Five-dimensional model of institutional barriers to on-time master’s degree completion in Tanzanian public universities

IF 2.3 3区 教育学 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Obeid Boazi Gwalupama , Musa Mpelwa , PENG Pai
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

In Tanzanian public universities, 74 % of master’s students fail to complete their degrees within the scheduled 18–24 months, exacerbating national skills gaps, delaying workforce entry, and imposing financial and psychological burdens on students. Prior studies in sub-Saharan Africa focused on barriers to students and supervisors that hinder master's students from completing their degrees on time; however, institutional barriers specific to Tanzania’s master’s programs remain underexplored. This study aimed to explore institutional barriers and develop a model to analyse their collective impact on timely degree completion. The study employed an exploratory qualitative design, and data were generated from in-depth semi-structured interviews with 48 participants selected through purposive and snowball sampling. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed through the lens of Tinto’s integration theory and Bean’s attrition frameworks. The analysis revealed nine institutional barriers, with two novel dimensions emerging: cultural complacency and financial precarity. These coalesced into a five-dimensional model illustrating how institutional structures interact to hinder the on-time completion: academic barriers, administrative inefficiencies, financial precarity, social isolation and Cultural complacency. Findings proposed a model demonstrating how cultural norms reinforce administrative bottlenecks, while financial neglect exacerbates supervisory disengagement. Actionable reforms are proposed to address these interdependencies, including decentralising administrative tasks, incentivising timely supervision, and fostering peer networks. The model also offers a scalable framework for sub-Saharan African universities facing similar resource constraints. Reframing delays as systemic failures rather than individual shortcomings, this study urges policymakers to prioritise holistic, context-sensitive strategies to enhance equity, efficiency, and graduate outcomes in resource-constrained higher education systems.
坦桑尼亚公立大学按时完成硕士学位的制度障碍的五维模型
在坦桑尼亚公立大学,74% %的硕士生未能在预定的18-24 个月内完成学位,加剧了国家技能差距,推迟了进入劳动力市场的时间,并给学生带来了经济和心理负担。之前在撒哈拉以南非洲的研究集中在学生和导师之间的障碍,这些障碍阻碍了硕士生按时完成学位;然而,坦桑尼亚硕士课程特有的制度障碍仍未得到充分探讨。本研究旨在探讨制度障碍,并建立一个模型来分析其对及时完成学位的集体影响。本研究采用探索性定性设计,数据来自深度半结构化访谈,通过目的抽样和滚雪球抽样选出48名参与者。访谈被录音、转录,并通过Tinto的整合理论和Bean的人员流失框架进行分析。分析揭示了9个制度障碍,其中出现了两个新的方面:文化自满和金融不稳定。这些因素合并成一个五维模型,说明制度结构如何相互作用,阻碍按时完成学业:学术障碍、行政效率低下、财务不稳定、社会孤立和文化自满。研究结果提出了一个模型,表明文化规范如何强化行政瓶颈,而财务忽视如何加剧监督脱离。为解决这些相互依赖关系,提出了可行的改革措施,包括下放行政任务、鼓励及时监督和培育同行网络。该模型还为面临类似资源限制的撒哈拉以南非洲大学提供了一个可扩展的框架。该研究将延迟重新定义为系统性失败,而不是个体缺陷,敦促政策制定者优先考虑整体的、对环境敏感的战略,以提高资源有限的高等教育系统的公平、效率和毕业生成果。
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来源期刊
International Journal of Educational Development
International Journal of Educational Development EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH-
CiteScore
4.20
自引率
12.00%
发文量
106
审稿时长
40 days
期刊介绍: The purpose of the International Journal of Educational Development is to foster critical debate about the role that education plays in development. IJED seeks both to develop new theoretical insights into the education-development relationship and new understandings of the extent and nature of educational change in diverse settings. It stresses the importance of understanding the interplay of local, national, regional and global contexts and dynamics in shaping education and development. Orthodox notions of development as being about growth, industrialisation or poverty reduction are increasingly questioned. There are competing accounts that stress the human dimensions of development.
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