A study on ‘open distance learning’ learners in higher education institutions

Abstract

Open Distance Learning (ODL) is one of the teaching and learning systems that is widely used throughout the globe at present. Though ODL was implemented in some countries two decades ago, this concept has been broadly accepted after the COVID-19 pandemic. This changed the traditional classroom teaching to a hybrid, and ODL also became a part of it. The present study is based on the objective to examine satisfaction and academic achievements of ODL learners in higher education institutions. Quantitative research approach is adopted in this study. 372 ODL learners are selected for this study from two Malaysian universities. A structured questionnaire is used as a tool to collect data. It consists of 20 elements based on two aspects: satisfaction of the ODL learners and academic achievement of the ODL learners. Michael G Moore’s theory of transactional distance is adopted in this study. A Likert scale is used to measure all the elements in the questionnaire. The selected respondents responded to all the elements. The findings of the study reveal that ODL learners are satisfied and their academic achievements are commendable. Moreover, the findings expose that 67.02% of respondents have strongly agreed and 23.93% of respondents agreed that they are satisfied with the ODL learning. The study recommends implementing ODL learning in all the higher education institutions in Malaysia. It also suggests conducting comparative studies on ODL and usual classroom teaching and learning.