(2021) 18:64
Kotera et al. Int J Educ Technol High Educ
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-021-00301-x

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Open Access

Loneliness in online students
with disabilities: qualitative investigationfor experience, understanding and solutions
Yasuhiro Kotera* , James Chircop, Lucy Hutchinson, Christine Rhodes, Pauline Green, Robert‑Maxwell Jones,
Greta Kaluzeviciute and Gulcan Garip*Correspondence:y.kotera@derby.ac.uk
University of Derby,
Kedleston Road, DE22
1GB Derby, UK

Abstract
Online learning has given access to education for diverse populations including stu‑
dents with disabilities. In our university, the ratio of students with disabilities is sub‑stantially higher in the online programmes than face-to-face. Online learning provides
high accessibility though it can result in a lonely experience. Accordingly, this study
aimed to appraise the first-hand experience and understanding of loneliness in online
students with disabilities (OSWD), and to discuss possible solutions. Thematic analysis
on semi-structured interviews attended by nine OSWD identified: ‘Self-paced study can
reduce stigma but cause loneliness (Theme 1)’, ‘Loneliness and social difficulties relate
to misunderstanding of disability (Theme 2)’, and ‘Activities, events and staff for infor‑
mal socialisation are needed (Theme 3)’. As the demand for online learning is further
expanded due to the current global pandemic, our findings will be helpful for online
learning institutions worldwide to establish effective strategies to reduce loneliness in
OSWD.
Keywords: Special needs education, Cultural and social implications, Distanceeducation and online learning, Learning communities, Lifelong learning

Introduction
The use of digital technology for education is increasing. Online learning has enjoyedsteady growth in both popularity and prevalence (Kumar et al., 2017). Online learning
has the potential to widen access and participation, particularly in higher education byeliminating the need for relocation and transportation, enabling financial savings andallowing for flexibility and self-paced study (Allen & Seaman, 2013; Kotera et al., 2019;
Seale, 2013). For students with disabilities, online learning has provided more educational opportunities compared to campus-based study provisions with high accessibility(Kotera et al., 2019). This can be seen in the rise of students with a disability opting tostudy online, compared to traditional, on-campus university settings. While the rates ofstudents with disabilities were similar at a national level in the UK (Higher Education
Statistics Agency, 2020) and in the host university as a whole (15%; University of Derby,2018), 40% of students studying in the online department of the host university disclosed© The Author(s), 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permitsuse, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original
author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third
party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the mate‑rial. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or
exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://​creat​iveco​mmons.​org/​licen​ses/​by/4.​0/.

Kotera et al. Int J Educ Technol High Educ(2021) 18:64

a disability (Kotera et al., 2019), suggesting a preference for and the suitability of online
study for students with a disability.
Opportunities include flexibility such as being able to structure learning around lifestyle requirements (e.g., treatment or care for disabilities), and engage with academic
circles regardless of difficulties with vision, speech or mobility. Greater anonymity andopportunity for non-disclosure of disability are also regarded advantageous among
OSWD (Seale, 2013). On the other hand, challenges may include the difficulties with
online navigation including inadequate search functions, and with using multiple platforms to engage in learning activities (Habib et al., 2012) and a risk for marginalisation(Carr, 2011). There are only a few studies that have investigated challenges that OSWD
experience in online learning, and the focus has primarily been on barriers in learning(Habib et al., 2012) and mental health (McManus et al., 2017). Despite that marginalisation and the mental health impacts were noted as a major challenge in OSWD (Carr,
2011; McManus et al., 2017), a sense of loneliness has not been investigated in depth.

