You may choose to study in hopes of increased job prospects, or simply for your own satisfaction. And where full-time education is impractical, distance learning may be the answer. According to Montessori Centre International (MCI), women, for all their juggling of jobs and families, are often the most committed and successful students.
But inevitably working in isolation is a daunting prospect, particularly for those whose schooldays are long past. So what exactly is involved?
Why now?
Distance learning is nothing new - Montessori started its programme in the 1950s, and the National Extension College (NEC) was founded in 1963. But there is an unprecedented level of interest in the pre-school sector, inevitable given the surge in Government policy initiatives. Those developments are reflected in the courses on offer. For example, the NEC's Diplo-ma in Pre-school Practice, run in partnership with the Pre-school Learning Alliance, has been revised three times, most recently to address the Early Learning Goals and Ofsted regulation and inspection, and to meet specifications for the awarding body, CACHE.
Getting started
Distance learning in the childcare sector is an obvious way of improving your job prospects. Women often choose it as the route to a new career too, probably after having their own children - or, as Pat Barber of the Pre-school Learning Alliance puts it, 'having just been lit up by the idea of working with children, and needing to start thinking about qualifications'.
Montessori says the majority of its students who choose distance learning do so for either work or family reasons. The qualifications they gain equip them to work in the UK or abroad in the private sector. Kshirabdhi Arukiah, 28, formerly an insurance worker, started an ambitious programme of teacher training by distance learning in Sri Lanka last February with a view to qualifying this summer. She remains on track, despite moving to London last May.
Equally, it attracts women who have worked in childcare for years and choose study for its own sake. Aberdeen nursery nurse Shaunna Allan chose to pursue a BA in Early Childhood Studies at the city's Northern College, and won funding from the city council for her three-year course. 'I did it to be a better practitioner, for my own satisfaction,' she says. She is now embarking on a masters degree with the Open University.
Options
The NEC, with more than 250 open learning titles, enrols more than 10,000 students annually. Significantly, 20 per cent of those enrolled in childcare courses opt for distance learning rather than college-based courses.
Courses include Business Skills for Care and Early Years; the Diploma in Pre-School Practice, one of the sector's most widely-recognised qualifications; Certificate in Playwork (developed with the Kids' Clubs Network) and Introducing Childminding Practice (developed with CACHE and the National Childminding Association).
MCI has 6,000 distance-learning students. Three core courses cover infant, toddler, early childhood and nursery foundation teaching. The Stage One certificate is a distance learning award which covers the theory element of these three courses.
Other study options are available through the Open University and colleges throughout the UK.
Preparation
There is no requirement to be on the internet, although it helps, and handwritten assignments are still acceptable. Most contact is by phone or fax, with perhaps a very few tutorials.
Students will receive modules and books, study plans, reading lists and essay titles. Study skills courses are invaluable. Jackie Matthews, an Aberdeen nursery nurse who gained a BA by distance learning, recalls, 'I had never seen a module, let alone written one. I didn't know anything about it.'
Maggie Tait, Montessori teacher, lecturer and examiner who recently launched a new study centre in York for distance learners, says tutors are alert to these concerns. 'Students may worry about how to put together a bibliography, or be terrified of word counts. We can reassure them about that. But you have to be a good communicator. We as tutors can do so much, but if we don't get any feedback, we can't help.' Pros and cons
Distance learning's greatest attraction is flexibility. You can register any time, and pace yourself.
Maggie Tait says, 'One of the central benefits is that you are in control of your course, so you can timetable it according to your needs and be very flexible, particularly if you have another job or are tied to home with children. But you have to be self-disciplined. Study support is very important. It gives structure and motivation.'
Isolation is a potential drawback. Shaunna Allan recalls with gratitude her informal network of student friends. 'We supported each other. Someone who was down could phone someone who was up!' she says.
MCIchief executive Barbara Isaacs agrees that working alone requires enormous commitment and self-motivation. And Pat Barber believes some form of mentoring or study support is essential to student retention and completion rates.
Kshirabdhi Arukiah, mother of a young son, is clear about both benefits and drawbacks. 'Family is very important to me, and the course's flexibility means I can spend a lot of time with my son. But study is hard in the sense that I don't have so much feedback. And it is very easy to be lazy too!' Barbara Isaacs finds it interesting that the most successful students are mothers who, on the face of it, are least likely to find the opportunity for quiet concentration. 'Conditions seem to be very difficult, yet they manage. Students who succeed the least are school leavers - that's a bit to do with their age, their ability to commit, and their personal expectations.'
As far as Jackie Matthews was concerned, study was a pleasure. 'I found it a great stress reliever. I looked forward to coming home and starting a module or reading. It taught me to look at things differently.'
Funding
Course costs vary, from, for example, 80 for NEC's Business Skills for Care and Early Years course, to hundreds of pounds, depending on the length of course. Students should expect registration fees, or costs for required reading materials, on top.
There may be help with fees via various government initiatives. Individual Learning Accounts (0800 072 1072) or Career Development Loans (0800 585505) may be available. NW
More information
* NEC is on 01223 450500 or visit www.nec.ac.uk.
* MCI is on 020 7529 1308.
* More on the Distance Learner's Study Centre at York, and its seminar programme, from Maggie Tait on 01759 302638 or email steve@ sjtait.fsnet.co.uk.
* Local colleges and libraries will have relevant information.
