Doctoral Student Connectedness in Open Distance Learning: A Case of Students and Supervisors

The focus of this quantitative study was to investigate doctoral students' perception of connectedness in an open distance learning (ODL) environment. The study focused exclusively on Ethiopian doctoral students and investigated feelings of student-to-student and student-to-supervisor connectedness in an ODL environment. A total of 100 Ethiopian doctoral students attending studying at an ODL university were selected to take part in the study. Descriptive statistics, t-test and correlation analysis were conducted. The results showed that doctoral students experience less than desirable levels of connectedness with each other and also a slightly above average perception of connectedness with their supervisors. Moreover, the findings also showed that there is a positive relationship between student-to-student and student-to-supervisor connectedness scores. Based on the findings it is recommended that the university should implement initiatives to support socialisation and interaction among students and also with supervisors.