Browsing by Author "Mokenela, Paballo Josephine"

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    Daily hassle stress and coping strategies
    (University of Botswana, 2008-05-05) Mokenela, Paballo Josephine; Bhusumane, Tlhabiwe
    A study of the experiences that exposed part-time adult learners in higher education to daily hassle stress and the coping mechanisms that the learners adopted was carried out at the Institute of Extra-Mural Studies (IEMS) of the National University of Lesotho (NUL). The goal of this applied qualitative study was to contribute knowledge on stress-related experiences of part-time adult learners in higher education so that the necessary interventions could be put in place. In-depth interviews of six part-time adult learners aged between 30 and over 50 years were conducted. The sample comprised three males and three females of different marital statuses, residing at different geographical locations of Lesotho. The experience of the participants in part-time learning ranged between five-and-a-half to seven-and-a-half years. Data was collected through semi-structured interview guide and the interviews were tape recorded. The data showed that the part-time adult learners at IEMS were constantly under time pressure to meet the social, economic, and academic demands. The learners were also burdened with financial responsibilities and obligations in meeting these demands. Furthermore, differences in personalities and negative attitudes of other students and some of the members of IEMS staff were stressful to the part-time adult learners. The part-time adult learners applied various coping strategies that rendered them resilient to the daily hassle stress. Social support, particularly from significant others, was identified as the most effective method of managing stress. Other coping strategies included emotion-focused coping, problem-focused coping, and relaxation techniques. Medical help was viewed as the least effective coping strategy. The study suggested other measures to reduce stress could be explored by IEMS to help the part-time adult learners. The measures include minimization of the identified stressors within the learning environment, and the empowerment of the adult learners through the Western counseling approaches to supplement and complement the coping strategies that are already being used by the part-time adult learners.
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    Developing a pedagogical framework for blended distance learning at the National University of Lesotho
    (Nottingham Trent University, 2019-12) Mokenela, Paballo Josephine; Boulton, Helen, Gren, Rachel Ireson, Blazewicz-Bell
    Amid the global enthusiasm for adoption and implementation of blended learning, innovations in higher learning institutions in sub-Saharan Africa and other developing countries are reported as less successful and unsustainable. The identified challenges include, among others, the limited Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, inadequate policies, adoption of blended learning models not suited to educational contexts, and innovations that are not aligned to the institutional goals. This action research (AR) adapted Graham, Woodfield and Harrison’s (2013) framework for institutional adoption and implementation of blended learning to design and develop a contextually-relevant adoption strategy for Open and Distance Learning programmes of the National University of Lesotho (NUL). Using the qualitative and quantitative research instruments in this parallel convergent mixed methods research design, participants were selected from the key ICT and education stakeholders in Lesotho to explore the existing national and institutional ICT strategy, structure, support and technology experiences of the tutors and learners. The samples respondents were selected at the national level (5), at the secondary schools (3), the members of the NUL Management Team (3), the NUL senior administrators (3), the NUL IT specialists (2), 30 tutors and 209 learners across the three AR research cycles of this study. Given the identified challenges of inadequate ICT strategy, structure, support as well as technology experiences of the tutors and learners, this study concluded that a contextually-relevant blended distance learning model for NUL should comprise face-to-face, print-based and online instruction. The key contributions to the new knowledge derived from this research include an adapted blended learning adoption framework (Graham, Woodfield, and Harrison, 2013) which adds the tutors and learners to the markers of progress in the transition from the traditional pedagogy to a technology-based pedagogy and a methodological approach which incorporates Piggot-Irvine’s (2002) spin-off cycles into Elliott’s (1991) action research model for a deeper understanding of the researched educational context. The study recommends the ICT and education policy development or review at the national and the institutional levels in Lesotho and other developing countries as well as a further exploration of the frameworks proposed in this study.