PCF5:Tracer Study

Title of session

Research into practice: what tracer studies tell us

Session details

• Date: ...insert date here...
• Time: 11:00 - 12:30
• Room: Room 642

Session papers

• Dr Jill Brown, The advantages of a good DE example, (415)
• Rebecca Essel, Distance learners’ perception on the use of course materials and its effects: a case study of Centre for Continuing Education, University of Cape Coast, Ghana, (737)
• Claire Millington, The use of tracer studies for enhancing relevance and marketability in online and distance education, (424)
• Heroldt Vekaama Murangi, The role of open schooling in improving the quality of life of young Namibians, (537)

Key Issues that arose in the session

• * Flexibility, convenience and on the job seen as main positive effects of DL
• Need to focus on the outcome, impact of DL – tracer studies essential. This is for reasons of marketability of courses, access, and customer satisfaction.
• Institutions often focus on inputs, but students focus on outputs
• Providers need to focus on the needs of learners – marketability and competitiveness
• Research can help dispel myths that ODL is inferior
• Tracer studies also important for quality assurance and internal learning

Research Available:

• New Zealand Correspondence
• NamCOL/NIOS study
• Role and function of NAMCOL
• etc

Capacity Building experiences:

• ODL receiving more appreciation
• economic and access reasons
• addresses unreachable, and also past resistence fighters etc
• Integrates soft skills
• leaders act as role models - they went through ODL

Gender issues:

• Needs clear definition
• On level of content and access
• Need to move towards blended methodologies
• Look at subtlty of what subjects different genders choose
• Content - is gender addressed there?

Points for future action (Policy, recommendations, commitments etc.)

• Role of COL in research into evaluation should be developed
• Integrate ODL into other learning - focus on soft skills
• Purpose of Evaluation - what is its purpose? Theme for next conference
• Gender needs to refer to both access and content - evaluations of the subtleties need to be done. More resources into Gender issues
• Large scale study to demonstrate effectiveness of ODL - advocacy, success stories, dissemination of good practice