DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 320 544 IR 014 458

AUTHOR Sewart, David, Ed.; Daniel, John S., Ed.TITLE Developing Distance Education. Papers Submitted to

the World Conference of the International Council forDistance Education (14th, Oslo, Norway, August 9-16,1988).

INSTITUTION International Council for Distance Education.REPORT NO ISBN-82-508-1011-2PUB DATE 88NOTE 472p.; For a report from the 14th conference, see IR

014 440.PUB TYPE Collected Works - Conference Proceedings (021) --

Reports - Descriptive (141) -- Reports -Research /Technical (143)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC19 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Administration; Communications Satellites;

*Developing Nations; *Distance Education; Economics;Elementary Secondary Education; Foreign Countries;Higher Education; Instructional Development; ProgramEvaluation; *Services; Student Attrition; *TeacherEducation; *Telecommunications; Teleconferencing;Vocational Education

IDENTIFIERS *Interactive Television

ABSTRACT

These proceedings contain 10 keynote papers and morethan 100 papers from an international conference on the theme ofdeveloping distance education. The keynote papers are: (1)"Communications Technology" (Yoshia Abe); (2) "Continuing Education.New Needs and Challenges for Distance Studies" (Urban Dahllof); (3)"Distance Education and National Development" (John S. Daniel); (4)"Distance Education--A Developing Concept" (Jack Foks); (5)"Organisational Autonomy and Coordination in Distance Education"(Patrick Guiton); (6) "Distance Teaching and Credit Transfer" (JohnHorlock); (7) "How to Develop a Correspondence Course" (Michael P.Lambert); (8) "If Student Services Are So Important, Then Why Are WeCutting Them Back?" (Ross Paul); (9) "Women in Distance Education"(Christine von Prummer, Gill Kirkup, and Barbara Spronk); (10)"Economics in Distance Education: Time for a Change of Direction?"(Greville Rumble). The conference papers represent distance educationprojects worldwide in elementary and secondary education, highereducation, and vocational education. Issues include programadministration; the production of instructional materials; the use oftelecommunications media, including interactive television,communications satellites, and computer conferencing; programevaluation; teacher education applications; instructional design forcognitive skill development; and student attrition. References areprovided in most of the papers. Appended are personal study contractsand related documents for administering distance learning inTasmanian high schools. (GL)

AtI

Ima:

,..

ma,

ion

r-qt

r-1

alio

ii.N

ow...

-.,,

1''

1,

t411

1Pirr

illr1

1111

1;' l

'r-Ir

Br

'lir

l'g!

rt4

'

IMIL

:11

.mia

lialli

g41

1'',"

171

1111

111t

1111

b0.-

-..if

illr

17:1

-11

.doc

,-,4

0,i

.16.

2e.'1

bili

,A,1

111'

--I

alIt

rri-A

IIIIC

-Ir

....'

frim

mar

ir-41

.:..-

-111

1- .r

iii, r

Mk

AL.

''

'f II_

1M

B

"17-

---T

----

-1-

'17,

,L.1

1__

1L,

-,11

IIva

llitli

t .11

1II

1 M

P1

Mr

11

IIJW

r .4

1hig

ifillt

'1'

11A

""--

11.

Al

AI

'11"

,-,

..._

V'

-,'1

1-''

''401

11.

,P

ob--

-gol

ob-1

11,ill

ikor

* A

K ,

on,,.

...,

11IN

'1

11

,.

IL"1

1"/

A-

-""7

"7:7

1r...

17:'

.. JL

-a-

y-m

l.

.1

AN

INill

r...A

-..d

:miii

0111

11.-

-411

if1.

...16

.1.-

17-

-JU

NI

Al.'

-..

'','

':'-

.,=,1

7-7=

7777

-1/

I"

I 'II/

P'"

I1.

,,tir

,],ii

(-:..

L.;1

;',!

'ies

Igu

mm

ill...

..4-

I"L

I '..

::',7

7.:.

-;,C

;'.

';,,'1

1111

-'1!

-

Lk--

711m

' L_

'111

.

libiii

iIIIB

L___

___I

.-71

'.'' ;

'177

7117

--,7

7-1/

-'4

CIn

ir"

'''''"1

-'...1

1111

0,r'

:'Ali4

:.dif

'1'

..11

-""m

illl

AN

NE

IIII

III.-

II

I1

-I

-.

.i -

-lam

e_.

.1--

m--

11-ii

me-

-1::.

::

.L

-'1-.

...g1

1111

I1

m-

II -

Mild

r T

1..

177.

7!, "

11...

...._

1111

016

*mid

fill

L''

".'''.

.-,

'".,

'V.

''1

1111

111F

il a,:;

,:shi

L...

,-.1

k '1

1111

1ili

mim

il11

',:',A

1111

111

Mr

.--1

!"1"

1M

1111

114

'''',,

.4P

hiaN

.

'V

NV

,-,

1 'A

m.

PIP

"'..i

tailP

"141

1141

1111

w...

11-

IL**

Tril

l-W

1111

1111

1'"i-

,,;,,

riP'

me&

,,,-

7-99

.41i

1-

-411

1

'Yr

7 A

r1

f`1

41.

ism

...01

111

111g

44.1

f 11

I-

1110

9100

6-1P

-I

'S

Lodg

e V

"_1

11/

Im

imp

-m

m--

1"N

IL_

__A

ll

II

I/I

1-

PP

NIL

=11

111_

_L-

1

lull

1 1

Mk_

_A

111

1N

IL IN

K''''

'1

-11

WV

'.

