Jones, E. orcid.org/0000-0003-0172-4484, Samra, R. and Lucassen, M. (2023) Key challenges and opportunities around wellbeing for distance learning students : the online law school experience. Open Learning The Journal of Open Distance and e-Learning, 38 (2). pp. 117-135. ISSN 0268-0513
Abstract
The wellbeing of students in higher education generally, and law students, in particular, has become an area of increasing concern in recent years. Despite the growing interest in the area, empirical work on the wellbeing of distance learning law students remains sparse. This paper builds on previous studies around wellbeing in higher education, especially in relation to law schools, by reporting on the findings of a series of focus groups conducted with distance learning law students at The Open University. Its aim was to explore participants’ perceptions of how studying law had impacted their wellbeing. Its findings indicate that participants viewed the online distance-learning nature of their studies as having the most significant impact on their wellbeing, generating a range of practical and psycho-social implications. Although issues specific to the law as a discipline were raised, it appeared to be the mode of delivery, not the subject content, that was of primary relevance. This exploratory study is particularly salient at this time when law schools across the globe have been forced to perform an ‘online pivot’, with many now also considering expanding their long-term online offerings. The paper concludes by considering the ways in which the results of this study could usefully inform future wellbeing initiatives within online legal education.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. |
Keywords: | Distance learning; online learning; wellbeing; legal education; online pivot |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > School of Law (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 09 Apr 2021 13:26 |
Last Modified: | 21 Jun 2024 13:29 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/02680513.2021.1906639 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:172972 |