Canadian International Conference on Education: Research funded through an innovation grant from Laureate International

1. Work in Progress
Dr. Lee Graham
June 29, 2016
Canadian International Education
Conference, Toronto, ON
This presentation is available for
download at
http://www.slideshare.net/drlee66/
EFFECTIVE
INTERVENTION FOR
RETENTION OF
STUDENTS IN SUB-
SAHARAN AFRICA

2. The Problem
Initiatives to increase educational access for citizens of African
countries remain high priority within the world community. Even
though access for African students has increased in recent years, this
improvement sees only 5% of the Sub-Saharan African population
enrolled in tertiary education.[2]
This project will explore literature and government reports related to
the specific attrition issues of students in Sub-Saharan Africa and will
further seek to identify specific academic instructional interventions
that may be effective for these students. Through systematic review
of the literature, and identification of recurring themes, researchers
will create a model of common obstacles to persistence in academic
programmes, and potential interventions faculty may enact to
remediate these obstacles.

3. Acknowledgements
• Sub-Saharan Africa is made up of many countries. While we can’t
draw generalities from one to another, there are trends in the
literature that exist – and this is the information I am seeking.
• I am not going to examine race, socioeconomic status nor gender
inequalities. These are important topics in and of themselves. I am
going to focus on learner characteristics in the style of a needs
assessment.
• The purpose of this study is to make recommendations for
improvement of programs serving high numbers of Sub-Saharan
African students, and particularly In-Service Teachers seeking initial
credentials through a Master’s Program.

4. Systematic Review of the Literature:
Search engine: Google Scholar linked to Egan Library (University of Alaska Southeast)
Resources: Peer-reviewed journals, government, consortium and university reports, and peer
reviewed conference proceedings
Search terms:
retention students Sub-Saharan Africa higher education
rural Africa tertiary education
open enrollment university Sub-Saharan Africa
primary learning styles Sub-Saharan Africa tertiary
Sub-Saharan Africa University challenges
learning styles African Students online
Infrastructure tertiary education Africa
Full Disclosure: In some cases, followed links for “similar articles” and “cited by” to more deeply
delve into the concepts represented by the most relevant results
31 Relevant Results

5. Themes

6. Themes
Access
• General Infrastructure
• University Infrastructure
Schooling
• Reading Scores
• Language Barriers
• The “Wicked Problem”
Teacher Quality
• Teacher Shortage
• Outcomes Accountability
The Experience of Distance
Learning
• Instructional
Materials/Methods
• Expectations for
Interaction
Learning Styles
• Low engagement in
Constructivist
methodologies
• Learning Centers on
“Teacher Talk”

7. Access
General Infrastructure What does this mean?
The infrastructure of SubSaharan Africa is
underdeveloped. This leads to frequent
power outages or no access to electricity
which are frequently cited as an access
problem. [1, 3, 15, 16, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31]
Disparities exist between connection in
urban areas and rural areas. While urban
areas may have fiberoptic and more
affordable internet, this has not been
extended to rural areas. [1, 26, 30]
Students who are participating in online
learning from rural African locations will
have frequent and sometimes extended
power outages. These students may not
have internet at home and may not have
easy access to computers.
What can we do? We can set flexible due
dates for assignments. An ideal due date
could span three to four days to ensure
that students have ample opportunity to
ask questions and complete assignments
in view of the unique challenge that a loss
of power presents. Synchronous activities
could happen over extended periods of
time in order to allow students
opportunity to log in and participate.

8. Access
University Infrastructure What does this mean?
Many universities lack infrastructure. The
lack of availability of computers for faculty
and for students and the internet speeds
that are available are obstacles for both
students and faculty. [2, 24, 25, 27, 30]
Many universities serve students through
regional centers. These regional centers
lack support, internet connectivity and
computers for students or faculty/tutors.
Library services are limited particularly
where online services are concerned. [24,
27, 29]
Generally, students who enroll in an online
program even after successful
engagement in University will not have a
developed set of ICT skills to draw upon as
they engage in online learning. Students
may not even have seen technology being
used in the way that they are being
required to use it.
What can we do? We can provide students
with direct instructions for accessing text
based resources to walk them through
common tasks for the online platform and
frequently encountered problems. We
can create opportunities for students to
interact with others who entered the
program with similar skills and discuss
their process for managing their studies.

9. Schooling
• Language Barriers • What does this mean?
Most SubSaharan Africans speak at least
two languages and sometimes more. The
language spoken at home may be English;
however, it most likely is not. By some
accounts over 3000 languages are spoken in
Africa, and 500 are spoken in Nigeria alone.
It is very likely that English is the second or
third language of a student. [19, 20, 21]
Students may have attended school and
learned through English; however their
teachers may have engaged in code
switching to enable learning of the content.
[20]
These students may not be
independently proficient in reading.
What can we do? We can provide
support documents in the classroom
with visuals when possible. We can
scaffold the learners whenever
possible with context cues and
multiple written presentations of
concepts. We can also design group
activities to support reading
comprehension and check for accuracy
of understanding.

