Views of High School Students About Distance Education
Abstract
In recent years with the developments in
information technologies, use of distance education at higher education
institutions has expanded. Learners can choose a specific higher education
institution due to several reasons. Research states that such a preference is
based on several factors, including status of the institution, geographical
status of the university, recommendations by individuals (family members,
teachers, peers, etc.), interest of learners, future job opportunities, success
of university, social opportunities of the city and availability of evening
education courses. The major factor in successful distance education is
learners. More specifically, the demographical qualities, interests and
attitudes of students play a major role in distance education. The views of the
high school graduates preparing for university entrance examination about distance
education have not been analysed. This study aims at uncovering the views of
high school students preparing for university entrance examination about
distance education and their motivations for choosing distance education
institutions. The data of the study were collected through a survey consisting
of 36 likert scale questions. It was administered to 223 high school students.
The findings state that most of the students don’t want to choose a program in
distance education. Nearly half of the participants reported that instead of
choosing a distance education program in a high-quality institution, they might
prefer the same program in an ordinary university. Another finding shows that
only 22% of the participants planned to
enrol for a two-year higher education. However, in Turkey distance education
programs are vastly common in these institutions. Nearly half of the
participants reported that major advantages of distance education (efficient
time management, easy communication, low cost, courses by specialists, etc.)
were not beneficial for them. Nearly 60% of the students reported that their
choice over distance education would not be supported by guidance teachers,
family members and friends. Therefore, these key -groups should be taken into
consideration by distance education institutions in their promotional and
advertising activities.
Keywords
distance education,choosing course,choosing university,university entrance examination
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