AARE Presentation 1997 Brisbane
Marianne Cronin
Edith Cowan University Western Australia
Focusing on distance learners: Investigating tutors' and students'
perceptions of learning and study needs
This paper reports on an action research project at Edith Cowan
University which explores the difficulties some distance learning
students experience in understanding and meeting the academic
expectations of tertiary study. Students were surveyed to obtain
information about their confidence in academic study, if, and where
they had sought help with their skills, and the nature of their
perceived difficulties.
In addition, academic staff were asked about their perceptions of
students' study problems. A checklist of problem areas was compiled and
was given to another sample of academic staff who rated each item for
importance in the context of developing study skills material. Eight
broad areas of concern in academic study were identified and ranked.
The results indicated that more than half of the sample of students
lacked confidence in their study skills. Of these, only 17% sought
assistance. The most common issues raised by students were related to
assignment writing, time management and effective reading. Academic
staff identified thirty seven key study issues. Rank ordering of the
broad areas showed assignment writing, becoming independent learners,
effective research and time management as the most important aspects
for inclusion in study skills materials.
Further reseat is planned to clarify and elaborate the issues raised,
both in relation to Edith Cowan students on campus and in the wider
context of tertiary distance study. A range of possible support
strategies will be investigated, developed and implemented.
Background to the project
In 1991 an Academic Skills Unit was established at Edith Cowan
University (ECU) to provide individual and group support to students.
Anecdotal and case study evidence, collected by the Unit Coordinator
since the beginning of service provision suggests that for many
students the support given has been critical in developing academic
skills, improving their study effectiveness, raising their grades,
increasing their self confidence, and in many cases preventing failure
or withdrawal from courses.
Problem identified
Academic Skills Advisers observed that rural and isolated students were
not easily able to take advantage of the services provided in study
skills support. Email communication between students and Advisers
seemed to be one solution by giving service access to remote students.
With assistance from The Virtual Campus; one of the technology
providers at ECU, and the External Studies department, procedures were
put in place to facilitate this service. The informal feedback from
students who began to use the technology to access academic skills
help, was very positive and in many cases highlighted the significance
of difficulties previously experienced, as in the case quoted below;
...You cannot believe what a relief it is to see somebody offer help on
an assignment!! I have submitted one assignment already, that I thought
was OK. and I only just passed (50%). I am now terrified of this new
one and I have started but I am worried that I am not on the right
track. Can you please have a look at what I have done and offer some
helpful criticism. I think turning 30 and going to Uni is something
only the mad do and I am one of them, not even having finished high
school. This is all a very scary process...............
Although electronic communication has opened up the possibility of
having meaningful and prompt interactions about academic work in a
positive way, two significant problems have emerged.
For some students the costs, complications and anxiety arising from
attempting to use electronic communication are such that it makes it an
unacceptable option.
There are not enough Academic Skills Advisers to respond to student
demand. The more widely known and popular the service has become, the
less able the Advisers have become to respond quickly and
appropriately.
The challenge for the Academic Skills service was to provide more
flexible assistance which could be equally well used with or without
electronic access, and on that would be less dependent upon the input
of individual Advisers. A range of possible solutions was discussed,
such as the development of study skills bulletin boards, news letters,
self directed study skills learning packages (both in print and
electronic modes), student mentoring and more formal integration of
study skills teaching into existing distance materials.
Given the limited financial and time resource base from which to
develop any of the ideas, it seemed pertinent to target difficulties
which were common amongst students for particular attention. Advisers
within the Academic Skills Unit indicated that certain problems seemed
to recur frequently as student concerns, but there was no specific ECU
data available to confirm these observations. Further, it was not known
if the concerns of students matched the priorities and beliefs of the
lecturers evaluating the students' performance. It was at this point
that the need became clear to develop a profile of the learners' needs,
and the concerns of the academic staff.
Procedures used to develop a profile of learners' needs and lecturers'
concerns, with initial results.
