A journey towards increasing learning confidence : health and social care professionals learning at a distance

Abstract

Distance education methods have had a major impact on the education of health care professionals in the last two decades.  Furthermore, the increasing use of information and communication technology in both working and learning contexts, coupled with an emphasis on lifelong learning is set to shape health professional education even further.  However, students face considerable challenges when they are required to use technology to communicate and interact with teachers at a distance.

This thesis focuses on one distance education programme and tells the story of how communication and interaction between students and teachers influenced student’s confidence to learn.  The study followed a qualitative methodology and used an illuminative case study approach within which data were collected by semi-structured interviews, reflective accounts, questionnaire and documentary analysis.  The progressive focusing approach was taken and data collected at three stages of the student’s journey towards completion of the programme.

The findings of the study indicate that, by the end of the programme, all students gained, to varying degrees, increased confidence to learn and that the process of one to one communication and interaction was central to their ability to gain and/or increase their confidence to learn.  Increased learning confidence in this context comprised of three key elements.  There were; an increased self-awareness, increased self-reliance and increased engagement in learning.  A number of key contributors to the development of learning confidence were also identified.  These were:  an interdependent partnership style relationship between teacher and student; a shift in the locus of control between teacher and student; shared and realistic expectations of each other’s roles; and the development of a number of key study skills on the part of the student.

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