Impacts of loneliness on academic performance

Loneliness, an unpleasant psychological state resulting from deficiencies in an individual’s social network, has been reported as a risk factor for poorer academic engagement
and success, compared to those who do not report feeling loneliness (Arkar et al., 2004;
Lin & Huang, 2012). Loneliness can occur regardless of whether you are among others
or not (Pinquart & Sörensen, 2001) and can be conceptualised as ‘social loneliness’, whena person does not feel integrated within a group, and ‘emotional loneliness’, the emotions
experienced following the loss of a loved one (e.g., death or divorce; Weiss, 1973). In
the context of loneliness experienced by online students with disabilities (OSWD), thisstudy focused on social loneliness. Because humans are inherently social beings (Heinrich & Gullone, 2006), loneliness can significantly hinder our wellbeing (Diehl et al.,2018). Indeed, previous research has identified that feelings of loneliness were related topoor physical health, depression, and mental distress (Arkar et al., 2004; Wei et al., 2005;
Wright et al., 2014). Relatedly, feelings of loneliness can also negatively impact academic
performance and achievement (Benner, 2011), and has been linked as an underlying factor of dropout from university (Ali & Gregg Kohun, 2007; Kelly et al., 2007; Vayre & Vonthron, 2019). Understanding these feelings in OSWD can contribute towards improving
their loneliness in online learning. Accordingly, this study aims to investigate whether
online learning leads to loneliness in a range of disabilities.
Loneliness is considered to play a significant part in the increasing prevalence rates ofmental illness and low well-being among students, and contribute to the rising demand
for support services (Thorley, 2017). The rise in help-seeking from university counselling
services is concerning (Novotney, 2014), as there tends to be limited resources to meetthe students’ needs for this support. McIntyre et al. (2018) found that loneliness was thestrongest predictor of academic distress, which was the strongest predictor for academic
outcome in over 1000 UK undergraduates. These findings about loneliness are in linewith the results of other studies in the UK (Richardson et al., 2017), Belgium (Diep et al.,2017) and the USA (Hefner & Eisenberg, 2009).

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Though Ozaydın Ozkara and Cakir (2018) reported that interactive activities reduced
students’ perception of loneliness among online students, loneliness among OSWD has
not been studied in as much depth compared to students without disabilities. OSWD
reported that the control they had over their studies and the personal touch (i.e., supportive interaction with university staff and peers) were especially important for them tosucceed in online learning. On the other hand, they also reported challenges in socialising, and occasionally experienced a great amount of loneliness studying online (Kotera
et al., 2019). Though previous research identified that a sense of loneliness had a detrimental impact in continuing online learning (Blau et al., 2020), how and the natureof loneliness OSWD experience has not been investigated in depth. This is particularly
important in today’s educational environment: more and more students have reported
increased levels of loneliness during the time of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) pandemic (Kabashkin et al., 2021; No Isolation, 2020; O’Neill et al., 2020). Accordingly, the present study aimed to investigate OSWD’s first-hand experience of lonelinessand discuss possible solutions.
Study aims

This study aims to appraise the experiences and understanding of loneliness in online
learning among students with disabilities (SWD), and to discuss possible solutions to
help them cope with loneliness in their academic journeys. To help achieve this aim,
three research questions were established;
RQ1: What are the experiences of online learning and loneliness in OSWD? (Experience.)
RQ2: How do they make sense of their feelings of loneliness? (Understanding.)
RQ3: What would help to reduce loneliness in online learning? (Future support.)
RQ1 explores OSWD’s subjective, first-hand experience of loneliness in online learning, whereas RQ2 asks about more objective, cognitive comprehension of lonelinessamong OSWD informing the knowledge of loneliness. RQ3 discusses the future support
universities can offer to reduce loneliness in this student group.

Materials and methods
Research design

Online, semi-structured interviews with nine participants were conducted to understand the experiences and perceptions of OSWDs’ experiences of loneliness and social
connectedness. Because our interviews involved questions about potentially sensitive
topics, which would require attention to the way the participants make comments (Bryman, 1988), we employed videocall interviews. This study was reported following theconsolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies (Tong et al., 2007).
Online learning environment

Participants engaged with an asynchronous virtual learning environment with multimodal contents, discussion forums, personal journals and announcements (Wang &Huang, 2018). Additionally, live webinars were offered three to five times in each module,

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providing synchronous learning using group videocalls. All webinars were recorded for
those who could not participate.
Participants

