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Research Discoveries
1. Dropouts’ insufficient “learning preparation” and weak time management skills prior to admission have a negative influence on learning. Insufficient learning preparation surfaces as the lack of specialized knowledge and poor reading and writing skills. Weak time management skills refers to the dropouts’ inability to effectively plan their time. They have difficulty balancing their time reasonably between study and work. These conclusions are mainly based on the results of the questionnaires.
Questions concerning conditions prior to admission included 5 items (Figure 2). The results show a rather high proportion of dropouts aged 24-28. People of this age group are in the prime of their physical strength and energy, and it is the best time to take in new knowledge; this should not influence their dropping out of school. Concerning computer literacy, 80% of the students think of themselves as having no problems, which means that an Internet-based learning environment should present no obstacle to them. In addition, the investigation shows that 100% of the dropouts already received education at or above the associate degree level, which demonstrates that the dropouts are qualified for higher education in terms of intelligence and literacy level. However, it should be noted that many students’ reading and writing abilities are barely passable, and for some students, the abilities are below what would be considered the minimum requirements. Therefore researchers think that the data does not accurately reflect the learners’ actual literacy level and that it should be regarded as a latent factor affecting the decision to drop out on the part of those with lower literacy levels. As the subjects of the study are English majors, their background in this field is given special attention, and is regarded as part of the students’ “learning preparation” before admission to the school. The results show that only 37% of the people had an English programme background, which indicates that 63% of the dropouts without an English programme background felt some degree of unfamiliarity with English after leaving school for a period of time (an average of 3-5 years). It becomes easy for them to encounter a cognitive load too heavy for them to bear in the English undergraduate programme. Another aspect of the questionnaire targeted time management skills. Only about 21% of the dropouts think they have good time management skills. This figure shows that adult students take a passive approach to their schedule after they get off work, and have a poor awareness of time management. Time constraints are an unavoidable problem for all adult students. If they cannot cope with it effectively, they will not be able to plan adequate time for studying, and this leads to rather grim prospects for their continued studies.
2. External factors affect the ability of the student to regularly attend face-to-face tutorials. This conclusion is also mainly based on the questionnaires, which highlight three main factors: business trips, work transfer, and transportation problems (Figure 3). These indicate that the dropouts experience conflicts between work time and study time, leading to a negative effect on their learning experience. Moreover, external factors such as economic problems, health problems, emergencies and learning environment also influence the decision to drop out.
Some business trips are to be expected, but frequent business trips or being away from an extended period will lead to low attendance at face-to-face tutorials. Once the students fall behind, it is easy for them to lose interest and confidence in learning. Statistics show that this is a key factor in 90% of dropouts. To adult learners, a sudden transfer or change of employment also creates obstacles. For example, they need to put in more time at the new job, and more energy goes in to creating new relationships. In such cases, the students tend to spend their time and energy on work, and about half of the dropouts interviewed cited this as a factor in their dropping out. Another 50% of dropouts said that transportation problems influenced their decision to drop out. Usually, students choose to study at a nearby location for the sake of convenience. However, when work suddenly changes, they can find themselves getting caught in rush-hour traffic and by the time they arrive for their face-to-face tutorial, the lecture is half over and they easily lose the motivation to study.
3. Insufficient involvement in the learning process and low understanding and utilization of the RTVU mixed learning model become internal factors leading to dropout. Tinto’s theory holds that a student’s ability to complete his schooling depends on his ability to fulfill assignments and keep up with the pace of the class. Other factors, such as his ability to adapt to the new environment and his ability to establish good relationships with teachers and classmates, also play a part. The former two factors refer to how academically compatible the students are with the programmes they choose, and the latter two factors refer to the students’ adaptability in other respects.
3.1 Statistics on the students’ behavior and their degree of integration while studying at the RTVU were compiled using data obtained from questionnaires and interviews. The interviews frequently showed that the students’ lack of integration into the learning process played a major role in the discontinuation of their studies.
First, statistical induction was performed on the following categories in the questionnaire: participation level during their study period (Figure 4), difficulties in learning (Figure 5), evaluation of teachers (Figure 6), and interpretation of dropouts’ learning difficulties by teachers and class supervisors (Figure 7). The results indicate a very low level of participation during their study period, revealing that they lacked the necessary knowledge foundation needed to complete their study assignments.
Figure 4 focuses on the dropouts’ level of participation during their study period and is divided according to the main learning activities at RTVUs. Dropouts participated in less than half of these major learning activities, and even the face-to-face tutorials with the highest attendance rate involved only 40% of the dropouts. With such a poor foundation and minimal participation, the dropouts showed little initiative in taking responsibility for their study. Figure 5 shows the dropouts’ own perception of learning difficulties. The subjects were presented with four options, with the option “hard to say” interpreted by the researchers as meaning that the dropout did not know the answer to the related question or did not know how to make the judgment. The answer “hard to say” is classified as agreeing with the statement. In line with this principle, the statistics show that about 87% of the dropouts think they are weak in language skills, 89% of the dropouts recognize the difficulty of specialized English courses, and 33% believe that the examinations were difficult (54% of respondents chose “hard to say” because many dropped out prior to the final term examinations, so their answers were not counted toward the preceding statistic). Another 80% of the dropouts believe they do not know how to study English. These results are interpreted to mean that the dropouts faced a heavy cognitive load during their studies. The struggle to learn and lack of effective learning methods leads to frustration and gradual disillusionment because of unfulfilled learning expectations. Figure 6 shows the dropouts’ evaluation of RTVU teachers. “Hard to say” in this case is understood as an inability to make a worthwhile evaluation due to a lack of meaningful interaction with teachers in class or face-to-face tutorials. This choice was omitted when compiling the statistics. Generally speaking, over 50% of the dropouts gave a positive evaluation of the teaching, which shows that quite a number of dropouts attribute their quitting to themselves. 20% of the dropouts do not think they received encouragement from the teachers to learn; 8% think teachers need to improve their professional competence; 12% consider teaching methods and teaching feedback unsatisfactory. Despite the low rate of poor evaluations, the statistics do reflect a gap between learner support from the school and learner needs. Figure 7 shows teachers’ and class supervisors’ understanding of the dropouts’ learning difficulties. They hold similar views of students’ weak language base, great difficulty in understanding specialized teaching materials, and difficulty in passing examinations. The teachers’ evaluation is from a professional perspective, while class supervisors convey more of the students’ own feelings and opinions. In addition, half of the teachers think that the existing setup of specialized subjects for English programme cannot meet the learning needs of students with a weak language base.