Online Education: A Scoping Review Examining Learning and Satisfaction Outcomes in Social Work, Medicine, and Nursing

Abstract

Social work has a proliferation of online courses. Both nursing and medicine have been using online technology for years with noted success within a variety of subjects. The current scoping review examined empirical research of online learning and satisfaction outcomes in social work, while also comparing results with nursing and medicine. Results showed that most social work studies that examined learning outcomes between online and traditional courses found differences, whereas approximately half of the studies in nursing and medicine reported no differences. Satisfaction results were more varied in each discipline. Taken together, both learning and satisfaction outcomes remain inconclusive due to documented limitations related to study designs. Implications for social work education are discussed and recommendations are provided.