Loneliness in online students with disabilities: qualitative investigation for experience, understanding and solutions
- Autores: Yasuhiro Kotera, James Chircop, Lucy Hutchinson, Christine Rhodes, Pauline Green, Robert-Maxwell Jones, Greta Kaluzeviciute, Gulcan Garip
- Localización: International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, ISSN 2365-9440, Nº. 18, 2021
- Idioma: inglés
- Enlaces
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Resumen
Online learning has given access to education for diverse populations including stu‑ dents with disabilities. In our university, the ratio of students with disabilities is sub‑ stantially 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 frst-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 identifed: ‘Self-paced study can reduce stigma but cause loneliness (Theme 1)’, ‘Loneliness and social difculties relate to misunderstanding of disability (Theme 2)’, and ‘Activities, events and staf for infor‑ mal socialisation are needed (Theme 3)’. As the demand for online learning is further expanded due to the current global pandemic, our fndings will be helpful for online learning institutions worldwide to establish efective strategies to reduce loneliness in OSWD.
