COMPARATIVE STUDY OF STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN CONVENTIONAL AND OPEN DISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAMMES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study was carried out to discern the relative effectiveness of open distance instruction delivery mode as compared to conventional (face-to-face) instruction delivery mode by understudying the academic performance of students enrolled in the University of Abuja, (a dual-mode university in Nigeria) from 2004-2008. Using the descriptive survey research method, students’ academic performance records for four academic sessions were collected and analyzed using mean scores, standard deviations and t-test statistical analysis technique. The findings indicate that there were significant differences between the academic performance of students in conventional education and open distance education delivery modes. Students of conventional education programmes appear to perform better than their open distance education counterparts. This was contrary to many researches on distance education which indicated a finding of no significant difference between the two delivery modes. The findings can be explained by the way and manner in which the open distance programmes are run in Nigeria, which have perennially fallen short of internationally acceptable standards especially as it pertains to use of technology in open distance education. The paper recommends improvement in the distance learning as practiced in Nigeria, in order to harness the known comparative advantage of this delivery mode, for improving access to higher education by bridging the instructor-learner gap via modern information and communications technology.