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Revisiting lifelong learning for qualityimprovement in ODL institutions inAfricaDele Braimoh aa Institute for Open and Distance Learning , University of SouthAfrica , Pretoria, South AfricaPublished online: 22 Dec 2010.

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ISSN 1814-6627 (print) 1753-5921 (online)DOI: 10.1080/18146627.2010.515420University of South Africa Press

Africa Education Review 7 (2)

pp. 229 – 243

Dele Braimoh Institute for Open and Distance Learning University of South Africa Pretoria, South Africa braimad@unisa.ac.za

Revisiting lifelong learning for quality improvement in ODL institutions in Africa

Abstract

Among the challenges in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) generally and specifically within the African sub-region, is the difficulty to harness resources to regularly mobilize senior and mature academics as complacent learners to embrace continuous profes-sional development, as a way of improving the quality of their academic performance. In order to change their conservative academic practises in many of the transformed African Tertiary Institutions (ATIs), this paper argues, that irrespective of the status and the long years of service of such academic staff members, it becomes pertinent for them to consciously engage in lifelong learning process. This is important because majority of such lecturers of ODL Institutions came from the contact (F2F) institutions with little or no experience of ODL best practices.

Keywords: Lifelong learning, quality improvement, Open and Distance Learning, African Tertiary Institution

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“Learning is not a product of schooling but the lifelong attempt to acquire it” Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Physicist and Nobel Laureate

Introduction

The philosophy of learning, since time immemorial, has recognised some of the core skills and comptenencies like – learning to learn, problem solving, divergent thinking, critical understanding and anticipatory learning. Starting from philosophers of ancient times to modern thinkers, all have laid emphasis on the need to learn from cradle to the grave. Even the international bodies

the recommendations of Fifth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA V) held in 1997 and the Dakar World Education Forum (WEF) held in 2000. The persistent demand by the general public for placement in Higher Institutions of Learning (HIL) is a criterion with which to measure the incapability of many conventional institutions to effectively cope with the absorptive capacity of the teeming African population.

Globalisation and migration of people from one place to another have resulted in the demand for new set of skills and competencies. This is because the skills one acquired one decade ago may be unsuitable to meet the work challenges of the present age (UNESCO, 2004). This therefore, calls for a more viable and economic route in widening access to higher education for the majority of people. The most plausible solution to this problem is the deliberate adoption of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) because of its attractive virtues (Braimoh, 1998; Corder, 2002; Daniel, 1998; Delors, 1996; Lajos, 1998, UNESCO, 2004) which include the following:

It mitigates the perennial problem of restricted admission process

It encourages learning and earning to go pari-passu. This is because it is no longer rewarding for the employers of labour to grant study leave with pay to their employees as a result of the global economic recession. Consequently too, it is also no longer attractive to the employees to resign their jobs for the luxury of full time study in the face of deepening global unemployment situation.

It stimulates intellectual activity and skills development as a result of independent thinking arising from learners’ exposure to variety of learning materials both in print and electronic formats.

It is more cost effective when compared with the conventional higher education, particularly when it is considered from the premise of the

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enormity of expenditure that goes into the running conventional tertiary institutions to achieve the same goal of person-power development through the ODL route.

clientele, subject coverage and geographical dispersion of learners’ location.

It is not disruptive in any form, as distance learning does not require the learner to be completely removed from his/her community, workplace or family members.

