What students want? Exploring the role of the institution in supporting successful learning journeys in online distance education

Mannay, Dawn ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7368-4111 and Wilcock, Ceri 2015. What students want? Exploring the role of the institution in supporting successful learning journeys in online distance education. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning 17 (1) , pp. 49-63. 10.5456/WPLL.17.1.49

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Abstract

There have been numerous initiatives to increase access to higher education for those residing in marginalised locales in Wales. However, entrance in itself does not guarantee success and it is important for educators and policy makers to explore issues of retention. Classed and relational positionings often conflict with non-traditional students’ education trajectories and sometimes contribute to their withdrawal from academia. In response to this challenge the current paper focuses on the accounts of non-traditional students in Communities First[1] areas who took an undergraduate social science module with The Open University in Wales. Importantly, rather than reading these barriers to progression as students’ individual difficulties, the paper considers how educational cultures can create and perpetuate disadvantage. Exploring students’ accounts of pedagogy and administration, the paper focuses on online provision in distance learning and offers a range of strategies that could potentially improve the delivery of an Open University module and students’ experiences in future presentations.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races L Education > L Education (General) L Education > LB Theory and practice of education L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education L Education > LC Special aspects of education > LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education L Education > LF Individual institutions (Europe) T Technology > T Technology (General)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	distance learning, higher education, online learning, new technologies, retention, widening participation
Publisher:	The Open University
ISSN:	1466-6529
Funders:	Higher Education Academy
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Date of Acceptance:	9 March 2015
Last Modified:	02 May 2023 21:43
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/71399

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