10. Schooling
The “Wicked Problem” What does it mean?
More money is being spent on schooling,
to attempt to enhance education for all;
however this is not producing the desired
results, and most students are still leaving
their schooling underprepared. [5, 6, 7, 8]
• Students who are behind in 3rd year
seem to stay behind and do not catch
up. They become a silent casualty.
• Students start school at R (reception
year) and school goes to grade 12.
Discernable drop-off occurs during
grades 6-7. Many students do not
attend beyond year 9. [6, 7, 9, 10, 12]
Our students from Africa may be less
academically prepared than we expect
they will be. Students who are highly
motivated and wish to further their
education can do so when given the
opportunity – but they will need
appropriate supports.
What can we do? We can prepare to build
supports intentionally specifically for
African students. We can expect to
support their writing as a rule, and we can
choose readings that emphasize content
and concepts in a straightforward manner.

11. Teacher Quality
Teacher Shortages What does it mean?
In high need areas (most of rural Sub
Saharan Africa) teachers may be hired
after completion of secondary school or
primary school. These teachers may be
placed with no training in conditions of
student:teacher ratio of 113:1. Sometimes
these teachers are provided training via
distance (Tanzania) sometimes they are
not (Malawi). [23, 13]
For Master of Education programs with
open admissions this means we could
have students entering the program who
have completed only a primary education
formally, yet they are inservice teachers.
What can we do? Design intentional
resources into course and student support
structures. One focus could be placed on
a reading level appropriate to this group
with many visual cues where
announcements, instructions, help
documents and course requirements are
concerned. A mentor structure could built
where in more senior students and
teachers from similar areas mentor each
other which would provide these students
with much needed support.

12. Distance Learning
The Experience What does it mean?
Distance Learning has been in existence in
Sub Saharan Africa at least since 1970 and
possibly before. Distance Learning consists
most frequently of paper based materials.
These materials may be supplemented with
meetings at a regional facility with a tutor,
interactive radio class meetings, or a trip to
the university for in-class meetings. Students
resist use of email. Dependence on SMS
messaging is high. [15, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29]
Universities in SSA have been engaging in
Distance Learning. We can learn from their
experiences. [23, 27]
Ongoing review of rural access capabilities is
important given the swiftly changing
technological landscape. [31]
Our students in SSA believe they know
what distance learning is. They have
likely participated in it or know
someone who has. They will come to
our program with a preconception of
distance learning as they know it.
What can we do? We can intentionally
teach the student the learning model.
This could be a lecture based
component (for reasons to soon be
explained) with a testing requirement.
Entrance to first module could be
contingent on passing the test with a
very high score.

13. Learning Preferences
Collaborative/Group Activities What does it mean?
Students are taught from an early age
using “teacher talk”. They expect a clear
power distance between themselves and
their instructor. [2, 16, 20, 22, 25, 26, 28]
When asked to complete ill defined
collaborative activities most simply don’t.
Unless a collaborative activity is structured
with well defined interaction with the
instructor and students, the most
frequent behavior is avoidance. Even
repeated reminders yield no participation.
Problem based learning is seen as complex
and time consuming. A “culture of
lurking” exists; when the majority of the
class lurks, learning does not occur. [16,
20, 22, 28]
Just as our students believe they know what
online learning is, they believe they know
what teaching and learning is. They have a
specific set of expectations which have
informed their participation in formal
education and which have worked well for
them to this point (presumably).
What can we do? We can scaffold new
learning experiences with instructor
guidance, support materials and clearly
defined outcomes. We can ensure that roles
are clearly defined within the discussion. We
can understand that these students will
desire a clear delineation between student
and teacher and may not perform well if that
doesn’t exist. When an activity will not allow
this, we can outline roles and expectations
explicitly.

14. Things are changing quickly (but not quickly
enough)
Figure 1. African UnderSea Cables, 2009 - 2012
Resource: Oxford Internet Research
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/projects/?id=59

15. MODEL
• Access to TECHNOLOGY
• Well organized, downloadable and printable and easily navigable HELP documents written at an accessible grade level supportedwith
plentiful visual cues
• Downloadable, modestly sized media
• Mobile friendly content
• Clear and equivalent alternatives for lowest bandwidth students with limited onine time
Access to QUALITY PROGRAM DESIGN
• Explicitly outlined instructor and student roles for group discussions/activities
• Flexible due dates
• Extended synchronous windows for interaction
• Explicit instruction in the design of the programme and the student role
• Explicit instruction in academic writing and citation processes
• Ongoing evaluation and revision to adjust to changing access and conditions
• Access to CONTENT
• First language discussion opportunities with colleagues through accessible tools
• Comprehension check and affirmation with colleagues and instructor
• Multiple paths to content through varied textual materials
• Visual cues and graphical representations whenever possible
• Multiple media for reinforcement of key concepts
• Acknowledgement of the need for creation of scaffolds for learning wherever possible

16. Feedback?
• Next Steps:
• Integrate colleague feedback
• Fill gaps
• Publish 
• Research further: Implement recommendations and study their impact on
the learning of students from the African Continent.

17. References
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