Females with Learning Disabilities Taking On-Line Courses: Perceptions of the Learning Environment, Coping and Well-Being.

The study examined perceptions of the learning environment, coping strategies, and the subjective well-being of undergraduate female students taking on-line courses at the Open University of Israel. Fifty females with learning disabilities (LD) and 73 females without disabilities, 25-39 years old, completed three different questionnaires sent to them by email. Findings indicate that the females with LD perceived the learning environment as less supportive and less satisfactory than the control group; they felt that the academic services were not sufficiently considerate of their special needs; and they were less content with the academic courses. Women with LD reported using more task-oriented and avoidance-oriented coping strategies and perceived their overall well-being as less satisfactory than female students without LD. (Contains 2 tables.)