Researching adult distance teaching and learning at the Open University of Cyprus and the Hellenic Open University

The paper reports on a research project in progress that aims at shedding light on the internal dynamics of learners’ and tutors’ adult professional learning, its context and its occasions, in the course of an undergraduate and postgraduate distance learning programme of studies run by the Open University of Cyprus and the Hellenic Open University. The proposed project aspires to present an illuminative view of the ‘fine-grained’ processes that are at work during the organisation and the delivery of the courses. The final purpose is to inform the organisation, design, implementation and further development of distance-learning courses in higher education, and contribute towards their future reorganization. The research hopes to illuminate the above issues by giving voice to the experiences and perceptions of learners’ and tutors’ as they embark on an undergraduate and postgraduate programme of studies at the two case study universities, the OUC and the HOU. The main activities implemented concern both theoretical and empirical investigations. The relevant literature is reviewed and, drawing on this, interview protocols are designed and data collected and analysed. Eight tutors (8) and twenty four (24) learners are the key unit of analysis. Data is also collected through each university’s documentation of the two programmes.