1104

11.1

1"41

1111

1111

1L,

AM

1111

1111

1111

74'2

.4"1

"1P

i--11

1111

1111

--1W

4a k

_I

All

PI_

14.1

1%11

11-1

1t...

3A

lms

r- A

A H

U.4

111

A1

igI

_MIA

1111

1111

1111

1116

.= =

An

.1.

1!14

.414

.11

111

1111

1111

1N

NW

-

44 n

or-

,imas

mom

RIC

1M

IA41

1111

111

11i

I

4111

1111

1111

1 M

EM

1111

1111

1111

MIL1

1

r

DAVID SMART

JOHN S. DANIEL

DevelopingDistance

EducationPapers submitted to

the 14th World Conference in Oslo9-16 August 1988

Interr...:tional Council for Distance EducationOslo 1988

© ICDE 1988Cover design: Josef LeupiLayout: Reidar GjorvenSet in: Optima 10/11

Printed in: Varnamo, Sweden 1988by Faiths Tryckeri

ISBN 82-506-1011-2

4

CONTENTS

Preface 5

Key-note papers 7

Yoshia Abe:Communications technology 9

Urban OahildfContinuing education. New needs and challenges for distance studies 16

John S. Daniel:Distance education and national development 21

Jack Foks:Distance education a developing concept 31

Patrick Guiton:Organisational autonomy and coordination in distance education 39

John Horlock:Distance teaching and credit transfer 45

Michael P. Lambert:How to develop a correspondence course 47

Ross Paul:If student services are so important, than why are we cutting them back? 50

Christine von PrOmmer, Gill Kirkup and Barbara Spronk:Women in distance education 57

Greville Rumble:Economics in distance education: time for a change of direction? 63

Conference papers(alphabetical by author) 71

3

5

PREFACE

Learning at a distance is not a new phenomenon. Indeed it might be said that the Epistles of St Paul provideevidence of an early appreciation of this method of overcoming problems of distance and time. It is, however,in the 20th century and particularly in the last two decades that this form of education has entered strongly intothe theory and practice of education throughout the world. The growth of institutions providing this form ofsupport to students has been accompanied by the development of a body of knowledge about the principlesand practices which are essential for the creation of a successful and statisfying learning experience forstudents. Clearly the practices will vary since they must be based upon methods of communication available inparticular areas of the world and an emphasis on broadcasting and postal communication is often a reflectiono: a region's dominant communication medium rather than a conscious choice. Indeed, one of the strengths ofDistance Education is the variety of media which have proved successful for it.

ICDE celebrates its 50th anniversary in Oslo this year. In 1938 a group of pioneers from correspondenceinstitutions in 6 countries met in Victoria, Canada and founded the International Council for CorrespondenceEducation. After the Second World War the Council expanded steadily, holding the World Conference inadifferent country every four years. In the 1960's growth accelerated and the Stockholm Conference in 1965attracted over 200 delegates from 25 nations. Thi3 growth was sustained through the 1970's reflecting theevolution of Distance Education and the creation of "open" Universities and Colleges in many parts of theworld. In 1982, at the 12th World Conference in Vancouver, Canada, more than 400 delegates adopted aname change the International Council for Distance Education better to express the contemporary diversityof learning media and methods. The Conference in Melbourne in 1985 was only the second such Conferenceto be staged in the Southern Hemisphere and the success of ICDE as well as the general awareness of thelongstanding tradition of Distance Education in Australia, led to a new attendance record of over 700 delegatesfrom some 50 countries.

The 14th World Conference of ICDE celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the association and this bookconstitutes th:-.., basic document of the Conference under the theme "Developing Distance Education". Thebook contains most of the major presentations and many of the supporting papers on which the Conference isfounded and was planned by the Programme Committee of ICDE which consisted of Dagny Blom (Norway),Helmar Larsson (Sweden), Erling Ljosa (Norway), Marjan Lubbers (Netherlands), Torstein Rekkedal (Norway),Reidar Roll (Norway) and David Sewart (United Kingdom) as Chairm7n. The volume and range of the paperswhich have been offered for the conference has necessitated difficult decisions but we hope that the book maybe seen as representative of the wide range of themes and areas of the world which now enrich DistanceEducation.

The entire project would have proved impossible without the help of many colleagues. It is a pleasure toacknowledge the support received from Reidar Roll, Janniche Langseth and other staff of the NorwegianAssociation of Distance Education and in particular Erling Ljosa and his staff in NKS.

We are also particularly indebted to Pat Proctor of the Open University whose efforts have kept the wholeproject on time. Finally we would like to thank the contributors who have provided such varied and interestingpapers. Reading such a wealth of contributions has been a rewarding experience and we hope that readers ofthe book will now be able to share this experience and make use in their own work of the variety of ideas andpractices in the development of Distance Education to which it is a witness.

David Sewart )ohn S. Daniel

5

6

Key-notes

7 7

BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILSYoshiya Abeis Director, Research and Development Division, Natio-nal Institute of Multi -Media Education, 2-Chome, Waka-ba, Chiba-shi, Japan 260

Communications technologyYOSHIYA ABE

PREFACE: COMMUNICATION,TECHNOLOGY AND DISTANCEEDUCATIONEducation began as a matter of dialogue, or commu-nication, from its outset. In Greece and Rome, aswell as with Confucius and Buddha, dialogue Ix.-tween master and the disciples was the beginning ofeducation. Thus academia grew as an institutionwhere toe master and the disciples gathered togeth-er to exchange views about their observation andanalysis of the issues.

