Impact of Rurality on Students’ Educational Transition in Lesotho.

A Case Study

  • 'Malimpho Elsie Seotsanyana Department of Language and Social Education, National University of Lesotho, Lesotho
  • Mafa Maiketso Centre for teaching and learning, National University of Lesotho, Lesotho
Keywords: The National University of Lesotho (NUL), rurality, students’ views, transition, influence, secondary education, higher education

Abstract

The students’ views, from the secondary education in the rural areas in Lesotho, have been sought on the impact of rurality in relation to their transition from secondary education to higher education (in this regards, the National University of Lesotho (NUL). The students’ views were sought through their autobiographies. Autobiographical narratives were employed because it was assumed that they are a good tool for knowing oneself better. The study was qualitative, with the adoption of a case study research design. The participating students were drawn from three of the ten Lesotho districts that are situated in the rural areas. The purpose of the research study was to find out whether studying at the university has an impact on the students who have transited from secondary education in the rural areas and whether university education assists and prepares them to achieve their intentions and to reach a successful outcome.

A purposively selected number of eleven (11) students from the rural areas formed the sample of the study. A one question questionnaire was designed to collect information on the students’ experiences from their NUL studies in relation to the transition from secondary education to higher education. An interpretative analysis was employed to unveil the results of the study. The research study finds that the students have deficiencies. Secondary education has not moulded them to have a sudden engagement with their studies in higher education. Many of them still require further training in study skills in order to cope with the academic demands of higher education. It is therefore recommended that NUL should have a programme that serves as a bridge between secondary and higher education.

Author Biographies

'Malimpho Elsie Seotsanyana, Department of Language and Social Education, National University of Lesotho, Lesotho

A senior lecturer at the National University of Lesotho, Faculty of Education. She teaches and supervises students’ theses on Development Studies Education as well as Programme Monitoring and Evaluation. She attained her Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies education at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, where her research focused on Development Studies Education Programme Monitoring and Evaluation. Since then, her area of research and publication is on Programme Monitoring and Evaluation. She has co–authored book chapters on the Lesotho Education System.

Mafa Maiketso, Centre for teaching and learning, National University of Lesotho, Lesotho

An academic programmes developer at the Center for Teaching and Learning at the National University of Lesotho since 2015. His unit supports Students’ Academic Learning. He obtained his Masters of Education degree at the University of Botswana. He is a counsellor and facilitates seminars and workshops on Examination preparation. Study Skills such as self-motivation, note-taking, reading and writing techniques, balancing social with academic life and coping with intimidating teachers. Mr. Maiketso is a freelance writer for local newspapers and a radio presenter on socio-emotional issues.