Issues with Distance Higher Education Institutions (DHEIs) in Africa

According to Lockwood and Latchen (2004), majority of single, bi-modal or mixed modal Distance Higher Education Institutions (DHEIs) in most African countries are staffed with academics drawn predominantly from the F2F traditional Institutions. Consequently, because of their initial academic training, practical orientation and work experience, which are at variance with the normal practice in ODL Institutions, adaptability therefore becomes a problem with the negative impact on academic quality. The net result is a

It is necessary to adopt a strategic approach for the improvement of academic quality of staff of African ODL institutions, especially, through a deliberate lifelong professional training and development programme. This will not only create a continuous learning environment among academic staff members in terms of the theories, principles and practices of ODL, but it will also enhance

learning activity, undertaken on an ongoing basis with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competence” (The European Commission, 2000). One of the endeavours of distance education institutions in Africa is to prepare

Lifelong learning as catalyst of development for quality ODL institutions in Africa

word ‘lifelong’: it embraces a set of guidelines for developing educational practice (‘education’) in order to foster learning throughout life (‘lifelong’). Lifelong education

measures which accept the importance of promoting lifelong learning.” (p.9)

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In African institutions, lifelong learning embodies the concept of knowledge and learning wherein the factors of relevance, responsiveness, access, equality and equity are inherent. The practice of lifelong learning is quite old in African education history. For example, it is said that the dead is advised in Yorubas not to eat worms or millipedes in heaven! This is an indication of the presumption that learning goes beyond after death. The ODL institutions in Africa (like elsewhere in the world) are facing some challenges: knowledge explosion; globalisation; competition from foreign education providers, advancements in technology, new skillsets and demands of modern society. From the past survival based system, the ODL system needs to embrace new ways of teaching-learning practices which would address national concerns.

One common axiom especially in the teaching-learning environment, which focuses particularly on knowledge generation, creation, appreciation and or acquisition, is that old habits die hard. Several explanations are teased to understand this standpoint, but, without any equivocation, in teaching-learning environment, there is an in-built mechanism for the assessment of personal efforts in learning outcome. For instance, the teacher and or programme facilitator (PF) is able, to consistently and periodically evaluate, through his/her daily instructional contribution, the generation of knowledge and meaningful ideas that would be germane to changing learners’ behaviour. Learners’ behaviour depicts the assumed consequent effect of learning input which can either be, ‘excellent academic performance (otherwise behaviour)’, ‘good academic performance’, ‘average academic performance’, ‘poor academic performance’, and or ‘academic failure’ when evaluated.

There are different categories of learners as studies have shown. For instance, there are learners who either develop their capacity to maximize learning opportunities early or those whose capacities are merely prompted much later in life. Others operate within the set-up of multi-complex learning styles and which some studies have attested to (Jackson, Hobman, Jimmieson and Martin, 2008; Osiki, 2008; Siadaty and Taghiyareh, 2007). If the learner’s capacity to appreciate new information is at a loss and or blocked due to certain intervening variables such as illnesses and or emotional trauma, there are known psychological methods that could be harnessed to invigorate learning process.

There have been concerns related to utilising learned information, and its successful retrieval at the time of need. Osiki (2008) stresses that old learners may be unambiguously prompted to maximize learning opportunities through the application of relaxation techniques and reframing methods. One way to achieve this is through psychotherapeutic facilitation. Osiki (2008), Osiki and Braimoh, (2008) argue that employing the manipulation of learners’ emotionality

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along the application of selected psychotherapies, could positively boost teaching outcomes involving distance learners (DLs). According to the gleaned outcome details from the ‘Centre for Positive Practices’ (2008), the stimulation of effective learning outcome could be explained through the implication of

power for academic outcomes than many other determinants.

Knowledge building in African ODL institutions through learning process

Learning is an abstract, invisible, unending and permanent phenomenon

level, marital status or gender difference, is bound to learn, although the pace of learning and the ability to comprehend the learnt information may however, differ from person to person (Blacklock, 1985 and Manheimer, 2004). The reality is that any meaningful learning is expected to lead to behavioural change in the recipient. Braimoh (2008) stressed that human beings must engage in learning process in order to learn new ideas and gain valuable knowledge while

not only be injurious to the learner him/herself alone, but also detrimental to the developmental growth of the society in which he/she lives.