Communications technology, particularly the elec-tronic devices developed in recent years, is capableof overcoming the barrier that distance presents toeducation. Indeed, new communications technol-ogy has the potential to change the very nature ofeducational instruction processes. It may alsochange the methods used to manage or administerthe instructional system. Recognition of the impactof these technological devices, in fact, resulted in achange in the name of this association from theInternational Association of Correspondence Edu-cation to the International Council of Distance Edu-cation several years ago.

Expansion of the educational mission through theuse of new communications technology is most vis-ible in the developed world, particularly among themember countries of OECD where are initial dis-tance learning institutions have been established.Following the lead of the British Open University,educational outreach is new but important missionfor the higher education system in most of thesecountries.

In Germany at the FernUniversitat; in Finland; inNorway through the Norskfjernundervisning; in thefour provincial institutions of Canada; in Australia atDeakin University; in the United States through tele-courses offered through the Adult Learning Servicesof the Public Broadcasting Service; in Japan with thebroadcast based University of the Air; and in theNetherlands, where the new Open Universiteitopened in 1984, a variety of new communicationstechnology is used to reach students. Many of thesestudents are adult, working or homebound andwould not be able to participate in higher educationwithout distance education.

Although distance education institutions in the de-veloped world are not large in terms of the numbersof students, they are significant because the> servestudents off-campus in new and innovative ways.Thus vital development within distance educationinstitutions, is seen in the employment of the newcommunications technologies.

VARIETY OF SOCIO-CULTURALINFRA-STRUCTUREIn the United Kingdom the success of the BritishOpen University depends heavily upon the welldeveloped mailing system and public libraries, ac-cess to which had been well established before theformation of the new system. In Korea, the KoreanAir and Correspondence University makes bene-ficial use of the existing national university systemfor providing schooling and examinations as well aspart-time faculty. Similar arrangements have been

9

8

adopted by the Sukhothai Thammathirat Open Uni-versity of Thailand, the Terubuka University of In-donesia and by many other institutions of distanceeducation.

In Japan, however, tele. ision, radio and other com-munications technologies are extensively used,partly because its elementary and secondary educa-tion provided the necessary infrastructure for theeffective use of broadcasting and other communi-cations technologies in distance higher education.In Japanese elementary and secondary educationthe curriculum content and the sequence of instruc-tion for each subject, and grade level are specifiedin detail by the Ministry of Education thus facilitat-ing the provision of instructional television pro-grams commensurate to the sequence of instructionnationwide.

In the United States on the other hand the curricu-lum content and the sequence of instruction is left tothe discretion of local school districts and individualteachers. It is this national standard that makes iteasier, or more difficult, to introduce instructionaltelevision and radio as support materials for class-room teaching. Most teachers in the United Statesdo not use instructional television regularly, al-though fifty-four percent of those teachers who hadinstructional television programming and a TV setused televised programs during 1982-83 accordingto Ronald J. Pedone ("Instructional Television inElementary and Secondary Education", National In-stitute of Education,June 1984).

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INITIATIVESIN THE ADOPTION OFTECHNOLOGYBecause the Japanese elementary and secondarycurriculum is cumulative and demanding, substan-tial numbers of students fall behind. Parents areanxious to provide whatever help they can and oftenpay for outside assistance when necessary. In Japan,students needing academic reinforcement mostcommonly attend a juku, or private proprietary edu-cational institution, which is designed to enablechildren to keep abreast of the demanding curricu-lum.

Juku operators are often keen in developing techno-logically supported programs of instruction. For ex-ample, in view of the recent mass sales of FamilyComputers to elementary school pupils throughoutJapan in excess of 10 million sets as of 1987 ajuku chain organization developed a special in-terface to combine the use of a Family Computer, aTV set (used as the display) and a cassette tape foreducational software. New educational software forJapanese language, social studies, arithmetic andscience are produced every month and utilized bythe company's approximately 1,000,000 corre-

10

spondence students at the fourth and fifth gradelevel. This is the simplest and cheapest CAI systemto support students who find it difficult to keep up/ith the standardized classroom instruction. Thecost of a Family Computer is about $US50 and theinterface is about $U590.

It is interesting to note, in this context, the differingarrangements in various countries regarding who isto bear the cost of education. In the United States,for example, elementary and secondary educationis regarded as a birthright for all citizens. In Japanalso education is compulsory and, in principle,publicly supported up to the 9th grade. Most coun-tries in the world today consider the provision ofelementary and sometimes secondary education tobe a public responsibility.

Although access to higher education has increasedin the past three decades, it is still not seen as auniversal right. There are, and always will be, ques-tions about who should pay for higher education.Whereas higher education is often publicly support-ed in European countries, in Japan, the UnitedStates and most of the developing countries theresponsibility for financing this level of study hasmost often been left to the student.