To be eligible, participants were a minimum of 18 years of age, declared a disability, andhad a minimum of one year experience of learning online. Of the 19 students who agreed
to participate, nine were interviewed by the researchers (eight women and one man; Agerange = 22–56, M = 34.9, SD = 12.9 years; four psychology students, two healthcare students, and one environment, computing and education student each; six postgraduate
and three undergraduate students; seven UK students and two international students;
Table 1). Reasons for withdrawal were not asked following the ethical guidelines, however the ten students who had agreed but did not participate noted changes in their personal life including health and work issues. All of the nine students presented medical
evidence of their disabilities, and eight of them were receiving the university’s disability
support plan. Their declared disabilities were Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (n = 2), Dyspraxia (n = 2), ADHD, Anxiety Disorder, Arthritis, Asperger’s Syndrome, Bipolar, Chronic
Allergies, Chronic Pain, Crohn’s Disease, Dyslexia, Endometriosis, Mobility, Multiple
Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (each n = 1). All participants were full-time employees, as well as part-time online students.
Demographic data of our purposive sample of nine students covered diverse characteristics (i.e., programme of study, type of disability, residence, gender and age). All
researchers were based in the UK. The nine interviews reached a point of saturation: theresearchers agreed that (a) the data collected were adequate and meaningful to answer
the research questions, and (b) more interviews would not yield any additional meaning
to the overall story (Braun & Clarke, 2013).
Procedure and analysis

Research information was disseminated through the announcement pages of the online
learning environment by the programme leaders. Students who were interested in participating in the study submitted an online participation form, then were contacted by
one of the researchers to arrange an hour-long videocall interview. To collect authentic

Table 1 Participant list
Participant Gender Age Programme

Disability

Residence

1

F

34

PG Education

Mobility, Bipolar

UK

2

F

23

UG Computing

ADHD, Asperger’s Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

UK

3

F

25

PG Environment Anxiety Disorder

UK

4

M

56

PG Healthcare

Dyspraxia

Other Europe

5

F

56

UG Healthcare

Dyslexia, Dyspraxia

UK

6

F

22

PG Psychology

Muscular Dystrophy

UK

7

F

31

PG Psychology

Arthritis, Endometriosis, Crohn’s Disease

8

F

31

PG Psychology

Multiple Sclerosis

UK

9

F

36

UG Psychology

Chronic Allergies, Chronic Pain, Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome

Other Europe

PG  postgraduate, UG  undergraduate

Kotera et al. Int J Educ Technol High Educ(2021) 18:64

responses from students, researchers who were not associated with the student’s programme were chosen as the interviewer. Authors JC, LH, CR, PG, and RMJ, all of whomwere registered healthcare professionals and familiar with client’s safety and active listening skills, interviewed participants. Interviewers conducted interviews from the university. Participants were asked to inform their whereabouts of the interview to someone
who could access the location of the interview. Pertinent information including all questions were provided beforehand to participants. Ethical approval for this study was
granted by the university’s research ethics committee.
Previous research suggested that many SWD felt some degree of anxiety talking
about issues related to their disabilities (Kotera et al., 2019). Acknowledging this limitation, we used a semi–structured interview guide that, on one hand, focused on participants’ experiences of loneliness in the context of online learning, but on the other,enabled them to tell their story as individuals (e.g., different attitudes toward socialising,instances where participants felt lonely in their modules, etc.). Again, acknowledging theboundaries of physical separation in online communications, we sought to maintain ourvideocall interviews as a natural form of communication by giving participants time torespond to questions (Burns, 2010). This provided a personal touch that E-interviews
tend to lack (Bampton & Cowton, 2002).
Each interview explored how OSWD experience loneliness and social connectedness
in the context of online learning; how they experience online learning and loneliness(RQ1); how they make sense of loneliness (RQ2); and what, in the students’ view, can bedone to reduce loneliness in online learning (RQ3) (Additional file 1 for the interview
schedule). During the interviews, researchers sought to use appropriate language, identify some of the digital ‘tacit signs’ and make participants feel comfortable (Woods, 2011)(e.g., when participants make interesting comparisons or need reassurance about theirdigital presence [a desire to show one’s online learning engagement and availability forcommunication; Gregory & Bannister-Tyrrell, 2017]). Interviews were audio-recorded
and transcribed, then the accuracy of transcription was confirmed by the interviewers.
Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview data. We used Braun and Clarke’s(2006) guidelines on conducting a reflective thematic analysis, from a social constructivist epistemological framework. In order to determine the relevant themes in theinterview data, we conducted thematic analysis in the following order: (i) Familiarisation, (ii) Generating initial codes, (iii) Searching for themes, (iv) Reviewing themes, and(v) Defining and naming themes (details on each process are available below) (Braun &Clarke, 2006). An investigator triangle (Hales, 2010) was established for research coherency: a pedagogic researcher who specialised in online learning and another researcher
who specialised in student disabilities reviewed the data extracts associated with eachtheme identified by the co-researchers; both researchers agreed with all themes. Thus,
our thematic analysis comprised of (Braun & Clarke, 2013):
1. Familiarisation
Interview data was read repeatedly to establish initial interpretations and patterns(Bird, 2005).
2. Generating initial codes

