An evaluation of the information needs and practices of part‐time and distance‐learning students in the context of educational and social change through lifelong learning
| Published date | 01 December 2001 |
| Pages | 741-762 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000007105 |
| Date | 01 December 2001 |
| Author | Fytton Rowland,Iris Rubbert |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
AN EVALUATION OF THE INFORMATION NEEDS AND
PRACTICES OF PART-TIME AND DISTANCE-LEARNING
STUDENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL
CHANGE THROUGH LIFELONG LEARNING
FYTTON ROWLAND and IRIS RUBBERT
{J.F.Rowland;I.M.Rubbert}@lboro.ac.uk
Department of Information Science, Loughborough University
Loughborough LE11 3TU
The information needs and practices of part-time and distance-
learning students in higher education (HE) in the UK outside the
Open University (OU) have been evaluated. In recent years, the
government has pointed out the importance of individuals engaging
in lifelong learning initiatives, in order to remain competitive in a
globalised economy which draws increasingly on cumulative
knowledge creation. In response, the HE sector in the UK offers a
growing number of its programmes on a part-time and/or distance-
learning basis for students who can remain in full- or part-time
employment while studying for their qualifications. We trace the
history of adult education with its corresponding study modes, and
set the experience of students within the wider framework of
educational change in the information society. We distributed a
questionnaire and conducted telephone and face-to-face interviews
with a substantial sample of part-time and distance learners. Based
on our research findings, we question whether the information-
gathering practices of part-time and distance-learning students best
reflect the pedagogical concept of lifelong learning. Our results show
that university libraries considered in our sample often do not cater
for the specialised needs of part-time and distance learners, which
leads to an increasing use of the Internet and employer resources as
a substitute for traditional information channels. Students have
major problems coping with the complexity of the WWW, and we
make recommendations on how to improve existing information
services in HE.
INTRODUCTION
This paper presents the findings of a six-month study which evaluated the infor-
mation requirements and practices of part-time and distance-learning students in
the UK. It is suggested that change taking place in the educational system is often
symptomatic of a wider transformation of society. Castells (1999) adopted the
term ‘informational’ rather than ‘information’ society to reflect the wider under-
lying cultural and social practices that inform change in the late 20th and early
21st centuries. He argued that there is little systematic, rigorous theory that
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Journal of Documentation, vol. 57, no. 6, November 2001, pp. 741–762
enables us to understand the social structure of contemporary society, because
constant change prevents the identification of clear patterns of educational prac-
tice. As a result, he proposed a return to historical roots to build a holistic under-
standing of education in society. We argue that informational and educational
research should be embedded in such a holistic contextual framework of the
social (Albertsen & Diken, 2000). As a result, we review in the following para-
graphs the historical development of part-time and distance-learning HE pro-
grammes in the UK, provide an interpretation of the lifelong learning concept as
it has emerged in recent years, and explore the meaning of information for the
learning society.
The historical development of part-time and distance-learning programmes in the
UK
Until the middle of the 19th century much of the HE climate was determined by
the church and a cultural elite attending traditional full-time programmes in the
Oxbridge tradition (Tight, 1991). Following early Scottish developments, the
University of London in 1826 opened its doors to the general public by operating
as an external examining body for those students who attended classes locally, or
who studied independently. In the latter half of the century, other universities
joined the extension movement, and advances in the print industry together with
a greater regularity in postal deliveries led to the implementation of the first cor-
respondence courses. Fieldhouse (1996) pointed out that the delivery of those
programmes focused on arts and humanities education, concentrating on the mid-
dle rather than the working class. Professional development programmes were
mainly organised by the Workers Education Association (WEA) or other educa-
tional institutions such as the Mechanics Institutes for working-class education.
At the turn of the 20th century, the British education system was transformed
through a standardisation of university degree structures and tighter control on
expenditure for HE, which led to decreasing numbers of short courses available
for mature students in the universities. After the First World War, entrance
requirements for university attendance were established with the young, full-time
student in mind, which transferred the responsibility for post-secondary educa-
tion to technical colleges and trade unions.
After the Second World War, attention was focused on the re-structuring of
secondary education, which left the need for enhancement of adult education
marginalised (Simon, 1991). The Robbins Report (Great Britain, Department of
Education and Science, Committee on Higher Education, 1963) recognised the
importance of a university expansion programme, but omitted any recommenda-
tions on provision for part-time and distance-learning students. The implementa-
tion of the binary policy, dividing HE delivered through the universities from FE
delivered through technical colleges and polytechnics, restricted the successful
working of democratisation processes, advocated just a few years earlier by
Robbins. Lowe argued that these developments, together with a decrease of adult
education provided through the WEA, led to a demand for a ‘University of the
Air’. This came into existence as the Open University (OU), which recruited its
first students in 1971 (Lowe, 1988). The student uprisings of the late 1960s in
Britain were not backed by the trade unions as much as they were in other
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