The Types and Occurrence of Psychosocial Problems of Distance Education (DE) Students: A Study of a University in Ghana

Abstract

This study is aimed at finding out the occurrence and types of psychosocial problems of DE students in a university in Ghana. The d ata was collected from 190 DE students drawn from all seven centres of the selected university through a self-designed questionnaire. ANOVA, t test and regression were used to analyse the results. The results indicated that the main types of psychosocial problems reported by the students included problems of the modules, ineffective tutorials, academic, administrative and socio-economic problems. 67.9% of the students reported moderate levels, whilst 27.9% reported severe levels of psychosocial problems. There were no differences in the level of psychosocial problems in the students with regards to gender, age and centre. Level 400 students reported the highest level of psychosocial problems, followed by levels 300 and 100, with level 200 reporting the least. The predictors of psychosocial problems account for 98% of the total psychosocial problems encountered by the students. It was recommended that the authorities of the university should open counselling units in all the centres and provide the needed teaching and learning materials on a timely basis.

Keywords: Distance Education, Psychosocial Problems