Influence of Blended Learning on Quality of Education in Kenya’s Public Universities

Abstract

Internationally, developed economies have made huge deliberate investments in digitalizing educational content, delivery, and assessment. In the last decade, the use of technology in education has been increasing exponentially due to the world dynamics like the emergence Covid-19 pandemic and the general rise in internet usage. Studies have shown that graduates from a technologically driven education system have improved productivity. In Kenya, these global dynamics have also caused a shift from a traditional to a blended learning mode (the fusion of technology in traditional lectures) as envisioned in Kenya Vision 2030. There is minimal information on the implementation of blended learning in Kenyan public universities as it relates to the number of universities offering their programs on blended learning, how they are offering them, the support offered to students and the infrastructure development. This makes the quality of education offered in Kenyan public universities using blended learning unchecked. This study sought to establish the influence of blended learning on the quality of education in public universities in Kenya. The following objectives guided the study; To determine the aggregate supply of education through blended learning in the provision of quality education in Kenya’s public universities, to establish the technical efficiency of blended learning infrastructure in influencing the quality of education in Kenya’s public universities, to examine the instructors’ labor productivity when using blended learning and its influence on the quality of education in Kenya’s public universities and lastly to examine the effectiveness of learner support services on blended learning and its influence on the quality of education in Kenya’s public universities. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey research design and was built on Human Capital Theory and Constructivism Theory. The target population was university students, lecturers, and directors of ODeLs. The study used random, cluster and stratified sampling to get the respondents from students and lecturers. Purposive sampling was used to get responses from registrars or directors. The study used questionnaires and an interview guide as research instruments. Data analysis was presented using descriptive statistics where frequency tables, bar graphs, percentages, and pie charts were used. Inferential statistics, Chi-Square Tests were used to test for each null hypothesis. The study collected data from 29 universities where 384 students, 354 lecturers, and 29 directors responded. The study found that education was being supplied on blended learning but without senate policy approvals and CUE certifications. The devices used in getting online content were smartphones for students and laptops for lecturers. The universities also supported the lecturers in various labor productivity enhancements. The learners were supported in online classes. Partnership with KENET was noticeable. The study concluded that blended learning was taking place in Kenyan public universities and moderately affecting the quality of education positively. The study also concluded that Kenyan public universities are at an advanced stage of offering web facilitated courses. The study recommended more policy guidelines, more budgetary allocations, lower fees charges, and more comparative studies to get further information.