Challenges of Pursuing Master of Education in Evening Mode and its Implications for Blended Delivery in Higher Education: A Case Study of Jordan University College - Morogoro

Abstract

This study investigated challenges of pursuing Master of Education (M. ED) programme in evening mode and its implications for blended delivery in higher education, taking Jordan University College (JUCo) - Morogoro as a case study. The study used case study research design employing mixed methods to investigate challenges from a sample of 95 students comprising of 50 first year and 45 second year students drawn suing convenient sampling technique. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using the Structured Questionnaire and the Focused Group Discussion Guide and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 20.0) and the Data Reduction Technique (DRT) respectively. Findings have revealed that despite students’ positive perceptions about the M. ED programme, 29 (30.5%) reported to have time to attend at least 16 – 18 lecture hours per week on the campus. The study has identified the following four major challenges that hindered students from attending lectures in the campus regularly: (i) lack of study leave from employers to enrol in the program, (ii) late evening schedules for the lectures i.e. from 16:00-20:00 hours weekly on the campus, (iii) difficulty getting transport after 20:00 hours from JUCo to their respective homes and safety-related challenges and (iv) fatigue / tiredness. The study has also indicated that 93 (97.9%) and 89 (93.7%) of students in the M. ED programme preferred blended delivery mode preferably a blend of online and evening face-to-face and online and executive face-to-face respectively. The implications for blended delivery mode have also been discussed and presented in this study.