaner support, e-gadgets, Blended learning

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-33-11

Publication date: November 30^th 2023