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Coding was conducted to structure the interview data (Braun & Clarke, 2013; Tuckett, 2005). Codes are defined as data features that are interesting to the researcher
and have a clear connection to the studied phenomenon (Boyatzis, 1998). It is important to note that the codes identified at this stage are not the same as themes (unitsof analysis), as the latter are generally much broader. Our coding was ‘theory–driven’(Braun & Clarke, 2013) in the sense that we approached the data with three main
research questions in mind.
The twenty codes were: insecurity, mental health issues, comparing self to others,
feelings of intrusion in group chats, social pressure, accessibility, self–pace, online
societies, collaboration, instant messaging, disability stigma, difficulties in disclosing
disability, superficial interactions, psychological distance, exhaustion, tutor support,
difficulties in engaging with discussion boards, shared place for SWD, being singled
out, and experiences of disability misperceptions.
3. Searching for themes
Codes were categorised into potential themes by re-focusing data analysis at a
broader level. Using mind map process (Braun & Clarke, 2006), each code was
attached to a theme-pile (Fig. 1). The twenty codes were categorised into threethemes: (i) Self-paced study can reduce stigma but cause loneliness, (ii) Lonelinessand social difficulties relate to disability, and (iii) Activities, events and staff for informal dialogues. No codes were identified as an outlier.
4. Reviewing themes
Data was reviewed in accordance with Patton’s (1990) dual criteria for judging internal and external heterogeneity in order to establish thematic coherence and distinctions. Codes were re-read alongside the collated exacts to further refine the differences between the three themes (Braun & Clarke, 2013). The data were organised
into three types: (i) tangible, affective experiences of loneliness in the university’s
online learning space; (ii) perceptions toward as well as experiences of online socialising with a disability; and (iii) concrete ideas for the improvement of studying andsocial activities in digital learning environments. The theme ‘Self-paced study can
reduce stigma but cause loneliness’ relates to participants’ experiences of lonelinessFig. 1 Organising codes into themes via mind map

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Kotera et al. Int J Educ Technol High Educ(2021) 18:64(corresponding to RQ1); the theme ‘Loneliness and social difficulties relate to disability’ was linked to participants’ understanding of loneliness (RQ2); and finally, thetheme ‘Activities, events and staff for informal dialogues’ conveyed participants’ ideas
and wishes for improvements in online learning (RQ3).
5. Defining and naming themes
At this stage, we returned to collated data extracts to refine each theme and ensure aninternally consistent account with accompanying narrative (Braun & Clarke, 2013).
Lastly, during the revision of the manuscript, the wording of Themes 2 and 3 were
adjusted for accuracy and consistency: Theme 2 ‘Loneliness and social difficulties relate
to misunderstanding of disability’, and Theme 3 ‘Activities, events and staff for informalsocialisation are needed’.

Results
Results were organised to respond to our research questions focussing on experiences(RQ1), understanding (RQ2), and future support (RQ3) of OSWD. The data extracts
that comprised Theme 1 ‘Self-paced asynchronous study can reduce stigma but cause
loneliness (RQ1)’ showed that many OSWD recognised the self-paced nature of online
learning as an advantage: OSWD would not experience social anxiety because their disabilities are less visible than face-to-face settings. At the same time, however they notedthat the self-paced asynchronous mode of study can cause loneliness. The extracts from
Theme 2 ‘Loneliness and social difficulties relate to misunderstanding of disability’ demonstrated that loneliness and difficulties in their online social life were uniquely associated with their disabilities (e.g., misunderstanding of disabilities). The extracts from
Theme 3 ‘Activities, events and staff for informal socialisation are needed’ highlighted
the OSWD’s needs for non-formalised communications with staff and peers to reduce
the sense of loneliness and increase social connectedness to their learning community.
Participants’ comments were presented to clarify what each theme means, relating to allcodes identified.
Theme 1: self‑paced study can reduce stigma but cause loneliness (RQ1: experience)

