| Abstract: | We are all aware that adults who return to study at a distance may approach their studies in very different ways. The reasons for such differences, and their relation to students' personal contexts, are not well understood. In this paper, Mavis Kelly of the School of External Studies and Continuing Education, University of Queensland, and Margaret Shapcott of the Distance Education Unit, Deakin University, present some of their findings from research into this area. Analysing interviews with external students of the University of Queensland, at two distinct levels, has enabled them to identify both attitudes to study common to all those interviewed and two basic kinds of study orientation. These differences are closely related to the students' personal background and experiences. |
