The court is in session!
A pleasant good day to you, the members of this esteemed jury! “Education, education, this is the foundation. Our rising population needs some education...” (Sparrow, n.d., para.1). These powerful words were written and sung by the Calypsonian king; Slinger Francisco affectionately known as Mighty Sparrow. His remarkable song titled ‘Education a Must’ serves as encouragement for you and me, and most importantly for our children to learn. However, there are an array of hindrances to learning and online education. For just a moment, imagine that you have dyslexia and experience difficulty with reading, or writing. Or perhaps you have Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and so you have trouble managing your online coursework, staying focused, and being organized.
Not only that, but just imagine being stigmatized and discriminated against by your peers and teachers in your virtual classes as a result of having those learning disabilities. How do you think this will affect your learning outcomes? Most importantly, how does that make you feel? Precisely, doesn’t it make you feel like dropping out of your online schooling? Well, for those of you who feel like giving up, there’s empirical evidence that highlights that countless students with disabilities leave school early and thus do not complete their degrees (Seabrooks-Blackmore & Patterson, 2015, as cited in Terras, 2020). Indeed, these findings are disheartening because every student should reap the benefits of online learning and consequently achieve their educational goals.
To be successful in the online climate, the diverse student population needs various forms and levels of support. According to Terras (2020), individualized and inclusive measures for accommodating students with disabilities in distance education (DE) are critical to supporting the academic, emotional, and social development of learners. In fact, the participants in this study who received accommodation in their online studies were successful (Terras, 2020). Consequently, the success of this student population in any given higher education institution increases retention and graduation rates. Most notably, providing such students with accommodation helps them get the education that they need which is in keeping with Sparrow’s lyrical words. So, members of the jury, it is thence imperative that learner support plans address support measures for students with disabilities.
However, this is only a fraction of the entire student population that requires support. Jurors, have you ever heard the common saying, money is power? Well, in many societal spheres, it is often believed that those who have the most money is very powerful. Interestingly, this can be seen in the world of education, specifically distance education. Essentially, money gives learners the opportunity to make power moves; moves that can change their lives for the better. Let’s take another moment and imagine an online student who has enough money in their bank account to pay for their entire undergraduate or graduate online schooling. In this case, that student will be paying for tuition, fees, and other expenses out of pocket. As such, in the long run, he or she will not have hefty financial burdens like student loan debt. That sounds great right!
Conversely, imagine an online learner who hails from a disadvantaged socioeconomic background with little to no money to finance their education. The question is, will that student take out a substantial loan with high interest/default rates to finance their online education or will that learner reconsider continuing their studies due to lack of financial resources available? Well, Riegg and Darolia (2016) pointed out that student loan debt has tripled to over 1.2 trillion dollars in the past decade. They further added that “these rising debt levels have raised concerns related to an array of public and private risks: student repayment burdens and diminished returns to college...” (Riegg & Darolia, 2016, p. 1). This suggests that the latter student in the aforementioned scenario is either very likely to not return to school or take a loan and experience debt repayment burdens which can demotivate that student to achieve other forms of higher education.
It is therefore crucial that online higher education institutions offer grant aid and scholarships to financially support their student population. According to Riegg and Darolia (2016), “grants of any type are perhaps the most important source of non-debt financing, and are particularly attractive since they lower the net cost of education to the student and typically do not need to be repaid” (p. 7). Jurors, scholarships and grant aids can therefore curtail the high borrowing behaviors of online learners and support learners with limited financial resources. Again, it is important to stress that this type of learner support gives all students the ability to get the education that they need which is in accordance with Sparrow’s powerful lyrics.
Finally, members of this esteemed jury, pretend right now that you are an online faculty member. My figurative question to you is, can you pour from an empty cup? Most definitely not! In fact, there is a self-care saying “you can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first” (Dreamstime, n.d.). Since management and ultimately faculty play an imperative role throughout a student’s academic life, it is crucial that they pour into themselves and get the support that they need. This support can come in the form of professional development workshops, disability and technological training, established online policies that guide instructional practices and technological decisions among other things. According to Guan and Stanford (2016), “teacher support has a strong impact on learners, and vice versa...When a teacher’s needs for pedagogical, technical, or logistical support are not addressed, students suffer the consequences” (p. 65). This implies that a well-developed support system for teachers can thence contribute significantly to the success of all students in DE.
Members of the jury, as my argument draws nigh, permit me to leave this common saying with you which is “the fish rots from the head”. In the world of DE, this means that bad management resulting from a lack of support, or a poor support structure is highly likely to have negative ripple effects on the rest of the DE institution. Remember, they are the ‘head’ of the organization! It is therefore essential jurors that support for management and lead faculty members is taken into consideration in a learner support plan. This coupled with accommodation for students with disabilities and institutional aid offerings will ensure that every student gets the education that they need! For “education, education, this is the foundation. Our rising population needs some education...” (Sparrow, n.d., para.1).
I rest my case!
What’s your verdict jurors?
Krista
MDE student
University of Maryland Global Campus
University of Maryland Global Campus | UMGC
References
Dreamstime. (n.d.). Inspirational quote. Dreamstime.https://www.dreamstime.com/inspirational-quote-you-can-t-pour-empty-cup-take-care-yourself-first-self-love-concept-coffee-pink-purple-image214673966
Guan, S., & Stanford, D. (2016). Learner and Faculty Support. New Directions for Higher Education, (173), 65–74. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umgc.edu/10.1002/he.20180
Terras, K. (2020). Comparing disability accommodations online courses: A cross-classification. Journal of Educators Online, 17(2), 175–187. Click here to access the article
Riegg Cellini, S. & Darolia, R. (2016, June). Different degrees of debt: Student borrowing in the for-profit, nonprofit, and public sectors. The Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings. Click to here access the article
Sparrow, M. (n.d.). Education a must. Genius. https://genius.com/Mighty-sparrow-education-a-must-lyrics