Institutional Readiness, Learner Diversity and Participation in Distance Learning in Kenya: the Case of University of Nairobi Undergraduate Programmes

Abstract

This study’s main aim was to evaluate the influence of institutional readiness, learner diversity on learner’s participation in distance learning within the undergraduate programs offered in the University of Nairobi in Kenya. The efficacy of distance learning initiatives is intricately tied to the level of readiness exhibited by educational institutions in furnishing sufficient support to the learners so that they can fully engage in learning. The research was guided by six objectives; To determine how availability of learning resources influence learner participation in distance learning in Kenya, to explore the how institutional infrastructure influences learner participation in distance learning in Kenya, to assess how the learner support system influence learner participation in distance learning in Kenya, to establish how the learner diversity influences learner participation in distance learning in Kenya. to establish how combined institutional readiness influences learner participation in distance learning in Kenya and to establish the moderating influence of learner diversity on the relationship between institutional readiness and learner participation in distance learning in Kenya. The research was conducted under the guidance of two theoretical frameworks, namely transactional distance theory and social constructivism. Qualitative data was collected through structured administered questionnaires while qualitative data was collected through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. The statistical tools for descriptive were percentages, arithmetic mean and standard deviation while inferential statistics were Pearson product moment correlation, multiple regression and step wise regression. F tests were used to test hypothesis. The study of qualitative data primarily involved the interpretation of themes and textual content. In the findings research outcomes indicate that the presence of learning resources has a substantial impact on the level of engagement exhibited by learners in remote educational settings. As such, it is vital to note that both the institutional infrastructure and learner support system also have a favorable influence on learner engagement in distance learning. Outcomes of this research highlight the significant need for institutional preparedness in promoting effective remote learning encounters and also significant implications for the enhancement of distance learning programs and the development of pertinent policies. These implications provide useful insights to the area of distance learning and offer evidence-based tactics for fostering student engagement in these learning environments. Further research can be conducted involving a comparative analysis across multiple educational institutions offering distance learning programmes to understand variations in institutional readiness and their effects on learner participation. The current study found that learner diversity did not have a moderating role on the relationship between institutional readiness and learner participation. Further research should be conducted to investigate the role of learner diversity as a moderating factor in the relationship between institutional readiness variables and learner participation in distance learning. Such a study could explore how other variables of learner diversity that have not been studied.