Loneliness in online students with disabilities: qualitative investigation for experience, understanding and solutions

International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education

Pauline Green¹  Yasuhiro Kotera¹  James Chircop¹  Lucy Hutchinson¹  Christine Rhodes¹  Greta Kaluzeviciute¹  Robert-Maxwell Jones¹  Gulcan Garip¹ 

[1] University of Derby, Kedleston Road, DE22 1GB, Derby, UK;

关键词: Special needs education;    Cultural and social implications;    Distance education and online learning;    Learning communities;    Lifelong learning;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s41239-021-00301-x

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Online learning has given access to education for diverse populations including students with disabilities. In our university, the ratio of students with disabilities is substantially higher in the online programmes than face-to-face. Online learning provides high accessibility though it can result in a lonely experience. Accordingly, this study aimed to appraise the first-hand experience and understanding of loneliness in online students with disabilities (OSWD), and to discuss possible solutions. Thematic analysis on semi-structured interviews attended by nine OSWD identified: ‘Self-paced study can reduce stigma but cause loneliness (Theme 1)’, ‘Loneliness and social difficulties relate to misunderstanding of disability (Theme 2)’, and ‘Activities, events and staff for informal socialisation are needed (Theme 3)’. As the demand for online learning is further expanded due to the current global pandemic, our findings will be helpful for online learning institutions worldwide to establish effective strategies to reduce loneliness in OSWD.

【 授权许可】

CC BY