'Can School Actually Be More Difficult than This?' Perceptions of Nigerian Students on How to Succeed in Online International Postgraduate Programmes

摘要

This paper aims to present learner perceptions on successful online learning from the perspective of Nigerian students currently enrolled in or graduated from the online international postgraduate (master and doctoral) programmes of the University of Liverpool, delivered by Laureate Online Education. Success in e-learning is regarded as reaching tangible goals and passing the required academic milestones in order to graduate from the programme and receive a master or doctoral degree (Beaudoin et al., 2009; Amadi, 2011).The paper presents the findings of a qualitative phenomenological study (van Manen, 1997; Crotty, 1998; Creswell, 2007; Mason, 2012) from the standpoint of cultural anthropology (Hall, 1996; Hannerz, 2001; Coleman et al., 2010) pointing at the Nigerian cultural context. The study includes socio-economical status, gender- and ethnicity-related questions that may have an impact on learner success in online education. After the analysis of cultural components, the article presents the perceptions of Nigerian adult learners on the profile of a successful online student, and it also explores the proposed 'how to' for succeeding in online programmes whilst living and working in Nigeria. The findings are based on semi-structured interviews with 17 Nigerian students and a focus group discussion with 12 graduated Nigerian students. Online study cannot be viewed as detached from the local context, which includes the family environment and the challenges that individuals are exposed to within the Nigerian society. Residents in Nigeria have to face a series of external difficulties, including electricity shortages, internet connectivity problems, political unrest and strikes, as well as being tied to strong cultural values, such as the importance of family when making career-related decisions (Beckloff, 2008; Adekunle, 2007) or gender roles (Ango, 2011; Ogbogu, 2011; Nwadigwe, 2007) influencing the set-up of priorities and the allocation of study time. Based on their personal online learning experiences in the challenging Nigerian cultural context and noticing the differences between Nigerian face-to-face and online learning methods students constructed the prototype of a successful online learner, who is organized, dedicated, disciplined, expert in time management, avoids burn-out, has personal motivation and support from the family and work environment, enjoys hard work, flexible and open to learn, reads, interacts and performs, use internet as a tool for education and fights tirelessly the negative social aspects and the local challenges of his/her country.