Career Guidance and Counseling Services for Virtual and Open Learning and its Impact on the Preservation of Post-Graduate Students in Kenyatta University, Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70619/vol4iss1pp23-36Keywords:
Career guidance and counseling services, preservation, virtual open learning, retention of learner.Abstract
The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of career guidance and counseling services for VOL on the preservation of post-graduate students in Kenyatta University, Kenya. This study used a descriptive survey approach that included quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. The study’s population comprised two groups. The first group comprised all 8 director and assistant directors of student affairs in Kenyatta University VOL Centres. The second group comprised all the 2156 finalist students enrolled for the VOL programme who are the most familiar with the challenges experienced by VOL students and from whom it was possible to obtain the record of students who may have dropped out. The study used a census approach to sample all 8 director and assistant directors of student affairs, while the Fisher's method was used to calculate the size of the postgraduate finalist sample. Original data was used in the study. After editing the quantitative data, handling void responses, coding, and categorizing the data, the information was imported into SPSS version 22 for analysis. The study found that career counseling and guidance services for VOL improved postgraduate student retention. This was demonstrated by a significant correlation r coefficient of 0.758. Specifically, the study concluded that career guidance and counseling influenced the retention of post-graduate students in Kenya’s public universities. The study also concluded that student retention was influenced in the form of receiving encouragement to persist until they graduate, being encouraged to stay until completion of the academic degree, and receiving motivation to complete the course within the set period. According to the research's findings, the Ministry of Education’s state Department of Higher Education should institutionalize guidance and counseling as mandatory student support services in Virtual and Open Learning (VOL). The research also suggests that the Kenyan government form strategic alliances with social institutions that would allow public learning institutions to easily access career guidance and counseling services as a student support service.
References
Arko-Achemfuor, A. (2017). Student support gaps in an open distance learning context. Issues in Educational Research, 27(4), 658-676.
Cotter, B. (2013). Student retention: An issue, a discussion and a way forward, for higher education professionals. Retrieved fromhttps://cobek.com/pdf/Student-Retention-White-Paper.pdf
Daniel, J. (2016). Making sense of flexibility as a defining element of online learning. Athabasca University.
Farirai, M., & Richard, B. (2015). The Effectiveness of Counseling on Students` Learning Motivation in Open and Distance Education. International Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Studies, 85-89.
Gall, J. P., & Borg, W. R. (2010). Educational research: An introduction (7th ed.). Boston, MA: A & B Publications.
Gao, L. (2019). Research on local construction of college students' career planning education [Original in Chinese]. China After School Education, 3, 40-46.
Griffith, J., Wade, J. (2011). The Relation of High School Career-and Work-Oriented Education to Postsecondary Employment and College Performance: A Six-Year 69 Longitudinal Study of Public High School Graduates. Journal of Vocational Education Research, 26(3).
Grote, B. (2010). Student Retention and Support in Open Distance Learning. The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, 5-19
Hecker, J., & Thorpe, G. (2015). Introduction to clinical psychology. Psychology Press.
Kabate, M. J. (2016). Counseling Services for Students Sustainability in Open and Distance Learning System: A Case of Ilala Regional Center of The Open University Of Tanzania. European Journal of Alternative Education Studies.
Kottler, J. A., & Shepard, D. S. (2014). Introduction to counseling: Voices from the field. Cengage Learning.
Krishnan, C. (2012). Student Support Services in Distance Higher Education in India: A Critical Appraisal. International Journal of Research in Economics & Social Sciences, 2, (2), 459-472.
Lentell, H. (2012). Distance learning in British universities: is it possible? Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and E-learning, 27(1): 23-36.
Moore, M. & Kearsley, G. (2005). Distance education: A systems view. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Moore, M. G. (1993). Theory of transactional distance, in Keegan, D. (Ed.) Theoretical principles of distance education. New York: Routledge. 22-38.
Moore, M. G. (2003). Handbook of distance education. NJ: Erlbaum. 1- 210.
Moore, M. G., & Diehl, W. C. (2018). Handbook of distance education.
Morrison, K., Cohen, L., & Manion, L. (2011). Research Methods in Education (7th ed.). London: Routledge.
Murphy, E., Rodríguez-Manzanares, M. A., & Barbour, M. (2012). Asynchronous and synchronous online teaching: Perspectives of Canadian high school distance education teachers. British Journal of Educational Technology, 42(4):583-591.
Nafukho, F. (2016). Determining the Relationship Between Student Support Services, Academic Performance, and Retention Rate. Texas A&M University.
Nyerere, J. (2016). Open and distance learning in Kenya: A baseline survey report commissioned by the Commonwealth of Learning.
Nyerere, J. K. A., Gravenir, F. Q., & Mse, G. S. (2012). Delivery of open, distance, and e-learning in Kenya. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 13(3), 185–205. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1120
Power, T. M., & Morven-Gould, A. (2011). Head of gold, feet of clay: The online learning paradox. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 12(2), 19-39.
Pratt, K. (2020). Supporting distance learners: Making practice more effective. Journal of Open, Flexible and Distance Learning, 24(1), 144-158.
Prebble, T. H. Hargraves, L. Leach, K. Naidoo, Suddaby, G., & Zepke, N. (2010). Impact of Student Support Services and Academic Development Programmes on Student Outcomes in Undergraduate Tertiary Study: A Synthesis of the Research. Massey University College of Education, 11-15.
Pulist, S.K. (2011). Student Support Services in Correspondence Distance Education in India: A Historical Perspective. Journal of Distance Education, 8 (1), 66-82.
Segoe, B. A. (2012). Learner support in the provision of distance teaching programmes for underqualified teachers (Doctoral dissertation), UNISA repository.1-302.
Shearer, R. L. (2010). Transactional distance and dialogue in online learning. At the Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning. University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. Retrieved from http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/Resource_library/proceedings/29897_10.pdf
Simpson, O. (2012). Supporting Students in Online, Open and Distance Learning. London: Kogan Page.
Solberg, S., Howard, K., Blustein, D., & Close, W. (2012). Career Development in the Schools: Connecting School-to-Work-to-Life. The Counseling Psychologist 30(5): 705-725.
Subotzky, G. & Prinsloo, P. (2011). Turning the tide: A socio-critical model and framework for improving student success in open distance learning at the University of South Africa. Distance Education, 32(2):177-193.
UNISA (2010). Student Support Task Team 4 Report. Pretoria: UNISA Press. 1-25.
Universities Act No. 42 of 2012, GOK
Van Stolk, C., Tiessen, J., Clift, J., & Levitt, R. (2017). Student retention in higher education courses. International comparison.
Wen, X. Y. (2019). Problems and solutions of university students' career planning [Original in Chinese]. Education and Occupation, 9, 86–88.
Zahid, G., Hooley, T., Neary, S. (2020). Careers work in higher education in Pakistan: Current practice and options for the future. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 48(4), 443–453.
