European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning

This article describes a study on the effects of a self-instruction training programme in communication skills for psychology students at the Open University of the Netherlands in comparison to a fully supervised training. We expected both training programmes to increase students’ knowledge and skills, as well as their self-efficacy and motivation concerning the use of skills. Furthermore we expected that both training programmes would lead to the transfer of these skills to daily life situations one year after training. The results show that almost all expectations were met, and that the effects of the self instructional programme in this study were comparable to those of the fully supervised training. The main conclusion is that it is possible to construct an effective self-instruction programme in communication skills for psychology students in distance education and this method could be promising for communication skills training for others groups.