Their new battlefield: understanding the experiences of UK military students undertaking online Distance Learning Foundation degree programmes.

With greater numbers of serving and veteran United Kingdom (UK) military personnel entering online Higher Education (HE) degree courses as a means to prepare themselves for civilian life, the challenges they face undertaking this transition are not well understood. Whilst other countries around the world have invested huge amounts of time, money and thought into better supporting military personnel undertaking the shift from military community to academia, the UK is falling behind in terms of their support for this unique group of students. The UK military student context remains an under researched area of study and it is important for our UK military students that we improve our understanding of the pedagogical obstacles they face so that courses can be designed that are appropriate for their requirements. The majority of these students are either preparing themselves for civilian life by formalising their military skills into academic qualifications or attempting to better their chances of promotion within their Service by gaining a degree. These extrinsic motivational factors need to be better supported from a social construct aspect by academic delivery organisations.

This thesis seeks to better understand the lived experiences of fifteen UK military students entering and undertaking online Foundation degree (Fd) courses, concentrating on the challenges they face throughout their studies in overcoming the divide between their everyday military lives and academia. The study utilised semi-structured interviews in Microsoft Teams as the research instrument and a combination of Self Determination Theory (SDT) and Communities of Practice (CoP) as the theoretical framework to better understand the often unique learning difficulties faced by this student group. The study highlights cultural and community differences when dealing with academic organisations, challenges with regards academic preparation on the part of some students, and variances in student motivation when faced with several unique obstacles. The thesis concludes that UK academic organisations need to better understand the challenges faced by serving and veteran UK military students to accommodate and support their study needs. There is a lack of knowledge of the UK military community and their requirements, along with a lack of empathy for their situation on the part of some elements of the delivery organisation, which can lead to student isolation and loss of motivation. This combined with a lack of flexibility with regards course delivery means that too often, online tutors and organisational regulations do not always best support this distinctive group of students when they are faced with evolving worldwide situations that are a constant part of their military lives.