International Journal of Education
ISSN 1948-5476 2016, Vol. 8, No. 3
http:ije.macrothink.org
40
3. Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework of Latchem and Jung 2007 and Perraton 2000 was adopted and used to guide data analysis. The framework is based on the quality assurance indicators in
open and distance learning. The framework adopted examines the various quality assurance approaches employed in Asian open and distance learning universities. In their context,
different ways of managing the quality in a distance institution were proposed. It brings together the three quality indicators chosen for this study, namely: coherence, efficiency and
impact. The first quality indicator of the study is known as ‘coherence’ which relates to the national education policies with regard to distance education development and the private
sector. It was found that like other higher education institutions in Ethiopia IGNOU followed the country’s higher education policy and guidelines to operate in partnership with local
private higher institutions. ‘Efficiency’ is the second quality indicator used to assess the institution’s various activities such as the quality of course materials, student support services
and learner’s assessment methods. The third quality indicator is ‘impact’ which is concerned with the assessment function of the various stakeholders’ perceptions including among others,
the MoE, HERQA write in fullas well as the main key players of the study: the graduates of MARD, prospective students and staff members. The theoretical approach posits that there is
interplay between the main activities of teaching and learning, which directly affect the quality in higher education in general and distance education in particular.
4. Methodology
A qualitative research design was used in this study. In particular, a case study was employed. Stratified and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the research site and
potential respondents. The study was delimited to the Indira Gandhi National Open University IGNOU in Ethiopia. IGNOU was selected as a case study because it is one of the largest
universities in the world which provides higher education opportunities by means of a distance mode to local, national and international students. It is also one of the leading
educational institutions in Ethiopia with a high number of postgraduate students compared to other private universities in the country. It offers nine Master’s programmes, namely: Master
of Business Administration; Master of Commerce; Master of Arts in Public Administration; Master of Arts in Rural Development; Master of Arts in Economics; Master of Arts in
Sociology; Master of Arts in Political Science; Master of Arts in Social Work; and Master of Arts in Tourism Management. The focus on the Master in Rural Development was based on
the fact that a majority of the Ethiopian population 85 is engaged in agricultural work and lives in rural areas Tesfaye, 2010. As result, an education programme that has a focus on
rural educational development will have some relevance in this context, especially in meeting the human resource needs of the country.
A total of 30 participants were purposively selected from those who already involved in distance education programs and interviewed accordingly. Categorically, the sample consisted
of ten interviewees drawn from the research site IGNOU, Addis Ababa; four were from management bodies and were decision-makers and six were from academic staff members,
International Journal of Education
ISSN 1948-5476 2016, Vol. 8, No. 3
http:ije.macrothink.org
41
including the programme coordinator and head of department. The sample also included five graduates and five prospective MARD students, making a total of ten MARD students. It also
consisted of five senior officials from the Federal Ministry of Education - two policy-makers, two higher education experts and one official responsible for private higher education
institutions, including distance education. Five officials from the Higher Education Relevance and Quality Agency HERQA, three of whom are senior officials responsible for both
accreditation and quality audits and two were from the External Quality Auditor at Addis Ababa University AAU.
Data were collected through a combination of semi-structured interviews and document review.Yin 2003 posits that a notable hallmark of a case study is the use of various,
different sources of evidence p. 85. The use of the two methods was based on the advice given by Demimonde, 2009 who argues that any weaknesses inherent in one method would
be compensated for by the strengths in the other p. 166.In particular, the use of more than one method of data collection implies ‘triangulation’ in a study Yin, 2009: 115 and this, in
turn, enhanced both the credibility and the validity of this study.The documentary information and the interviews were analysed and interpreted using the qualitative research
paradigm. The findings of the study were systematically analysed to build an argument using factors from the analysis and an interpretation of the major themes which were sub-divided
into three core parts. The analysis techniques comprised a number of activities, such as selecting, describing, interpreting, evaluating and connecting evidence to communicate the
findings to the readers Dey, 1993.
Figure 2. Breaking Higher Education’s Iron Triangle through Distance Education: The Case
of IGNOU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Coherence
Efficiency
Quality
Impact
International Journal of Education
ISSN 1948-5476 2016, Vol. 8, No. 3
http:ije.macrothink.org
42
5. Discussion of the Findings
