Adult learners’ emotions in online learning

Abstract

The aim of the research study reported in this article was to investigate how adult learners talk about their emotions in the context of a year‐long online course, the first online course these adults take, as part of a distance education program. The theoretical and methodological approach focused on formulating an account of how emotion discourses are used by learners, what role they play in online learning, and how they change over a one‐year period (if they do so). The findings of this study provide three insights: (1) they show how adult learners (who also happen to be novice online learners) respond emotionally and talk about their emotions in relation to online learning; (2) they call attention to the ways in which emotion talk changes from the beginning of the course to the end, always in response to specific demands and dimensions of online learning; and (3) they reveal the differential emotional responses between men and women in relation to their social and gender roles and responsibilities. Empirical and policy implications of this study are discussed at the end.

Keywords:

• adult learners
• Cyprus
• emotions
• online learning

Notes

1. Pseudonyms are used throughout this article.

2. The use of the plural – emotional climates – is purposive and emphasizes the multiple relationships that are involved between members of a group (de Rivera, 1992). That is, there are many emotional climates within a social group, without assuming that all of these climates are equal; it is possible that under some conditions a hegemonic emotional climate prevails over others.