Unfulfilled Promises: The Complex Reasons Behind Dropout in Open Online Distance Education in Türkiye

Citation

Elibol, S., & Bozkurt, A. (2025). Unfulfilled Promises: The Complex Reasons Behind Dropout in Open Online Distance Education in Türkiye. American Journal of Distance Education, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923647.2025.2510736

Abstract

Open online distance education (OODL) promises flexibility yet continues to grapple with persistently high attrition. Guided by the Kember – Tinto – Spady integration framework, this transcendental phenomenological study probed how and why learners decide to withdraw from a gigascale OODL programme. Semistructured interviews with fifteen exstudents (N = 15) were analyzed via horizonalisation and thematic clustering. Three macrothemes emerged: (1) academicdesign misalignment – chiefly assessment/content disconnects and static learning materials; (2) structural and institutional barriers – logistically taxing examcentre policies, dualprogramme bans and opaque fee structures; and (3) personal agency and life circumstances – resourcedrain conflicts, waning motivation, and pandemicinduced role overload. Emotion trajectories mapped onto these themes, revealing cycles of frustration leading to disappointment, stress giving way to relief, and guilt culminating in resignation, which collectively mediate the leap from struggle to withdrawal. The findings extend dropout scholarship by (a) linking barrier clusters to specific psychological mechanisms (selfefficacy erosion, autonomy frustration, identity threat) and (b) demonstrating how temporary policy shifts (emergency onlineexams) recalibrate student expectations. Future research should probe student resource use, chart dropout’s emotional fallout, and unpack cultural-socioeconomic drivers of attrition to guide globally relevant retention strategies. Collectively, the study reframes dropout not as isolated failure but as a rational response to compounded misalignments across design, structure, and life context.

Authors

  • Bozkurt, Aras
  • Elibol, Sevgi

Reference Type

Journal

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