Participants related loneliness with the self-paced study of online learning. These students did not experience a high level of loneliness because they did not have high expectation for social connection in online learning in the first place.
Participant 7: I didn’t expect it to be social and don’t use online learning for socialisation.
Participant 6: I didn’t expect online learning to be social … I have one WhatsApp
group with two other peers. But I don’t generally socialise [in] online learning.
These comments may highlight that online learning can help OSWD circumventsocial anxiety associated with their disabilities (Kotera et al., 2019). Flexibility andself-paced nature of online learning allows students to have more control over theirstudies than face-to-face: online students can socialise (or not) and study at a pacethat is comfortable and compatible with other aspects of their lives (Garip et al.,2020). Our participants noted the advantage of this self-paced, lone mode of study

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in relation to disabilities: not seeing staff and peers in person would reduce a senseof stigma associated with disabilities as those differences are less visible in online
learning.
Participant 1: Online learning is great as it allows me as someone with a physical disability (wheelchair) to access higher education easily and comfortably. It
is also great that I can gain insight from people that I ordinarily would not meet.
Participant 2: I think there is perhaps less stigma towards disabilities in the
online classroom as it is harder to recognise if somebody suffers from a disability,
especially if it is a physical one.
Although participating OSWD did not expect social connection and noted anadvantage of online learning relating to reduction of stigma about disabilities, all participants consistently reported experiencing episodes of loneliness. Despite that participants demonstrated a generally good engagement with their online learning, someof them shared loneliness experienced in online learning and in their previous faceto-face learning experience.
Participant 1: When others are having discussions in the boards and I give myresponse, it feels like I am intruding and sometimes people will not respond to myposts. I also felt lonely when I [see] conversations between people who had obviously formed a bond in previous modules and knew things about each other.
This participant connected these feelings to her experience in the earlier face-toface education.
Participant 1: It stems from when I was younger. When I first became disabled, I
was taken out of school as it wasn’t accessible ... I only had a tutor once a week athome .... I was very isolated, and it was as though I was a burden and different toothers.
The participant described a strong level of loneliness in face-to-face education andonline learning.
Furthermore, other participants reported that their experiences of loneliness were
often impacted by social (e.g., different student groups), technological (e.g., inability to participate in certain chat rooms) and/or temporal (e.g., feeling more anxious
and lonelier toward the end of term or closer to deadlines) factors. Across these data
extracts, students frequently noted that they prefer elements of face-to-face interaction to digital communications because of the depth of interaction.
Participant 8: I try to read everything on Blackboard and be involved in all the
discussions but again it’s quite different from writing something down and being
able to talk to someone. ... The loss of contact is the most important one. [There] isa feeling of [being] misunderstood because you cannot hear [students and teachers] when you write something down.
Participants highlight the importance of personal touch in online learning to counter their sense of loneliness. Without such contact, online learning can cause feelingsof loneliness among OSWD (Boston & Ice, 2011; Ozaydın Ozkara & Cakir, 2018).

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Theme 2: loneliness and social difficulties relate to misunderstanding of disability (RQ2:
understanding)

Most participants (n = 7) thought that having a disability has an immense impact on
experiencing loneliness and difficulties in socialising with others when studying online.
Participant 4: Your disability might mean that you can’t sit for long. It might meanthat you can’t read on the screen long. It might mean you can’t take in a whole lotof information quickly. You kind of get nearly left behind, and I think you’re at agreater disadvantage if you have a disability.
Participant 1: I think that it can sometimes be daunting to participate in activities
with others and it may be difficult to socialise in other ways especially if someone
has disabilities.
It is noteworthy that participants who did not think that their experiences of loneliness are impacted by their disability still conveyed disability-related worries in online
learning.
Participant 8: Sometimes my condition is very bad, so [I] cannot be active on theforum. I do worry how I may come across to other students as not being active in theforum.
These comments may illustrate a sense of alienation, one component of loneliness(Hawkley & Cacioppo, 2010). Relatedly, participants reported insecurity when participating in peer discussions.
Participant 1: I often feel that if I participate, my thoughts and opinions will be‘wrong’. It makes me feel intimidated that there are all of these amazingly brightpeople on the boards and then [there’s] me.
Participant 4: Everyone else is engaging in this conversation and you’re thinking‘what are they talking about’ or ‘I couldn’t say anything, no, because that’d be stupid’.
So, it’s about your self-esteem as well.
Participants also reported instances where they felt that other students did not fully
understand or misinterpreted their different experiences of using discussion forums andother informal venues such as groups on text messaging services (e.g., WhatsApp). Thiscan lead to feelings of loneliness in OSWD. Some participants revealed that they struggled disclosing their disability to others.
Participant 4: Will I tell them the truth [about my disability] or will I keep [it] asecret? It’s hard to know whether you should tell people that you’ve got a disability. ...
When I revealed my [disability] to the [study] group, [they] thought that I was making up the fact that I couldn’t actually use WhatsApp on the phone. Are you saying I
have to send you my medical records for you to believe me?
Participant 1: There is still some stigma surrounding identifying as disabled and I
think it depends on the individual’s journey as to how comfortable they are about
disclosing it. I wonder if maybe I would feel ... less lonely if I could just put it out
there to my peers that I am disabled physically and mentally, so that it did not feellike I am hiding.
Participant 7: I think a really hard bit is not being able to explain what yourPage 9 of 16

