Experiences and Perceptions of Extended Curriculum Programme Students Transitioning from High School to a University Offering Blended Learning Courses

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-439-6_4How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Blended learning; Extended Curriculum Programme; First-year students; Higher Education; Transitions

Abstract

The department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) introduced the Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) as one of the vehicles for addressing the access and success agenda. This study focused on the experiences and perceptions of ECP students who were transitioning from high school to a university offering blended learning courses. The sample comprised students who enrolled between 2021 and 2022 at a South African university based in the Eastern Cape province. A qualitative case study was used, with a sample of 60 students who were interviewed. The key research finding revealed that students lack knowledge on the use of technology, which hinders the success and transition process. Various themes emerged, such as the knowledge gap about ECP, challenges in accessing, and adapting to technological tools, inadequate academic and psychosocial support and understanding of disciplinary, academic concepts. To address the technology gap, the study recommends that the timing of the training provided to students be done in a systematic manner, taking into consideration that during the first few weeks, students experience a culture shock which may hinder their uptake of the technology training. There is also a need to provide outside the classroom student support to manage the culture shock. The study also recommends a staggered approach in the orientation process to ensure students have continuous support in their process of transition. Synergy among all stakeholders is also recommended to avoid duplication and competing initiatives by the different stakeholders, such as student affairs, student governance, academic departments and faculties.

Copyright

© 2024 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Palesa Makhetha-Kosi
AU  - Ellen Chenesai Rungani
AU  - Lunga Xolisa Mantashe
AU  - Sibongile Dayimani
AU  - Zizo Makala
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/06/19
TI  - Experiences and Perceptions of Extended Curriculum Programme Students Transitioning from High School to a University Offering Blended Learning Courses
BT  - Proceedings of the University of Fort Hare Teaching and Learning Conference (UFHTL 2023)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 33
EP  - 52
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-439-6_4
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-439-6_4
ID  - Makhetha-Kosi2024
ER  -