Learning can be undertaken consciously or unconsciously, it can be planned or accidental, it can be acquired formally, informally or non-formally. It is

a completely knowledgeable person, thus requiring no further training in any form. Learning in this regard will only assist to update the knowledge base of the old learner, especially in this global technologically changing times, where yesteryears’ experiences are basically obsolete for solving today’s problems. Therefore, in order to meet up with the global changing world, we must aspire to become a learning society, which according to Omolewa (2008), starts from cradle but transcends the grave.

To corroborate the idea of learning as cutting across all levels of people and throughout one’s lifespan, Oduaran (2002) opines that it will be culturally, socially, economically, politically and psychologically illogical, unfair and

(space) and time. He goes further to advice that every resource in society [that

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to promote the goal of learning to live and living to learn, particularly for the betterment of humankind in the 21st century.

One can compartmentalize learning into many boxes. As earlier shown above,

formal and non-formal learning processes which are consciously engaged in by individuals for the purpose of professional development. Going by this platform, it behoves the individuals to make meaningful contributions to the

for a better and quality job performance.

Modalities of learning to acquire lifelong capacity

Learners learn through several methods as there are unique differences both in people (DLs), learning environments/challenges, programme facilitators (PFs) (instructors or teachers), and or the materials to be learnt. Although the differential-learning methods have been emphasized by several studies, however, Dunn and Dunn (1978) argued that learners are affected by the following factors:

1. Immediate environment (sound, light, temperature, and design); 2. Own emotionality (motivation, persistence, responsibility, and need for

3. Sociological needs (self, pair, peers, team, adult, or varied); and 4. Physical needs (perceptual strengths, intake, time, and mobility),

fundamental however is the learner’s ability in assessing his/her personal worth.

When a learner believes in his or her capabilities to successfully perform a designed task and the PFs adequately stimulate a conducive learning environment, learning and learning outcomes are at apogee. Though Osiki (2008) research outcome has demonstrated how learning materials could be arranged and facilitated to obtain expected results, nonetheless, the provision of environmental conditions in African ODL institutions such as involving instructional strategies and appropriate technology that improve

belief that a learner has about his or her own capabilities is positive, and such is recognized and appreciated by the PFs’, the result is psychological elation which can adequately sustain the learner’s mental frame of mind, a condition which can make any learning encounter become rewarding and meaningful. Learning of tasks becomes meaningful when the recipients are able to apply

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and to demonstrate the experience for successful learning that is arguably transformatory.

Re-echoing the relevance of personal belief in ones capabilities, the ‘Centre for Positive Practices’ subsumed the notion within the model of triadic reciprocality.

which are:

a) SymbolizingThe idea that learners are generally gifted with the capability of symbolizing is not in doubt. In any academic context (i.e. the ODL and or DHEIs) and especially within the African sub-regions, such symbolization allows learners to process abstract experiences into models that guide their learning and performance. Accordingly, when learners (otherwise, academics of some standing), who have assumed the circumstances of an epitomized ‘academic indolence’ are to be goaded to a responsible academic and professional behaviour, an academic mentor could, for instance, facilitate learning through guided imitation until

taught active research culture can be enabled through well stimulated and value-driven collaborative studies which of course, also have the propensity for the sustainability of further mentor-protégés relationship.

b) Forethought In another dimension, learners’ personal capabilities and the appreciation of self-worth is further propelled through the manipulative effects of forethought. Forethought according to the ‘American Heritage Dictionary’ (2003), involves the deliberation, consideration, and planning before hand, which constitute part of cognitive representation of future events. Learning effectiveness has a direct link between what would be learnt and future outcome and it has a very

mathematical calculation using a particular strategy may lead the observer to foresee this within the scope of his or her own capabilities which may consequently lead him/her to perform with precision of success.

c) Vicarious

we had to directly experience everything we learn, we would not have adequate

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time and opportunity to learn very much; and hence, when a learner observes a model’s thinking through text-based soliloquy, the observer would be directed on how to conceptualize the object of the observation in order to overcome self-

execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performance”.

and sustain their efforts in the face of failure”.

