Abstract:

Blended learning environments are regarded as being particularly suitable for mature students. Currently, an important track in blended learning research focuses on course design questions in relation to students’ persistence, performance and satisfaction. Within the business education discipline, however, this area is understudied. In this paper we report on the findings of a qualitative study aimed at identifying mature business students’ preferred characteristics of blended learning courses. More in particular, we scrutinize six categories of course elements (materials, activities, learning platform, support, interaction, lecturer expertise) and their linkages with student satisfaction. By means of an interpretative approach, we present the results of in-depth interviews with five lecturers and thirteen students of an MBA programme at a Belgian university. Our results show consistency with previous findings regarding the integrated usage of a learning platform and expertise of lecturers in terms of preparation, quality and involvement. The overall picture is, however, more diverse and complex in nature. Mature business students wish for highly pre-structured, rich multimedia learning materials, preferably video-based for independent, individual learning. Knowledge transmission and declarative information is preferred. Support by and interaction with fellow students or lecturers is ideally centered around Q&A’s. In sum, surprisingly, mature business students seem to prefer a rather traditional learning environment. Their satisfaction strongly relates to elements of efficiency and goal-oriented learning, a lot less to self-directed learning in powerful learning environments. We further frame these findings by critically reviewing mature students’ strategies to balance their work, family and study obligations, given limited time and poor self-regulation skills. We conclude by proposing a couple of tracks for further research.

Keywords:

Blended courses, business education, student preferences, mature students.