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disability is unless you’re actually working on a group project. If you suddenly
announce you’re unwell and can’t do much, people think you’re making excuses.
Online learning can be socially challenging for all students due to lack of immediate communication and technological barriers (Elcicek et al., 2018; Song et al., 2019).
However, these data extracts suggest that OSWDs’ understanding and experiences ofloneliness, and social difficulties are often interwoven with their experiences of livingwith disabilities.

Theme 3: activities, events and staff for informal socialisation are needed (RQ3: future
support)All participants identified areas for improvement in their online learning environment. Crucially, all participants stressed the importance of self-paced nature of online
learning, consistent with online students without disabilities (Anderson, 2008).
Participant 8: I like studying online as it gives me flexibility. I usually inform mytutors when I am not active or engaging in the forum owing to my disability.
Interestingly, although participants reported difficulties with group activities andpeer communication (Theme 2), they also noted that they would like to experience
more collaborative activities, including online societies, group work and webinar styleinteractive sessions.
Participant 2: Depending on the nature of the club the social space can adapt,for example a photography club could be based on a platform focused on sharing
photos.
Participant 7: I’d like small group seminars over Zoom or Skype to discuss ideas.
That would help so much with learning and with meeting others on the course ...
[instead of ] just posting your work and reading the reply from your tutor.
Most of the participants reported wanting to experience social presence in their online
learning environment. Social presence (i.e., students’ perception of ‘real people’ interacting with ‘real people’) is essential for authentic learning and can facilitate critical thinking (Garrison et al., 1999). Participants suggested having discussion forums for specificinterests or hobbies (rather than academic purposes). Additionally, most participants
wanted these activities to be separate from their university environment, to establish
what might be considered a more authentic, informal social interaction. Participantsalso showed a need for ‘learner presence’, a presence that improves engagement whereself-regulation optimises performance (Shea & Bidjerano, 2012) by suggesting simulating gaming environments. Participants also indicated the need for digital presence, suggesting being able to instantly message tutors or peers.
Participant 3: At my previous university and at my place of work you could
instant message people within your course.
Participant 2: Perhaps an online way to interact that isn’t as static as a forum.
There is more pressure on a post that remains there indefinitely that is also seen
by course tutors. ... Other forms of online socialising, such as in online games.

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Finally, our participants stressed the importance of having supportive tutors andtechnicians.
Participant 4: I couldn’t work [out] the thing that was being sent to me but the restof the group expected that I would be able to do [it]. I just went quietly to one of thetechnicians, and they showed me how to do it. They didn’t make a fuss about it, they
just did it [by showing] me how to do it–it’s about having that confidence I think.
Despite the relatively low expectations for socialisation in online learning (see Theme
1), OSWD still want to collaborate with others to establish authentic social interactions
as opposed to formal ones. Their comments referred to some activities, venues and staff
that facilitate informal (e.g., authentic, non-academic) socialisation among peers andstaff, which would help them increase a sense of belongingness, and cope with a sense ofloneliness in online learning. Table 2 summarised our RQs, themes, and examples of theparticipant excerpts.

