Students’ and teachers’ perceptions and experiences of course scheduling in undergraduate sports sciences program: An Ethiopian case study

Abstract

Flexibility in course scheduling is an integral part of institutional strategies used to increase student engagement and success, yet little research exists that examines scheduling as a key factor that determines students’ experiences and educational outcomes. This study explored the undergraduate sport science students and their teachers at Jimma University, Ethiopia, regarding their experiences in semester-based and block scheduling formats as well as their reflections and perspectives on the effectiveness of these scheduling formats for teaching and learning. For this, the study used an exploratory mixed-methods design consisting of individual interviews with six teachers and focus group interviews with undergraduate sports sciences student sample (n = 40), and institutional archives of the sampled students’ cumulative grade point averages (GPAs). The study findings indicate divergent views regarding their perceptions and mixed experiences with the semester-based and block scheduled courses. Irrespective of these, the majority of participants reported that teachers’ missing scheduled classes, tending not to teach the full time of the class session, continual lecturing, and scarcity of instructional resources are the major challenges surrounding the implementation of both semester-based and block teaching. We discuss the implications of these findings for future research, implementation, and intervention design.