An Evaluation of Teaching Direct Practice Courses in a Distance Education Program for Rural Settings

Abstract

This study presents the results of an evaluation of a graduate-level direct practice course taught through a distance education program that utilized face-to-face satellite television instruction. The study also compared the learning process and delivery system of a distance education direct practice course with that of an on-campus direct practice course. The evaluation indicates positive findings for the distance learners in terms of grade outcomes, interaction with instructor, classmates and perceptions of the instructor. The evaluation also indicated some barriers in the learning environment and access to support services. Recommendations are made for improving the barriers for social work practice courses taught by distance learning methods.