ABSTRACT

In the literature on learner support in open and distance education, description and prescription outweigh empirical enquiry or research. Publications on learner support are often in the form of ‘how to do it’ guidance or reports of experience. These can have practical value but may be atheoretical, unsubstantiated or lack validity when transferred to other contexts. While many accounts express the conviction that learner support services make a difference to outcomes, demonstrations of the relationships are less easy to find. Learner support has so far received less research attention than other aspects of open and distance learning. Why should this be? There are four possible reasons: learner support may be perceived as a less glamorous activity than some others in open and distance education (support staff often have less power, status and pay); it is often regarded as peripheral to the ‘real business’ of developing materials; it is an element particularly vulnerable to financial cuts; or it may largely be a pragmatic activity rooted in the lessons of experience.