Nevertheless within the United States most stateshave made a commitment to providing inexpensivehigher education through the systems of communitycolleges. It is understandable, when one considersthe need to reach such large numbers of studentswith such little money, that public community col-leges were at the vanguard of producing, d. semi-nating and utilizing telecourses as a means of of-fering higher education to all the citizens in theAmerican community. It may also be noted thatapproximately 80% of college and university stu-dents are enrolled in publicly financed institutionsand these institutions often make use of availabletelecourses.

According to the 1979 CPB/NCES Higher EducationUtilization Study, 72% of colleges and universitiesin the United States make some use of television and25% offer complete courses over television; 1978-79 enrollments in television courses totalled ap-proximately half a million. Peter Dirr's 1985 Studyrevealed substantial improvement both in terms ofthe quality of the telecourses and the quantity ofenrolment thanks to the institutionalizing of theAdult Learning Services at PBS, the foundation of theInternational University Consortium and the provi-sion of substantial funding for the production ofdistinguished telecourses by the Annenberg/CPBProject.

In Japan on the other hand approximately 80% ofcollege and university students are enrolled at pri-vate institutions which rely on student tuition andfees to cover, on average, up to 80% of the currentexpenses, with the state providing about 20% of the

costs. College correspondence courses were incor-porated into the official education system in 1947with the explicit purpose of providing access tocollege education for working youth who could notafford to attend traditional college on a full-timebasis. All the 12 four-year and 10 two-year Japaneseinstitutions offering correspondence courses are pri-vate and financed almost entirely by the tuition andfees of the students.

Apart from college correspondence courses whichdepend on print and mail as the principal media ofinstruction there are as yet only a few opportunitiesin Japan for those who did not enter college upongraduating from high school to go back to college.Since virtually all traditional colleges and universi-ties admit students based on their performance inentrance examinations (with the minor exception ofsmall quota for adult students in a few col reges anduniversities) and because the traditional cycle ofJapanese education is structured for the young peo-ple who are peaking in their exam-taking capa-bilities at the conclusion of high school, adults findit extremely difficult to enter formal colleges or uni-versities after a working life of several years.There is now, however, growing interest in improv-ing opportunities for adult education. National pol-icymakers have become increasingly concernedabout such problems as the ageing of the popula-tion, the anticipated labour shortage and the need tore-educate middle-aged and older people. One ofthe major recommendations of the Provinsial Coun-cil on Educational Reform submitted to the PrimeMinister in 1987 called for the formulation of aneducational system to meet the needs of continuingeducation.

These factors have given rise to educational alterna-tives such as the University of the Air, which acceptsadults who wish to enroll without an entrance ex-amination. The university, which owns its own tele-vision and radio stations, broadcasts a wide range ofcourses continuously from six o'clock in the morn-ing to twelve midnight; the courses are offered viatelevision and radio and supported by printed text-books, face-to-face instruction at study centers andcorrespondence instruction. By using these com-munications tools, the University of the Air studentsmay work towards a fully accredited bachelor's de-gree.

This is a unique example of the use of television andradio broadcasting es the principal medium forhigher education. The University of the Air is alsonoteworthy because, in a country where privateinitiative so dominates most spheres of education,public commitment to this institution is made clearby its subsidy of nearly 90% of the school's oper-ational cost; student fees are minimal.

1I

COMMUNICATIONSTECHNOLOGY AND DISTANCEEDUCATIONBroadcasting is without doubt, the system that candeliver education most widely, cheaply (if there is alarge clientele) and effectively to students scattered"at a distance". The production of visual and audiocourseware and the use of television and radiobroadcasts have greatly expanded access to educa-tion to those who could not have access to it other-wise.

No matter how strong a device broadcasting is as amedium of distance education however, it has anintrinsic weakness in assuring interactive learning.From the students' viewpoint distance educationshould be an educational system which makeslearning available either at home or during sparetime at work. Students study individually, share inthe payment of educational costs even if it is partialand comparatively inexpensive, and depend ontheir own initiative for learning. They find therefore,that distance education via mass media only partial-ly satisfies their ideal of a learning opportunity. Theyask for their money's worth which might easily un-dermine the goal of providing cheaper educationalopportunities; and they expect their personal ques-tions answered promptly, even though they areraised at their home study sites.

Considering the fact that distance education is aneducational system based on the needs of the stu-dents, the students' viewpoint must be given ampleconsideration. In order to fully achieve the missionsof distance education, the employment of moderntechnological devices has thus become indispens-able.

Individualized and interactive communication be-tween the instructors and the students has becomeeconomically and practically feasible due to theintroduction of new electronic media such as fac-simile communication, microcomputer communi-cation, electronic boards, scanning television andpickup phones, CATV and highly optical visual sys-tems as well as commur:cation satellite. Researchand development into the use of these devices fordistance education has been promoted in Japan bythe National Institute of Multimedia Education(NIME).

An experiment using facsimile was carried out inconjunction with several courses offered by the Uni-versity of the Air. Facsimile was found to oe partic-ularly effective in a poetry course where studentswrote and submitted short poems via facsimile andthe instructor gave comments immediately after-ward, also via facsimile. In view of the rapid diffu-sion of office facsimile, even in small shops andfactories, and of inexpensive personal facsimile us-ing the same telephone line without monopolizing aline for facsimile communication, the application of

1 0

this technology may provide an excellent interac-tive learning opportunity for many working peoplein small businesses and salaried workers.

