A qualitative study of success factors as perceived by adult distance learners of Universiti Teknologi MARA.

This study seeks to understand individual perceptions of how ‘success’ is achieved in the context of distance education. In seeking greater illumination, as opposed to investigating causal factors, this study adopts a learner-centred orientation, which synthesises a critical qualitative framework. In using a case study approach and a purposive sample, the experiences of 34 distance learners (20 men and 14 women) of Universiti Teknologi Mara (Perlis and Shah Alam campuses) were studied over a one and a half-year period. Two groups of students participated in the study and 46 semi- structured interviews were carried out. Here elements of grounded theory, phenomenology-hermeneutics and the critical incident technique underscore data collection, analysis and interpretation. The study concludes by drawing on the principles of interpretive validity and hermeneutics to further our understanding of the essences of success, which relate to personality factors; appropriate learning strategies; and socio-cultural factors associated with employment and the family and friends. The critical incidents related further endorse the credibility of the essences established. This highlights the premise that certain theoretical and practical issues in distance education are better understood as Sodo-cultural phenomena. Furthermore, as the ever—widening ‘hermeneutic spiral remains opens, this enlarges the dimensions of our understanding of the questions investigated.