An exploration of perceptions of learning and e-learning held by students who withdraw and those who persist with UK higher education

This paper discusses the relationships that first-year students have with learning and with technology. Due to the lack of previous work linking e-learning with student retention, differences between ‘withdrawers’ and ‘persisters’ were explored. Data were collected using interviews and questionnaires and analysed using thematic analysis. Evidence of a deficit approach to e-learning appears to manifest itself in both groups and technologies that promote social interaction were primarily reserved for personal use rather than within an institutional context. Recommendations from this research include the need to learn how technologies promoting social interaction are used and incorporate lessons learnt into the design of e-learning experiences.

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