Discussion
This study aimed to evaluate the first-hand experience of online learning and lonelinessamong OSWD and how they make sense of their experience of loneliness, and discusspossible solutions for their loneliness. Data from semi-structured interviews with nine
OSWD were analysed thematically, yielding three themes: i) Self-paced study can reduce
stigma but cause loneliness; ii) Loneliness and social difficulties relate to misunderstanding of disability; and iii) Activities, events and staff for informal socialisation are needed.
Each finding is discussed in turn. While noting our small sample size and the genderimbalance, the findings from the study are particularly relevant in a time where we are

Table 2 Research questions, themes and examples of participant excerpts
Research question (RQ)

Theme

Illustrative quotes

1

What are the experiences of
online learning and loneliness in
OSWD? (Experience)

Self-paced study can reduce
stigma but cause loneliness“Online learning is great as it allows
me as someone with a physical dis‑ability (wheelchair) to access higher
education easily and comfortably… [But] when others are having
discussions in the boards and I
give my response, it feels like I am
intruding and sometimes people
will not respond to my posts.”2

How do they make sense of their
feelings of loneliness? (Under‑
standing)

Loneliness and social difficulties
relate to misunderstanding of
disability“Your disability might mean thatyou can’t sit for long. It might meanthat you can’t read on the screen
long. It might mean you can’ttake in a whole lot of information
quickly. You kind of get nearly
left behind, and I think you’re at agreater disadvantage if you have adisability.”

3

What would help to reduce lone‑
liness in online learning? (Future
support)Activities, events and staff for
informal socialisation are needed“I’d like small group seminars overZoom or Skype to discuss ideas.
That would help so much withlearning and with meeting otherson the course … [instead of ] just
posting your work and reading the
reply from your tutor.”

Kotera et al. Int J Educ Technol High Educ(2021) 18:64

seeing an increase in online teaching and learning not just in higher education but acrossall levels of study, due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Kotera et al., 2020, 2021).
Self-paced study was regarded positively by our sample of OSWD allowing them tohave enough time to digest information and circumvent stigma associated with the
reduction of disability related features in online learning than the face-to-face settings.
For example, students with physical disabilities in face-to-face settings are often worried
if they will be able to access facilities and resources as students without disability would(Kotera et al., 2019). In online learning, concerns around whether their disability will be
understood by others can be intensified as contacts with other students are often limited
to their courses or other academic activities; there are less informal conversations taking
place in online learning than face-to-face learning (Shu & Gu, 2018; Stodel et al., 2006).
Casual conversations about their disabilities or worries associated with them, which
often organically happen in face-to-face settings, can be helpful to address OSWD’s
loneliness (Lin et al., 2015). Online learning institutions should systematically arrange
opportunities for students to discuss these matters and foster inclusivity in educational
communities.
In Theme 2, participants reported that loneliness and difficulties in their social aspectof online learning were uniquely related to misunderstanding of their disabilities. They
noted high levels of worries that their disabilities and consequential behaviours may be
misunderstood, which can make their online social life challenging. Relatedly participants noted a strong sense of isolation and alienation, two key components of loneliness(Rokach, 2015). Certain contextual factors in online learning can lead to an environment
which does not fit the person’s abilities or capacities, contributing to disability. Indeed,an online learning environment with interactions which are not fully accessible can leadto an environment which does not meet the needs of OSWD, leading to a divide andthus exclusion (Hersh & Mouroutsou, 2019). Additionally, Theme 2 may highlight thebroad definition and diverse degrees of ‘disability’, indicating that stigma associated withdisabilities is still present somewhat in online learning. These variances in disability (i.e.,
types and degrees) can be narrowed down in face-to-face communication (e.g., somedyslexia students may have difficulties reading aloud, while others do not), though this isdifficult to do in online learning, with limited opportunities to narrow down. Additional
training about disabilities may be beneficial for online students (i) in order to create asafer learning environment where OSWD can learn without worries related to disability
stigma, and (ii) considering a more inclusive learning environment for the large proportion of OSWD.
Our findings in Theme 3 highlighted that OSWD’s strong need for informal socialisation with others to cope with loneliness. Our participants emphasised that informalinteractions with others are crucial for OSWD to cope with their loneliness, and suggested activities and events that can facilitate such nature of interactions, as well as
supportive staff that would enjoy those types of interactions. Indeed, the importanceof informal conversations, or chit-chat, has been highlighted in organisational psychology, regarding working from home (Methot et al., 2020)—particularly pertinent to the
COVID-19 pandemic—, and our findings suggest similar positive effects can be applied
to online education. Participants’ ideas including group work, more collaborative activities, more webinars and online societies would be worth evaluating, while considering

