Assessment of personnel and personnel development programme of distance education institutes in Lagos
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the study
The objective of the study are;
- To ascertain the perception of student on personnel development programme of distance education institutes in Lagos
- To ascertain their programme completion; and perception of employability of their respective distance education programme
- To ascertain the perception of the value of the distance education degree
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Distance Education
The terms “distance education (DE) or distance learning (DL) have been used and applied interchangeably by many different researchers and institutions to a number of programmes, providers, audience and media. Perraton (1988:43) defines distance education ‘as an educational process in which a significant proportion of the teaching is conducted by someone removed in space and/or time from the learner’. Keegan (1996) goes further to identify the key characteristics of distance education. According to him, distance education is a form of education characterised by:
- the quasi-permanent separation of teacher and learner throughout the length of the learning process (this distinguishes it from conventional face-to-face education);
- the influence of an educational organization both in the planning and preparation of learning materials and the provision of student support services (this distinguishes it from private study and teach yourself programmes);
- the use of technical media-print, audio, video or computer – to unite teacher and learner and carry the content of the course;
- the provision of two-way communication so that the student may benefit from or even initiate dialogue (this distinguishes it from other uses of technology in education); and
- the quasi-permanent absence of the learning group throughout the length of the learning process so that people are usually taught as individuals rather than in groups, with the possibility of occasional meetings, either face-to-face or by electronic means, for both didactic and socialization purposes (Keegan, 1996:50). According to Perraton, Ministries of Education have found distance education methods attractive because these methods,
- make it possible to reach students who cannot get to college
- lend themselves to part-time education so that students are not taken out of the work force in order to study and
- appear to allow economies of scale, in part by avoiding the need for new buildings including housing for students (Perraton, 1993:3).
Distance Education or Distance Learning is therefore, a form or mode of educational delivery where the student and the tutor are not in a fixed place regulated by time and space.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled. According to Singleton & Straits, (2009), Survey research can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human behaviour, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of eighty (80) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which only seventy-seven (77) were returned and validated. This was due to irregular, incomplete and inappropriate responses to some questionnaire. For this study a total of 77 was validated for the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain assessment of personnel and personnel development programme of distance education institutes in Lagos. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of personnel and personnel development programme of distance education institutes in Lagos
Summary
This study was on assessment of personnel and personnel development programme of distance education institutes in Lagos. Three objectives were raised which included; To ascertain the perception of student on personnel development programme of distance education institutes in Lagos, to ascertain their programme completion; and perception of employability of their respective distance education programme and to ascertain the perception of the value of the distance education degree. A total of 77 responses were received and validated from the enrolled participants where all respondents were drawn from staffs from selected higher institution in Lagos. Hypothesis was tested using Chi-Square statistical tool (SPSS).
Conclusion
The distance education programme of the University of Education, Winneba, does not have strong pre-service training programme for its study centre administrators. The University does not organise regular in-service training for its centre administrators. The centre administrators were highly satisfied with the first in-service training organised for them and therefore, want such a programme on regular basis.
Recommendation
The University should put in place strategic human resource development policies in relation to distance education for teaching, technical and administrative and part-time staff.
- The University should institute regular in-service training programmes for its administrators at the distance education study centres The University should institute regular appraisal of staff performance at the study centres to find out whether they are translating the knowledge and skills acquired through the in-service training to their work.
References
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