Using computers arid communication in an inter-active educational process has been the subject ofexperiments both domestically and internationally.On-screen exchange of communication has beenconducted through computer terminals in severalsubjects by connecting students at several collegesand the NIME tutors via telephone lines and the hostcomputer. Contact is made either simultaneously orwith a time lag by saving messages on the computer.This technology makes it possible to effectivelyovercome the hurdles of both distances and time. Aserious bottleneck in this plan, however, is thestrong allergy of Japanese adults to key boardswhich may be derived from a cultural heritage ofpenmanship in Chinese characters.

A combination of electronic boards, pick-upphones and scanning television are being used be-tween the NIME laboratory and several study cen-ters, located some 1,000 kilometers away, wherecorporate workers gather. Some years ago a similarexperiment, called "Cyclops", was conducted bythe British Open University but it was terminated fortechnological and financial reasons. In Japan, thesehurdles have been overcome. The primary objec-tive of this experiment is to make effective use ofvarious existing facilities for interactive educationrather than constructing new single-purpose facil-ities. By doing this the University hopes to econo-mize on the cost of interactive education as well asminimize the physical burden for students who oth-erwise might be required to commute to the learningsite. So far both instructors and students have recog-nized the effectiveness of this method and its adop-tion for practical purposes appears to be promising.

The highly optical visual system is a completelyinteractive visual communication system in wnichvideo cameras are set uo in homes and in the studio-classroom. The systems are connected by opticalglass-fibre cables and information is processedthrough a computer. This system is almost an idealalternative to face-to-face instruction. An experi-ment using this system has been conducted at a siteconstructed in Nara prefecture; however, in terms ofcost, at the present level of technological devel-opment it is far too impractical for educational pur-poses.

The communication satellite is one of the mostpromising technologies available to strengthen dis-tance education. Several colleges in Japan havebegun to receive beams via Intersat and to use CNNand other programs for instruction. Satellite com-munication via Venus P and other services is exten-sively used by many researchers and educators.

The extensive use of irstructional television andradio in elementary and secondary schools and the

widespread use of family computers among youngpupils provided in Japan a strong infrastructure forhigher education to adopt new communicationstechnology. And yet the various technologies stillrequire much experimentation and careful consid-eration before they can become widely used andhave a positive impact on the innovative advancesin distance education.

RAPID GROWTH OF DISTANCEEDUCATION IN ASIA ANDTHE PACIFICNewly industrialized countries and developingcountries in Asia and the Pacific are particularlynoteworthy in the utilization of distance educationfor development. Korea Air and CorrespondenceUniversity was inaugurated in 1972 and today en-rolls about 300,000 students. Al lama lqbal OpenUniversity of Pakistan was open in 1974 and itsenrollment now is about 73,000 students. Sukhoth-ai Thammathirat Open University of Thailand wasestablished in 1978 and its students number asmany as 450,000. In 1980, Sri Lanka Open Uni-versity was established with emphasis on techno-logical education and 12,000 students are enrolledtoday. In 1984, Terubuka University was establish-ed in Indonesia and in 1985, both Indhira GandhiNational Open University of India and the Uni-versity of the Air of Japan were opened.

These institutions are all autonomous higher educ-tion institutions, strongly supported by the govern-ment of each country and given legal status to grantat least a bachelor's degree. The degree of emphasisthey place on particular media of instruction variesfrom one institution to another but they all list print-ed materials, television, radio, video and audio cas-settes, correspondence instruction and telephoneguidance among the media mix.

Efforts toward regional cooperation among theabove mentioned institutions bore fruit in Novem-ber 1987 in the form of the Asian Association ofOpen Universities (AAOU). Support for the AAOUfrom the UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asiaand the Pacific and from the Asian DevelopmentBank has been positive. The United Nations Uni-versity, in conjunction with the British Open Uni-versity, has been instrumental in building up aninformation network for distance education also.

TEACHERS, STAFF ANDSTUDENTS IN DISTANCEEDUCATIONTeachers play an integral role in the developmentand delivery of courses, programs, and counsellingprovided through the new communications tech-nology. Studies in the United States and Canada

12

11

however, have shown that many teachers participa-ting in distance education programs were teachingonly part-time, while holding other jobs separatefrom their academic positions.

Good communications technology based coursesor programs must be the result of a combination ofmany talents. In order to develop such courses agroup of people with diverse expertise needs tocooperate. All course teams should include a schol-ar deeply versed in the subject who, at the sametime, is also a talented and sensitive teacher. Toform a good distance education team, the academicabilities of teachers must be combined with manyothers including editors and graphic designers,media-oriented television and radio program direc-tors, actors and actresses, as well as a visual data-base and other resources and the services of com-puter laboratories and animation studios.

Some of the techniques and skills required are quitedifferent from those which traditional academicshave used in the past as tutors or classroom in-structors. The use of new communications te:h-nology requires more organization, more advancx1planing and significantly more preparation tirr:ethan would be required to teach a traditional class.

PRINCIPAL MEDIUM OFINSTRUCTIONDistance education institutions rely on a mixture ofappropriate communications technology. Howev-er, emphasis on the various technologies difttrsfrom institution to institution. There area number ofphilosophies and circumstances to be consideredwhen selecting the principal media of instruction.

PRINTThe British Open University set a high standard inthe production of printed course units by courseteams. Whereas television and radio broadcastingare used as a pace-setter and motivator of learningand tutorial services as well as summer schools areprovided in order to identify the students with theUniversity, the studies at the British Open Universityare conducted on the basis of interactive learningthrough its printed course units.

