Closing the distance: Counselling at open university residential schools

Abstract

Counselling at Open University Summer Schools is identified as a very distinctive counselling context, differentiated both from that of distance learning systems and from the campus-based services available to further and higher education students. A rationale for its inclusion is advanced in terms of giving learners continuity of support, ready access to information and advice, and help in integrating the affective and cognitive aspects of learning. Variables affecting the organisation of counselling services are elicited and options outlined, with an illustrative case-study of a counselling week. Difficulties in relating this practice to a relevant body of theory, definitions and models are indicated. Finally, three key elements for a counselling model are suggested: a plural and eclectic understanding of counselling; a conception of learning as concerning both affective and cognitive domains; and the framework of a time-limited helping context.