d) Self-regulatoryIn Miltiadou’s (2009) submission, learners articulate and maximize learning opportunities through the advantaged use of self-regulation. According to Miltiadou, self-regulatory learning, though an important motivation devise,

attainment of learning goals” (Schunk, 1984). Self-regulated learners not only need to possess cognition (knowledge to build upon), and metacognition (the knowledge and monitoring of learning strategies), but they must also be motivated to use their metacognitive strategies to build upon their understanding of instructional material (Pintrich and De Groot, 1990).

e) Self-reflective Self-regulation has been studied in traditional classrooms in order to provide an understanding of how students use their cognition, metacognition, and motivation so as to experience successful learning. Cognitive and metacognitive strategies provide the building blocks for constructing knowledge within a learning environment. Motivation, especially within the distance education context, provides the fuel for student engagement. Without motivation, students will not think about nor organize their knowledge simply because of being separated from the instructor by time and place (Miltiadou, 2009). Research conducted by Blocher (1997) has shown that self-regulated students have a strong desire to learn and are goal directed.

Ensuring foundational skills and competencies through ODL

Fundamental to learning and its outcome, is the appreciation of the notion that learning, especially new things may not be any easy task. To stimulate

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learning, irrespective of the multi-factors of age, gender, socio-economics as well as previous and related experiences of the learners, learning tasks should be arranged to facilitate acquisition, remembering and easy recall. The ODL experiences in Africa, without any doubt, continue to indicate that lecturers need regular up-dating to remain articulate and academically relevant. The beginning

structure of ODL cannot afford to exhibit academic indolence. Maintaining high academic and professional competence and or standards, PFs along with both supporting staff and learners must be goaded to adequately respond to learning challenges and competences.

According to the ‘Report of Learning Working Group’ (2009), it states that, ‘learning to learn may be a straightforward idea: to understand it, we need no

ways of enhancing the skill(s) involved are much more tricky’. Furthermore, the idea of learning to learn has a confused and confusing relationship with terms that are commonly used in education, such as problem solving or thinking skills or critical thinking among others which invariably has the capacity to enhance both learning and learning to learn. The assertion was therefore, concluded when it said that learning to learn is not a single entity or skill, but a family of learning practices that enhance one’s capacity to learn. The Royal Society of Arts (2009) summed this up when it said that a family of learning competences are, among others:

understanding how to learn, taking account of one’s preferred learning styles and understanding the need to, and how to manage one’s own learning throughout life.learning, systematically, to think.exploring and reaching an understanding of one’s own creative talents, and to make best use of them.learning to enjoy and love learning for its own sake and as part of understanding oneself.achieving high standards in literacy, numeracy and spatial understanding.achieving high standards of competence in handling information and communication technology and understanding the underlying processes.

In his argument for how best to arrange learning materials as well as prompting a background of learning expectations that could be instrumental to adequate and sustainable behavioural outcomes, Watkins (2007) said that learning to learn consists of several different family members which include:

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making learning an object of attention;making learning an object of conversation;

making learning an object of learning itself.

In a more precise way, and that which places premium on the importance of psychology and or the teaching-learning activities that are sustainable through

how the complacent academics and Distance Learners can be prompted to learn and learning meaningfully are provided. For instance, in any such environment, adequate use of graded re-inforcers is administered, and learners are able to appreciate through value-directed teaching-learning instructions, while they learn how to continue to learn and learning with end results. When learners are prompted to learn with such a goal-directed task, learners are put on the

Learning essentially should produce meaningful behavioural changes with the intention of advancing and promoting the collective interest of mankind, in socio-economics, politics, mental health and general wellness.