In order to establish a more detailed profile of the students' needs
and lecturers' priorities, a range of quantitative and qualitative
procedures is being adopted. These include questionnaires, interviews,
focus groups and case studies. Details of the first set of
investigations follow:
1. Open ended student survey
Questionnaires were sent to 190 students enrolled in an external mode
for the first time at ECU, and who were in their sixth week of study.
The survey set out to determine whether the students were confident
about their academic abilities, if, and where they had sought help with
their study skills, and the nature of their perceived difficulties. A
total of 47 students completed questionnaires: 4 were incomplete and
therefore disregarded in the overall analysis.
First, students were asked whether they were confident about their
study skills. Of the total of 43 respondents, 19 ( 44.2 %) stated yes,
and 24 ( 55.8 %) stated no. Of these, 8 students ( 18.6 %) claimed to
have sought assistance with their study skills. Half of these were
students who were already confident in their study skills. Help was
sought from friends, work colleagues, lecturers, Academic Skills
Advisers, adult education centres and non ECU study skills workshops.
A range of study problems was identified by the students. The most
common issues raised were:
Difficulties related to assignment writing 28 students ( 65.1%)
Problems of time management 14 students ( 32.6 %)
Difficulties with effective reading 11 students ( 25.6 %)
Concerns relating to examination preparation 9 students ( 21.0 %)
Lack of knowledge about study techniques 6 students ( 14.00%)
Inadequacy with research skills 5 students ( 11.60%)
Of the sample of 43 students, eleven did not articulate particular
problems (five of these were confident students and six were not
confident students). Some students identified one or two problems
areas, others listed a wide range of issues. In several cases,
students' comments expressed messages about the high level of anxiety
surrounding study;
...I am perhaps not the usual case- I am endeavouring to return to
study after 26 years so I feel inept about essays, study habits, how to
summarise, trying to gauge exactly what is required in assignments, how
to present assignments and I still have to face exams....
...I have come from a non-academic background and the first semester
has been a big shock and stress to me. I am coping but just day to
day.......
.....I don't know what help to request....
2. Preliminary survey of academic staff
One hundred academic staff, with direct teaching experience on external
units, were asked to give written details of the kinds of study
problems which they considered were experienced by their external
students. Responses were collected from 35 staff. These generated a
wide range of concerns which were categorised into eight broad areas. A
second group of 190 academic staff were asked to rank the importance of
the broad area and then evaluate each individual item. Both activities
were completed in terms of how important the items were for the
contents of study support materials. From 68 valid responses, the
results were:
Table 1. a) Rank ordering of broad study areas by academic staff
Broad Area
Mean rank order
(1 is high)
Standard deviation
Assignment writing
2.60
1.47
Becoming independent learners
2.88
2.02
Effective research
3.38
1.85
Time management
3.97
2.11
Communication with tutors
5.09
1.82
Examination techniques
5.22
1.76
Coping with the problems of isolation
5.66
1.97
Coping with personal problems
7.04
1.18
Table 2. b) Evaluation of individual study items by academic staff
within broad areas of study on a 1-5 scale( 1 is low)
Broad areas
Key issues
Mean 1 low 5 high
Std dev
Assignment writing
Getting started
4.24
0.94
Analysing the question - what does the tutor want?
