RESEARCH METHODS Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

METHODS - Research Paper Example ohnson, 2010; Hostetter & Bush, 2006) or have desire of obtaining the higher education while carrying on with their jobs (Barnard, Paton & Rose, 2007; Stavroulia & Psychari, 2010). According to Wise and Rothman (2010), these programs ensure easy access to high level education for those students who are unable to continue traditional learning program either because of employment problems, travelling issues, lack of sufficient funds for financing traditional education and family responsibilities. In order to determine the effectiveness of the distance learning programs, it is vital for the colleges and universities to gather sufficient data about the students’ perceptions of distance learning programs (Bukaliya & Musika, 2011). The students’ perceptions about distance learning programs have been studied by many researchers to identify the driving forces that motivate the students to get enrolled in these online programs (Borstroff & Lowe, 2007; Wang et al., 2008). Some researchers determined the advantages and disadvantages of the distance learning programs as perceived by the students and teachers (Conaway, Easton & Schmidt, 2005; Stavroulia & Psychar, 2010). According to the study of Spatariu, Quinn, and Hartley (2007), it was found that teachers who have expertise in handling technologies involved in distance learning programs have a positive attitude towards these studies. However, various teachers believe that distance learning programs have low level of education as compared to traditional programs (Babb, Stewart & Johnson, 2011). On the other hand, majority of the students who have acquired education via distance learning programs are satisfied with the entire curriculum and it has helped them in saving huge amount of money and time (Jackson & Helms, 2008). One drawback of this program is that the skills developed by means of this program are less polished than those developed in face-to-face interaction based classes. Sometimes, the students face