References

Abdulwakeel, S. (2017). What is Rurality? Swedish University of Agriculture. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319123136_WHAT_IS_RURALITY Retrieved on 13th Sept 2019.
Bakadorova, O., & Raufelder, D. (2018). The essential role of the teacher-student relationship in students' need satisfaction during adolescence. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 58, 57-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2018.08.004
Baker, P., Gabrielatos, C., KhosraviNik, M., Krzyżanowski, M., McEnery, T., & Wodak, R. (2008). A useful methodological synergy? Combining critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics to examine discourses of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK press. Discourse & Society, 19(3), 273-306. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926508088962
Bleiker, J., Knapp, K. M., Morgan-Trimmer, S., & Hopkins, S. J. (2018). “It's what's behind the mask”: Psychological diversity in compassionate patient care. Radiography, 24, 28-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radi.2018.06.004
Brinkwortha, M. E., McIntyrea, J. Jurascheka, A. D. & Gehlbach, H. (2018). Teacher-student relationships: The positives and negatives of assessing both perspectives. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 55, 24-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2017.09.002
Countries and their cultures. (2000). Lesotho. Retrieved September 16, 2019 from https://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/Lesotho.html
Cranford, N. (2017). Difference between Positivist, Interpretive and Critical Sociology. Education by Demand Media. http://www.qualres.org/HomeInte-3516.html retrieved 21 Feb 2017 NOT.
Guiffrida, D. A. (2008). Preparing Rural Students for Large Colleges and Universities.
Kahn, J. V., & Best, J. W. (1993). Research in Education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Kim, I., Masin, A. G., Achiv, A. D., & Abdullahi, I. U. (2014). Climate Change: Effects on Agricultural Growth and Rural Transformation in Nigeria. International Journal of Current Research, 6(7), 7307-7314.
Lefoka, P. J. (2007). Out of school missing boys–a study from Lesotho. Commonwealth Education Partnerships 2007, 13-14. Retrieved September 16, 2019 from http://www.ungei.org/Lesotho.pdf
Liphoto, N. (2018). Keeping an eye on initiation schools. Retrieved September 16, 2019 from https://www.thepost.co.ls/news/keeping-an-eye-on-initiation-schools/
Makuta, M. (2001). Habitat for Humanity Lesotho. Retrieved September 17, 2019 from https://www.habitat.org/where-we-build/lesotho
Marcus, J. (2018). 'Going to Office Hours Is Terrifying' and Other Tales of Rural Students in College. Retrieved May 24, 2019 from https://www.npr.org/2018/12/12/668530699/-going-to-office-hours-is-terrifying- and-other-hurdles-for-rural-students-in-col
Marrion, M. (2016). In rural Lesotho, reaching communities with basic services. United Nations Children’s Fund. Retrieved May 24, 2019 from https://Reliefweb.int/report/Lesotho/rural-lesotho-reaching-communities -basic-services
Maxwell, G. M., & Mudhovozi, P. (2014). Transiting from rural high school to university: The challenges of getting into an appropriate degree programme. New Voices in Psychology, 10(2), 3-14. © Unisa Press ISSN 1812-6371.
Mertens, D. M. (2005). Research and Evaluation in Education and Psychology – Integrating Diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. London: Sage Publication.
Moletsane, R. (2012). Repositioning educational research on rurality and rural education in South Africa: Beyond deficit paradigms. Perspectives in Education, 30(1). Retrieved from https://ajol.info/index.php/pie/article/view/77005
Mpholo, M., Meyer-Renschhausen, M., Thamae, R. I., Molapo, T., Mokhuts’oane, L., Taele, B. M., & Makhetha, L. (2018). Rural Household Electrification in Lesotho, 23-26 January 2018, National University of Lesotho On occasion of NULISTICE 2018. Chapter 8. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93438-9_8
Mulkeen, A., & Chen, D. (Editors) (2008). Teachers for Rural Schools Experiences in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda. AFRICA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERIES. The World Bank Washington D. C. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-7479-5
Pheko, M. M., Monteiro, N., Tlhabano, K. N., & Mphele, B. M. (2014). Rural-to-urban migrations: acculturation experiences among university students in Botswana. International Journal Adolesc. Youth, 19(3), 306-317. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2014.928782
Sovanak, L., Vouchsieng, L. & Navy, M. (2018). The Challenges of Higher Education for Rural Students in Urban Universities in Cambodia, 94-106. Retrieved October 9, 2019 from https://uc.edu.kh/userfiles/image/2018/The_Challenges_of_Higher_Education.pdf
Thanh, N. C., & Thanh, T. T. L. (2015). The Interconnection between Interpretivist Paradigm and Qualitative Methods in Education. American Journal of Educational Science, 1(2), 24-27.
Virat, M., Trouillet, R., & Favre, D. (2018). A French adaptation of the Compassionate Love Scale for teachers: Validation on a sample of teachers and correlation with teacher autonomous motivation. Psychol. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psfr.2018.03.003
Walker, A. (2017). Critical Autobiography as Research. The Qualitative Report, 22(7), 1896-1908. Retrieved from https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol22/iss7/10
Published
2019-11-26
Section
Articles