4.52
0.70
Planning assignments
4.26
0.83
Essay and report structure
4.32
0.78
Developing an argument
4.39
0.69
Use of evidence to support argument
4.45
0.72
Knowing and meeting appropriate academic writing standards and styles
4.32
0.80
Command of standard English
4.26
0.91
Referencing
4.04
1.11
Editing
4.01
0.92
Interpretation of appropriate academic presentation standards
3.96
0.90
Becoming independent learners
Developing self discipline in study
4.29
0.93
Knowing and using a range of learning styles
3.63
1.06
Metacognitive strategies
3.59
1.12
Goal setting
4.03
1.05
Self evaluation
3.97
0.95
Effective Research
Going beyond what is given in course materials
3.88
0.96
Library research from remote locations
4.10
0.90
Finding resources / information
4.21
0.85
Effective reading skills
4.25
0.90
Being selective in reading
4.16
0.87
Note making
4.01
0.94
Critical thinking
4.36
0.78
Time Management
Balancing workloads across units
3.67
1.11
Setting priorities
4.31
0.86
Organising time
4.37
0.82
Communication with tutors
Overcoming the reluctance to seek advice from tutors
3.90
1.04
Responding to feedback from tutors
3.66
1.03
Exam techniques
Revision strategies
4.23
0.82
Exam writing
4.04
0.88
Coping with stress
3.63
1.01
Problems of isolation
Dealing with absence of contact with other students
3.77
1.00
Making the best of limited contact with tutors
3.88
0.89
Solving resource difficulties
3.99
0.85
Personal Problems
Dealing with a lack of confidence
3.59
1.0
Managing conflicting pressures of personal/domestic life
3.52
0.93
Coping with a lack of family support
3.14
0.97
Discussion of findings
The research is still at an early stage, the data is limited, and so
the findings are tentative. However, the student survey suggests that
a significant proportion of ECU external students lack confidence in
their academic skills, and that few of these students actively seek
help with study skills immediately prior to their course of study, or
in the first six weeks. It was particularly interesting that half of
those students who did seek help, claimed to be confident in their
study skills. It could be that they were confident because of the help
received, or perhaps confidence is in itself a pre-requisite to seeking
help. Some individual interviews have been conducted recently with ECU
external students, as part of routine evaluation processes and
certainly there is evidence from these that many students are reluctant
to ask their tutors for help; thinking either that the tutors would be
too busy to help, or alternatively the students were wary of creating
an early impression that they did not have the required skills.
Eleven students did not list any areas of study in which they required
help, even when they claimed not to be confident in study. Some of the
associated comments implied that simply knowing what help to ask for
may be a problem in the early weeks of study.
There were few instances in the questionnaire responses by students
reporting that personal problems, isolation and the lack of student
contact created study difficulties and yet, in personal comments, these
were regularly raised as significant issues, particularly for students
in rural and isolated locations. It may be that the students do not
categorise these kinds of difficulties specifically as study skills
problems. Data was collected also from a small number of external mode
students using the staff questionnaire. Although the sample size was
too small to be meaningful, it was noticeable that whilst the general
responses were similar to those from staff, students from remote
geographical locations scored the particular items, which referred to
problems of isolation and communicating with tutors, more highly than
did other students.
All the above findings require further in-depth investigation, but it
seems likely that many new students need assistance in articulating and
evaluating their study needs and in planning their own development,
thus empowering them. In addition, they may need advice in specific
areas of study skills such as effective reading, research and
assignment writing.
Direct comparison between the perceived student study concerns by staff
and students is limited since the questionnaires used for each group
were not compatible. The available evidence does, however, suggest that
there is a correlation in the identification of broad areas of study
skills needed. Skills directly relating to assignment writing were the
top priority identified by both students and academic staff. Likewise
effective research and time management were rated highly for both
groups. Becoming independent learners was highly valued by academic
staff, but was a less obvious category amongst students. This will
require further investigation, but it is possible that the difference
reflects imprecise language use, differences in the categorisation
systems used in the data analysis, or different perceptions of role.
The lowest mean for any study item on the staff survey list was 3.14 (5
was highest). This suggests that academic staff regarded all the items
listed were reasonably important. Several staff added comments to their
responses stating that the list of study skills needs matched their
experience of the students and they suggested that all items should be
covered in any study support materials to be developed.
Further research is needed to elaborate, clarify and quantify the
issues raised in relation to ECU students. There may be value in
looking for patterns within and between distinct student groups, such
as those of location, previous tertiary experience, courses, and, in
addition, at different stages of the study programme. It may also be
particularly useful to explore which, if any, of the identified study
skills problems resolved themselves over time without explicit
attention and which remained issues throughout the course.
Furthermore, a review of existing research in the area needs to be made
and case studies developed of effective study skills programmes for
distance students which are currently operating. Comments and
suggestions will be received gratefully from other conference delegates
with interest or expertise in the field.
Marianne Cronin
Coordinator
Student Academic Support Service
phone: 9273 8783
fax: 9273 8732
e-mail m.cronin@cowan.edu.au