This model is followed by most distance educationinstitutions thorughout the world. Its innovativecourse team approach in the production system hasgreatly influenced such institutions as SukhothaiTh3mmathirat Open University in Thailand, Al lamalqbal Open University of Pakistan and many others.

Its effectiveness in the instructional process is aug-mented by the excellent postal system, public li-brary services and, above all, by the British habit ofwriting and reading. In Japan also college corre-

1 3

spondence courses rely on textbooks and corre-spondence instruction as principal media of instruc-tion.

BROADCASTINGIn Japan however, a system based on the use oftelevision and radio broadcasting as principalmedia of instruction developed with the inaugu-ration of the University of the Air. Behind this em-phasis lies the fact that almost all elementaryschools already employ instructional televisionbroadcasts by NHK, the Japanese National PublicBroadcasting Service.

NHK began radio school programs in April 1935.The then Minister of Education defined the purposeas supplementing and enriching school education,not replacing it. Televisions school programs werecreated by NHK almost simultaneously with thebeginning of television broadcasting and, since Oc-tober 1951, television school programs have beenproduced and broadcast. Science, social studiesand ethics are the most popular programs.

Programs are broadcast weekly for each differentgrade level and are 15 minutes long. Yearly pro-gramming schedules are issued before the begin-ning of the school year so that teachers can use themin developing lesson plans. Each trimester, NHKpublishes a teacher's guide for each grade level.These guides contain detailed descriptions of eachscheduled program and provide notes concerningtheir use in the classroom. The programs are easilyincorporated into the teaching schedule becausethe classroom as well as the media curriculum isbased upon the course of study set by the Ministry ofEducation.

In the late 60's and 70's the use of inexpensive videotape recorders spread widely in Japan's schools andthe style of using academic television programschanged substantially. In addition to elementaryschool use the use of school television programs atjuniorandsenior high schools inc reased very rapidly,owing o the fact that recording devices solved theproblem of scheduling the class hours and the broad-casting time. Furthermore, many teachers began toedit the recorded programs to fit their own teachingplans and more and more teachers started using ed-ited portions as support materials in their teaching.

A 1986 survey of the students of the University of theAir revealed that about 70% of the students ownvideo tape recorders at home, that practically 100%on audio cassettes and that practically all thosewho possess the instruments record lectures auto-matically and replay them at convenient times.

When computers are used as tools of education thenew functions are labelled "computer assisted in-struction" (CAI) and "computer managed instruc-tion" (CMI). Extensive use of CAI has been reported

12

in Great Britain where evidence confirms that CAI isbecoming more widespread in higher education. Itis extensively used in the British Open Universitywhere they see CAI as offering great long-term edu-cational potential because of its interactive abilitywith individual students, its capacity for patient,instant feedback, its simulation potential and itscommunication and database capability which en-ables students to access information quickly.

Ar American CAI system developed by Control Da-ta Corporation in conjunction with the University ofIllinois and called PLATO, exerted extensive, in-ternational 'nfluence. A number of countries, in-cluding Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Finland aswell as the Netherlands and Japan, have experi-mented with this sytem. PLATO continues to beused as a CAI system at a number of Americancolleges and universities. In Japan it is extensivelyused in the national technical colleges and privateprofessional colleges. In particular at a private tech-nological institute, complete paper questions andlibrary services have been replaced by computersystem. This Kanazawa Institute of Technology de-veloped mathematics and English CAI software rele-vant to the different levels of the students and letthem work individually at the institute's computerlab' ratory so that all of them may reach a certainstanozrd before the end of the summer vacation.

CMI, on th, nther hand, can accomplish a great dealwithout requiring computer access by the student.CMI, to differing degrees, is utilized at most distancelearning institutions. At the FernUniversitat in Ger-many and the University of the Air of Japan comput-ers are used to correct and grade students. Similarsystems, sometimes interactive, are in operation atthe British Open University. In Canada, TV Ontariohas a computer managed learning system whichwas originally developed at Miami-Dade Commu-nity College.

Some universities in Japan have computer centresspecifically installed for educational utilization.Last year the Ministry of Education set guidelines forthe introduction of computers into secondaryschools and began providing schools with funds topurchase microcomputers for use by students. Theteaching of computer utilization skills to non-spe-cialists is becoming increasingly popular.

In the United States, a number of colleges and uni-versities have gone as far as requiring all their enter-ing students, regardless of field of study, to purchasemicrocomputers. The expectation at these schools,which are mostly private universities, is that thestudents will use microcomputers for at least part oftheir work in all subjects.

Computer language, born from numerals, and bredby English, is now facing a new challenge from theJapanese and the Chinese. An automatic translationsystem among several Asian languages is now being

14

developed under the auspices of the Ministry ofInternational Trade and Industry of Japan. A func-tion to allow the input of information by voice isalmost complete. When these technological devel-opments reach the level of practical applicationinternational distance education will have been giv-en a new horizon.

COMMUNICATION SATELLITENew information technol ,:es are used extensivelyin American colleges and universities to deliver pro-fessional continuing education. Their use in suchprograms as applied health, medicine, engineeringand high technol, w, business, education, law andreal estate is most commonly observed. Particularlynoteworthy is the linkage of engineering graduateschools with corporate learning sites via communi-cation satellite organized by the Colorado-basedNational Technological University. A similar ar-rangement is now being developed in Europethrough the PACE program.

