Student Dropout: the Elephant in the Room - Simpson and Woodley (original) (raw)

'Student dropout: the elephant in the room'

Chapter from “Online Distance Education - Toward a Research Agenda" pub. Athabasca University Press (2014). This chapter is in the form of a dialogue between two educational researchers - both partly retired, but who have between them spent more than 70 years in distance education, albeit in a large scale distance teaching institution, and the chapter should be read with that in mind The chapter is not an academic treatise – it does not contain an argument that is punctiliously supported by references. It is unashamedly polemical and reflects the authors’ contention that, while the research says quite a lot about the relative drop-out rates among students with various social and psychological characteristics and across different types of course delivery, there is an issue often (and indeed even scandalously) neglected in the hype about distance higher education, We are talking about the sheer volume of student dropout – this is our elephant in the room.

Student Dropout as a Never-Ending Evergreen Phenomenon of Online Distance Education

European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 2023

The research on student dropout demonstrates that there is no consensus on its definition and scope. Although there is an expanding collection of research on the topic, student dropout remains a significant issue, characterized by numerous uncertainties and ambiguous aspects. The primary aim of this investigation is to assess the research trends of student dropout within the distance education literature by employing data mining and analytic approaches. To identify these patterns, a total of 164 publications were examined by applying text mining and social network analysis. The study revealed some intriguing facts, such as the misinterpretation of the term "dropout" in different settings and the inadequacy of nonhuman analytics to explain the phenomenon, and promising implications on how to lessen dropout rates in open and distance learning environments. Based on the findings of the study, this article proposes possible directions for future research, including the need to provide a precise definition of the term "dropout" in the context of distance learning, to develop ethical principles, policies, and frameworks for the use of algorithmic approaches to predict student dropout, and finally, to adopt a human-centered approach aimed at fostering learners' motivation, satisfaction, and independence to reduce the rate of dropout in distance education.

Student Dropout in Distance Education in Higher Education: literature review in Portuguese

2020

This article presents and discusses the results of a review of the literature in Portuguese on the phenomenon of student dropout in distance education. The review included only empirical research, which collected qualitative or quantitative data. Its objectives were to identify the causes for dropout in distance education and recommendations for models or tools that allow higher education institutions to anticipate their students’ dropout. The results pointed out that the main causes of dropout described by the literature are positioned before the beginning of the courses: lack of guidance for students entering the modality and inadequate training of tutors. The article concludes that institutions that offer distance education should be concerned with proposing welcoming modules to their students and the continuing education of their tutors, not only trying to anticipate and avoid dropouts during the course.

Overcoming the 'Distance education deficit' Original English

Distance Education in China , 2013

Whilst accepting that distance education has been a huge success in many ways this paper suggests that there is evidence that there a ‘distance education deficit’ with many distance institutions having less than a quarter of the graduation rates of conventional institutions. The paper surveys some of the reasons why such a deficit should occur and asks what damage it might do to students, institutions and society. It suggests that one reason for the deficit is the ‘category error’ of confusing teaching with learning and that institutions have focused too much on the provision of teaching materials, especially online, and too little on motivating students to learn. It maintains that there is accumulating evidence for the essentiality of proactive contact for overcoming dropout and the importance of making that contact motivational. It shows that such an approach is financially viable and can make a surplus for the institutional if carefully designed. Finally whilst briefly surveying some of the new developments in distance education in the form of MOOCS, learning analytics, and the use of smartphones, it suggests more speculatively that rather than resources or organization, the main barriers to increasing student success in distance education are institutional attitudes to student retention.

‘Student retention in distance education: are we failing our students?’ Open Learning 28 (2)

This paper brings together some data on student retention in distance education in the form of graduation rates at a sample of distance institutions. It suggests that there is a ‘distance education deficit’ with many distance institutions having less than a quarter of the graduation rates of conventional institutions. It looks in some detail at the data for one well-known institution - the UK Open University - and surveys some of the reasons why such a deficit should occur and asks what the effects are on students, institutions and society as a whole. The paper suggests that one reason for the deficit is the ‘category error’ of confusing teaching with learning, and that institutions have focused too much on the provision of teaching materials, especially online, and too little on motivating students to learn. It maintains that there is accumulating evidence for the essentiality of proactive contact for overcoming dropout and the importance of making that contact motivational. It claims that such an approach is financially viable and can make surpluses for the institutions concerned if carefully designed. Finally whilst briefly surveying some of the new developments in distance education in the form of MOOCS, learning analytics, and the use of smartphones, it suggests more speculatively that rather than resources or organization, the main barriers to increasing student success in distance education are institutional attitudes to student retention.

Why do open and distance education students drop out? Views from various stakeholders

International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education

While the demand for open and distance education is increasing, it also faces high dropout rates. The reasons and solutions for student dropouts need considerable attention. This study aims to uncover the reasons for student dropouts considering the perspective of students, field experts, instructors, administrators, and support staff. Data from semi-structured interviews with 40 participants revealed that students decide to drop out mainly due to four main reasons: internal reasons, external reasons, student characteristics, and student skills. These reasons include 37 sub-factors such as academic integration, social integration, financial status, personality, and self-regulation. The sub-factors and selected quotations from the interviews are presented in the findings. According to the results, administrators, field experts, instructors, and support staff are not aware of all the dropout reasons. The results of this research are believed to guide researchers, practitioners, and ad...