According to the ‘Report of Learning Workshop Group’ (2009), while supporting the notion for the relevance of psychological package for inducing learners generally, argued when it said that the ‘core of learning to learn is meta-cognition’. In a further analogy, it said that though there is learning, there is also learning about learning. Individuals for instance, think and or emote, but they can also think about their thinking rather than being complacent and indolent. Thus in consequence, by implying meta-cognition as far as prompted learning

evaluate, control and change how he/she thinks and learns. In less formal terms,

learning to learn involves:

understanding the demands that a learning task makes;knowing about intellectual processes and how they work;generating and considering strategies to cope with the task;getting better at choosing the strategies that are the most appropriate for the task; andmonitoring and evaluating the subsequent learning behaviour through feedback on the extent to which the chosen strategies have led to success with the task.

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Embedding lifelong learning in distance education quality reform agenda

Prominent in academic behaviour is that learners learn differentially even under similar conditions. But the dimension on how socio-environmental situation impact on the learners’ ability to acquire and use generated and created information is a constant research focus (Blundell et al, 1999). Under the circumstance therefore, teaching-learning environment should be so arranged that learners of diverse background would have the opportunities to be assisted to learn. While emotion is involved in the learners’ abilities to articulate learning

in order to facilitate adequate and expected learning. Many of today’s DLs may be completely nonplussed due to negative and derogatory statements either from their peers or their academic mentors.

In the contribution to the sustainability of learning effectiveness and in particular, facilitating how human emotions can be directed in the achievement of meaningful academic results (i.e. research behaviour), Dunn and Dunn (1978) indicated that learners are affected by their:

i. Immediate environment; ii. Own emotionality; iii. Sociological needs; and

emotionality and how it could be harnessed in boosting academic behaviour include that of Osiki (2008).

The learner’s emotional status is a combination of four indices which include:

i. Presence of environmental stimulus; ii. Sense of heightened physiological arousal; iii. Personal idiosyncrasies; and iv. Cognitive appraisal of any given situation.

For the professional teacher to acquire information germane to their individual development, the state of their mental stability and happiness should be congenial as Osiki, (2008) posits. Learners academic/professional behaviour and, in particular, research empowerment gets goaded when their self-perception and how they are perceived by others correlate positively. Lifelong learning can also contribute to social inclusiveness and the reduction of inequality through its assumed effects on employment prospects (Green et al, 1999; Field, 2000)

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Conclusion

in how they learn and continue to learn. In stimulating adequate academic and professional behaviour, as the case may be in ODL, programme facilitators (PFs) should be enthusiastic enough to assess and articulate the perspective of the learners. When the learners perceive that his or her academic mentor

their mental frame gets boosted, and subsequently, the learners are more readily willing to learn. Adequate teaching-learning relationship could therefore, be more facilitated when and if learner-teacher interaction is built on the principle of psychotherapeutic relationship. In such environment both the learners and

the other.

In conclusion, we want to state that many of the people who work in distance education institutions as academics and professionals, particularly in Africa came into ODL by default and not by deliberate training. For this reason therefore, a process of initiation is expedient for all of us, so as to be able to understand the operational imperatives of such institutions vis-à-vis the staff expectations in contributing to the progress of such institutions. ODL cannot and should not be considered as a subject but it must be taken holistically

because of its human and national developmental orientation. Consequently, our objective suggestion will be that those academics and professional staff members, who do not have any form of prior ODL training and are currently working in predominantly virtual educational institution across the globe, must undergo a compulsory part-time one year distance learning training,

understand the underpinning epistemologies, principles and practices as well as the pedagogical requirements of ODL activities including research and student handling processes in an ODL Institution.

We must however, not be rigid to embrace change as life itself is not static but dynamic, therefore, in any process of transformation, we must be ready to learn new things while we must also be prepared to consciously unlearn our old ways of doing things. In the modern, knowledge-driven economy, OECD (2003) argues that people must upgrade their skills in order to remain competitive and to prepare for frequent changes in jobs. Those who missed out on initial education require lifelong learning to acquire essential basic skills. This proposal is not a new thing as some conventional universities in some parts

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of Africa have already embraced the practice of initiating their new academic staff into the teaching fraternity at the university level. This is especially for

if such individuals already possess the doctorate degrees in other disciplines.

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