Corporations in Japan have developed extensivecorporate training systems at high education level.Particularly in the advanced fields of technologycorporations are faced with the problem of how toallow their responsible engineers to leave their worksite in order to be trained. To help alleviate theproblem KDD (International Telephone and Tele-graph). NEC (Japan, Electronics Corporation) andseveral other companies are applying distance edu-cation in the form of teleconferencing systemsthrough communications satellite. These systemsemploy computers, slow scan television, electronicboard, speaker phones, facsimile and other elec-tronic devices to make distance education effective.

In an extraordinary period of rapid technologicaldevelopment and change, these corporations areeager to modernize their operating systems, trainnew professionals and technicians and vitalize theireconomic situation.

POSTSCRIPTDoes the medium change the message? How doesthe content of a course offered via televisions, forexample, differ from the same course offered in astandard classroom setting if in fact it differs at all?It can be expected that, as the new technology isintroduced into the learning environment, coursecontent will be in some way changed or modified.

Educators, when addressed with this question, mayrespond that "it does not or should not make anydifference". Even in instances where instructors be-lieve the medium does affect the message, they findit difficult to specify in what ways the curriculumchanges. The medium may not necessarily affect themessage for, generally, the same information istransmitted regardless of medium.

The ability of a computer-based communication

la

network tc provide immediate and comprehensiveaccess to a broad range of information and to offer abroad data base for both students and faculty how-ever, is already having widespread impact on highereducation. just as automobiles and aeroplanes ex-panded humanity's ability to walk on two legs andjust as industrial robots increased humankind's

power to produce with two hands, the employmentof modern electronic communications technologyincreases our ability to team through the use of thebrain. Distance education, with appropriate use ofmodern communications technology, will helpovercome the hurdles of distance, time and culturaldifference for all people who have the will to learn.

BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS

Professor Urban Dahl lofPh D 1960 Stockholm University. Professor of Education,Goteborg University 1972-76. Uppsala University since1976. Visiting professor, Um -ersity of Melbo _ le, Vic.toria, 1984; guest teacher, University of British Columbia,summer 1987.

Continuing educationNew needs and challenges for distance

studiesURBAN DAHLLOI

FROM SECONDARY TOCONTINUING EDUCATIONWhen the organizing committee for this conferenceasked for a paper on continuing education, thismight be seen as a symptom of a need for distanceeducators to prepare themselves for a shift of em-phasis from programs for adults oriented towards aformal competence at the secondary level of school-ing or in higher education to a more diversifiedmenu of courses, more or less like the Swedish"smorgasbord".

In any case, such a shift of emphasis has alreadytaken place in national policies in education, in sofar as many of the economically more advanced,and industrialized countries have by now expandedtheir formal school systems to provide secondaryeducation for the great majority of the populationand higher education for a much higher proportionof a birth cohort than was the case only a few yearsago.

This is not least the case in the Nordic family of smallwelfare states on the geographical and culturalfringe of Western civilization. In my own country,Sweden, no more than 5 per cent of the 19 year oldcohort matriculated in 1950 from the upper second-_ y school which corresponds to the requirementsfor university entrance. After a period of intenseexpansion, aiming at mobilizing the national re-serve of talent as well as increasing the accessibilityto secondary education both socially and regional-ly, that part of the school system in 1980 provided

academic or vocatic-)al training programs for a totalof 80 per cent of a cohort. Of these about 25 per centhad acquired a full competence for university en-trance from a three year academic program, whileanother 25 per cent had a more practically orientedtwo year program behind them after the compulsoryschool, requiring them to take supplementarycourses of less than one year full time studies inorder to gain entry to universities or colleges. Of therest, for those who have the ability to pursue theoret-ical studies, university entry competence may re-quire merely a somewhat longer time of study incertain areas. Moreover, a great number of specialcommunity adult secondary schools provide thesesupplementary programs either in the form of eve-ning courses or full day studies.

Under such conditions it is no wonder that such apioneer institution like the Hermods correspond-ence institute in MalmO expanded heavily in the1940s and 1950s, when the social demand for post-compulsory education was rapidly growing but notyet met by the public school system. During thisperiod a limited number of private and/or state sup-ported correspondence institutes played a very stra-tegic role in the provision of secondary educationboth for youth and adults in sparsely populated ar-eas and for adults in the work-force all over thecountry.

Ti:.e is still a role for distance providers to play inthe area of secondary education in serving thosewho live far away from such a school or whose

16

15

working conditions or family situation do not per-mitthem to participate in regular evening classes. Ofcourse the expansion of the public school systemleads to a shrinking market for the distance provid-ers in this field. Moreover, two specific circum-stances do imply a new challenge for the coursedesigners:

(1) In pace with the increased diversification of theprogram offerings not least those of a voca-tional kind there are a greater number ofprograms needed to serve a smaller lumber ofstudents, especially if society aims at providingthe remaining target group with the same educa-tional opportunities as the majority of the pop-ulation.

(2) A great many of this specific target group are atthe same time not motivated or otherwise pre-pared to carry on independent studies on theirown as in the days of a great reserve of academictalent.

