Convergences and Divergences in Perspectives on Flexible Learning at a Private Higher Education Institution: An Exploration Using the Iron Triangle Framework

Abstract

This study investigated the convergences and divergences in stakeholder perspectives—specifically faculty, students, and administrators—on the implementation of flexible learning (FL) in a private higher education institution and explored what accounted for such convergences and divergences.

Framed in the Iron Triangle framework, which highlights the interconnected dimensions of access, cost, and quality, the research adopts an abductive case study approach to explore how these stakeholder perspectives, when triangulated with institutional responses to challenges encountered during FL implementation, reflect the tensions arising among issues of access, cost, and quality.

Findings showed that the extent to which these dilemmas are resolved or left unresolved is shaped by their perspective of FL. Specifically, the persistence of the dilemmas can be attributed to the perspective that FL is just a solution to the disruptions caused by the pandemic. While the convergent theme that portrays FL as a combination of traditional and digital modalities provides a plausible basis for institutional engagement in FL, this limited understanding of the relationship between technology and learning also explains the institution’s inability to sustain FL beyond the immediate crisis.

These findings provide implications on the critical role of social perspectives and their interactions in the emergence of the tensions but also the extent to which they are addressed. Recommendations for educational administrators implementing FL are presented along with further areas for research.