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Addressing the role of technology in internationalization at a distance: Voices of students' in international distance learning from Ghana—sub‐Saharan Africa

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British Journal of Educational Technology
Authors:
Alex Kumi-Yebaoh at University at Albany, State University of New York
Alex Kumi-Yebaoh
Yanghyun Kim at University at Albany, State University of New York
Yanghyun Kim
Zacharia Mohammed
Zacharia Mohammed
Zacharia Mohammed
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Samuel Amponsah at University of Ghana
Samuel Amponsah
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Abstract and Figures

The past two decades have witnessed a surge of distance learning in higher education across the world. Scholars have argued that this is due to the increasing use and recognition of technologies to act as a means, channel and source for internationalization of knowledge. Further, internationalization at a distance (IaD) has seen a rapid increase in universities in Ghana, sub‐Saharan Africa, due to increased use of digital technologies and high demand for foreign education. Yet, there remains limited research about the role of technologies in facilitating and mediating IaD in countries in sub‐Saharan Africa. Moreover, few studies have explored students' experiences in IaD regarding prospects and challenges in Ghana, sub‐Saharan Africa. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore students' experiences and voices regarding the role of technologies in facilitating and mediating distance learning including students' critical reflections on the technological shift of IaD in higher education (including the COVID‐19 pandemic period) in Ghana. Data were collected following a qualitative research design via an in‐depth semistructured interview of 28 students (16 females and 12 males) enrolled in IaD learning program in three foreign universities (two in the United Kingdom and one in the United States). Data analyses were done via a constant comparative approach. Findings showed that students experienced enhanced quality of learning through the varied use of technologies such as Zoom, Team and Google Hangouts. However, students faced challenges such as unequal access to technologies, intermittent Internet connections/outages, high cost of tuition and lack of social and teaching engagement. These findings in many ways contribute to a new understanding and knowledge building of students' experiences and challenges of IaD in sub‐Saharan Africa. Practitioner notes What is already known about this topic? The number of students in internationalization at a distance (IaD) education programs is increasing alongside the development of digital technologies and the expansion of digital infrastructure. Increasing demands for higher education in sub‐Saharan Africa have led to an increase in the number of students from Ghana in IaD. What this paper adds? Ghanaian students in IaD benefited from the use of various digital technologies, improving their engagement and facilitating the acquisition of digital skills. They faced barriers in accessing digital technologies and Internet connectivity. Implications for practice and/or policy Pretraining programs and workshops to enhance students' digital skills before starting distance education could be beneficial for Global South students in IaD. Education provider should support the access to digital technologies and Internet connectivity of Global South students in IaD.
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890
|
Br J Educ Technol. 2025;56:890–908.
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/bjet
Received: 13 Jul y 2024
|
Accepted: 21 November 2024
DO I: 10 .1111/ b je t .13 5 52
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Addressing the role of technology in
internationalization at a distance: Voices of
students' in international distance learning
from Ghana—sub- Saharan Africa
Alex Kumi- Yeboah1 | YangHyun Kim1 | Zacharia Mohammed2 |
Samuel Amponsah3
© 2024 British Educational Research Association.
1Department of Educational Theory and
Practic e (ETAP), School of Educati on,
Universi ty at Albany- SUNY, Albany, New
Yor k , U SA
2Department of Educational & Counselling
Psychology, School of Education, U niversity
at Albany- SUNY, Albany, New York, USA
3Depar tment of Distance Education, School
of Continuing and Distance Education,
College of Education, Univer sity of Gh ana,
Accra, Ghana
Correspondence
Alex Kumi- Yeboah, Department of
Educational Theory and Practice (ETAP),
School of Educatio n, Univers ity at Albany-
SUNY, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany,
NY 12222, USA.
Email: akumi-yeboah@albany.edu,
akumiyeb@gmail.com
Abstract: The past two decades have witnessed a
surge of distance learning in higher education across
the world. Scholars have argued that this is due to the
increasing use and recogniti on of technologies to act as
a means, channel and source for internationalization
of knowledge. Further, internationalization at a
distance (IaD) has seen a rapid increase in universities
in Ghana, sub- Saharan Africa, due to increased use
of digital technologies and high demand for foreign
education. Yet, there remains limited research about
the role of technologies in facilitating and mediating
IaD in countries in sub- Saharan Africa. Moreover,
few studies have explored students' experiences in
IaD regarding prospects and challenges in Ghana,
sub- Saharan Africa. Therefore, the purpose of
this research is to explore students' experiences
and voices regarding the role of technologies in
facilitating and mediating distance learning including
students' critical reflections on the technological shift
of IaD in higher education (including the COVID- 19
pandemic period) in Ghana. Data were collected
following a qualitative research design via an in- depth
semistructured interview of 28 students (16 females
and 12 males) enrolled in IaD learning program in
three foreign universities (two in the United Kingdom
and one in the United States). Data analyses were
done via a constant comparative approach. Findings
showed that students experienced enhanced quality
of learning through the varied use of technologies
such as Zoom, Team and Google Hangouts. However,
... Pengembangan model manajemen layanan BK berbasis website menjadi alternatif strategis untuk meningkatkan efisiensi manajerial, akuntabilitas, serta pelaporan berbasis data (Abdallah Altarawneh & Awwad Alomoush, 2022;Bakshi & Goss, 2019;Bandhu et al., 2024;Burn et al., 2024;Dimmitt et al., 2024;Goss & Anthony, 2009;Holmes et al., 2014;Kang et al., 2025;Kumi-Yeboah et al., 2025;Li et al., 2024;Mason et al., 2018;Sink et al., 2019). Namun, adopsi model ini di Indonesia masih terkendala oleh kesiapan digital dan adaptasi terhadap kebijakan lokal. ...
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