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Kotera et al. Int J Educ Technol High Educ(2021) 18:64

data and attendee protection, and regulations. For example, using social media in education, including online education, has been actively discussed in the past years (Aydin,
2012; Prescott et al., 2013; Tang & Hew, 2017; Toker & Baturay, 2019). However, thismay lead to procrastination and can overlook some teaching and student groups, assome universities or countries do not allow access to these tools, particularly relevant
to online learning, where students enrol worldwide. Educators and course designers in online learning need to consider ways to facilitate informal socialisation within
their context, evaluating the limitations and other characteristics of their environment.
These may include instigating informal student-to-student engagement. One example isusing group sets (e.g., groups of four to six students) which focus on socialising. Anotherexample includes the use of socialising activities such as providing material in different
formats where students are asked to identify associations to what is being shown (e.g., apicture showing different emotions provided with alternative text or long description as
appropriate). Indeed, discussion prompts unrelated to course content has recently beensuggested to combat loneliness in online learning (Kaufmann & Vallade, 2020).
Taken together, our findings suggest some ideas for future research that could lead toa number of practical implications. Firstly, exploring the prevalence of loneliness among
OSWD, to explore determinants of loneliness, and to analyse the relationship of loneliness and academic performance would be worthwhile. Secondly, longitudinal researchwould be important for revealing naturalistic changes that take place throughout an
online learning curriculum. Thirdly, engagement and impacts of disability education
among online students may be valuable to be investigated. Lastly, the impacts of informal socialisation need to be assessed. For example, an empirical study to evaluate how
informal socialisation among students can reduce the levels of loneliness among OSWD
would help educators and course designers refine more effective interventions to counter loneliness in online learning.
While this study offers helpful insights into loneliness in OSWD, several limitations should be noted. First, institutional biases need to be considered as our sample
was recruited from one UK-based university. Moreover, in addition to the small sample size, our sample consisted of only one participant identifying as male and all participants were European students. Their types of disabilities differed as well. A larger
and more diverse sample would be warranted for future research to capture experiencesfrom diverse backgrounds. This study also lacked a control group (i.e. students without
disabilities), and in our recruitment advert, the study title explicitly stated our focus onloneliness; we may have only attracted participants with a specific disposition, who werewilling to talk about their experiences of loneliness, and those unwilling to talk about
their experiences of loneliness may not have been represented (including students who
have a disability but have not declared).

Conclusion
While the demands for online learning have increased among OSWD worldwide, investigations into their emotional wellbeing are limited. Previous research identified loneliness as a key detrimental factor for academic success in OSWD. This study aimed toappraise the experience and understanding of loneliness among OSWD, and discusspossible solutions for this problem. Our analysis revealed that the self-paced nature ofPage 13 of 16

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online learning was regarded positively by OSWD, eliminating stigma associated withdisabilities, but at the same time, they reported experiencing a sense of loneliness. Participants highlighted worries about being misunderstood in online learning where informal socialisation is less available than on-campus learning. Lastly, participants suggested
ideas for reducing the sense of loneliness they experienced in online learning, with ideas
such as group activities and online social groups for socialising with peers and staff. Ourfindings are intended to guide educators and course designers to initiate approaches tocounter the sense of loneliness experienced by OSWD in online learning. Considering
the rapidly increasing demand for online learning, urgency exists for measures to beevaluated and implemented.
Abbreviations
COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019; OSWD: Online students with disabilities; PG: Postgraduate; UG: Undergraduate; RQ:
Research question; SWD: Students with disabilities.

Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at https://​doi.​org/​10.​1186/​s41239-​021-​00301-x.
Additional file 1. Interview schedule.
Acknowledgements
Not applicable.
Authors’ contributions
Conceptualization YK; Data curation YK, JC, LH, CR, PG, RMJ; Formal analysis GK; Investigation YK; Methodology YK, GK;
Project administration YK; Resources YK; Visualization GK YK; Writing—original draft YK, GK, GG; Writing—review and edit‑
ing ALL. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
Not applicable.
Availability of data and materials
The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable
request.

Declarations
Competing interests
Authors declare no competing interests.
Received: 14 June 2021 Accepted: 22 September 2021

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