Self Regulation and Cultural Orientation On the Academic Achievement of University Students On Distance Education in Kampala, Uganda

ABSTRACT Correlated in this study were the variables of self regulation, cultural orientation and academic achievement of university students on distance education in Kampala, Uganda with these aspects sought for in the specific objectives: (1) sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents in terms of gender, age, nationality, religion, course of study and present course enrolled in; (2) extent of self regulation; (3) degree of cultural orientation; ( 4) level of academic achievement; (5) significant differences in the extent of self regulation, degree of cultural orientation and level of academic achievement between gender, among nationalities, and between type of university the students were enrolled in; (6) significant correlations between the level of academic achievement and gender, among nationalities and between the type of university; between the extent of self regulation and degree of cultural orientation on the level of academic achievement. The study employed the ex post facto, descriptive comparative and descriptive correlation designs. The major findings were as follows: in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, 54.8% were male; 90.6% belonged to the early adulthood stage of life (20-39 years); 52.5% were Ugandans; 37.7% were enrolled in Social Sciences; 50.3% were Catholics and 57.2% were enrolled in the private university understudy. The extent of self regulation was satisfactory (mean=2.97); while the degree of cultural orientation was also satisfactory (mean=2.94); the level of academic achievement was above average/good (35.1 %). On significant differences, there was no significant difference in the extent of self regulation, degree of cultural orientation and level of academic achievement between gender, type of university and among nationalities thus the null hypotheses were accepted; there was a significant correlation between the extent of self regulation and degree of cultural orientation on the level of academic achievement, therefore the null hypothesis was rejected. In conclusion, the culture fit theory of Kanungo and Jaerger (1990) and Aisha (2007) were validated and proven true through the findings of this study while self regulation and cultural orientation were proven predictors to academic achievement. The recommendations based on the findings of this study addressed to the institutions understudy, to the distance learners and distance education facilitators were in these areas: proactive stance on gender sensitivity, managing cross cultural variations; enhancing learner's autonomy, cultural orientation and academic achievement.