What steps should be taken to meet this double-challenge? Perhaps somebody now would like toobject, that this picture of the situation at the sec-ondary level of schooling is true only for a limitednumber of highly industrialized countries. That maybe the case, at least in quantitative terms. Also with-in the Western world there are many countrieswhere secondary education has not yet expanded tothe same extent, or whose populations are of such asize, that there remains for many years a large mar-ket for distance education programs. This may bestill more valid for the developing countries, provid-ed that an expansion of the secondary level is apolicy matter of high priority. However, that is nolonger always the case. Instead, it is now very oftenrecognized that a vocationally oriented, continuingeducation program for adults in many cases pro-vides the most adequate as well as the most rapidway of promoting the living conditions of the greatmajority of the population. Yet this may run parallelto a low or moderate expansion of the traditionalsecondary and tertiary sectors. Nor should we over-look the sometimes great need to carry out literacyprograms and to strengthen and prolong primaryeducation in other ways in the developing coun-tries. However, these often overwhelming needs atthe primary level usually have to be met by quitespecific and context-related strategies of a kindwhich often combine a central, large-scale produc-tion of basic teaching materials with local teachingactivities. All in all these mass education programsat the primary level represent a unique case of edu-cational planning which deserves its own treatmentand which carmot readily be operated within theframe of reference otherwise given for distance edu-cation.

Irrespective of the size of the target groups and inview of the now long tradition both of literacy cam-paigns in the third world and of distance edination

at the secondary level, these areas do not any longerrepresent new needs, calling for new strategies ofplanning and design. F: )wever, it should no' bedenied that old or even eternal problems may callfor a reconsideration of the strategies to tackle them.An example of this is the double crux at thr second-ary level of a need for a great- variety of courses forsmaller groups combined with target groups lessmotivated for traditional independent studies.

The shift of emphasis from secondary educationprovision to continuing education has so far beendiscussed mainly from the point of view of the de-veloping countries. As far as the industrialized na-tions are concerned the preceding passages mightbe interpreted to imply that nothing else now re-mains for distance education than continuing andhigher education. Such a passive attitude is, howev-er, not justified. Quite the contrary. There are anumber of strong arguments in favour of a new dealin continuing education both with respect to thetypes of programs offered, their quantity as well astheir qualitative design. Before turning to those is-sues, a few specific words should be mentionedabout distance programs in the higher educationsector.

HIGHER EDUCATION AND ACONTINUING EDUCATIONPOLICYIn a way similar to that of secondary education, thesystems of higher education have undergone a rapidexpansion in most countries during the last 20 years.In this connection it makes no major difference ifthis has taken place in terms of an integrated systemof universities and colleges as in Sweden or in termsof a dual system, often with some coordination ofcourse requirements for entry to graduate studies.

On this occasion there is specific reason to highlightthe importance of contextual frame conditions forthe organization of the higher education system,including the creation of specific Open Universitiessuch as those in Great Britain, the German FederalRepublic, the Netherlands, Spain and Japan to men-tion only a few well-known examples. On the otherhand distance education programs can be orga-nized by many universities and colleges as one al-ternative among a number of possible adaptations ofthe traditional delivery mode of a tertiary institution.Such rather smaller scale, decentralized models,less heavily dependent upon the media of the air orlarge package-systems of teaching materials, arepracticed in Australia, New Zealand, several of theCanadian provinces and particularly in Swedenamong the Nordic Countries. So in this respect thereare good reasons to ask, it there are any specificcontextual conditions which characterize the Nor-dic countries, creating a certain link also with otherWestern fringe areas like Canada, Australia and

17

16

New Zealand but necessitating differences from thesituation in the U.K., U.S., Western Germany,France and Italy.

Three sets of factors seem to form a common de-nominator for this Western fringe area. One has todo with the scale of operations, primarily in terms ofpopulation and size of adult target groups. The sec-ond factor concerns the geographical distribution ofthe ta-get groups in relation to already existing cen-tres of higher education. The third factor is concen-trated on the university policies of admission as wellas adaptation to the demands on program contentsand delivery modes by new student groups. In gen-eral the Western fringe areas under considerationhere seem to share a combination of characteristicsof relatively small target groups, particularly amongadults and a relatively high accessibility both interms of admission opportunities and course designand in terms of geographical distances, even thoughsome of these countries, such a!, Canada and Austra-lia, have among the largest sparsely populated areasin the world.

This does not preclude the fact that there are alsoquite obvious differences within this Western fringearea between the Nordic countries. Norway andFinland are outstanding in their investment both inuniversities and in qualified staff such as professorsand senior lecturers. Norway has four full universi-ties and Finland has pursued a deliberate long-termregionalization policy, implying the establishmentof universities or university colleges with a researchorganization in at least one faculty area in as manyas nine towns.

When the Norwegian district colleges are added,one finds that higher education is offered at a greatmany more towns in Norway than the four uni-versity sites. In this connection it should be stressedthat the Norwegian population is very unevenlydistributed in clusters, leaving vast sparsely pop-ulated areas in the mountain regions between thetowns and often with time-consuming connectionsover narrow, winding mountain roads or infrequentferry trips across the fjords.

Sweden's population of 8.3 million is twice as greatas that of Norway. Yet, there are no more than sixfull universities and fifteen state university colleges.However, thanks to the flatter landscape and thereal possibility of commuting larger distances, theaccessibility of higher education is about the sameas in Norway, particularly when one considers thesystematic use of a strategy for decentralized cours-es and distance programs, with residential schoolsor shorter weekend meetings two or three times persemester. Sweden also has a specific set of entryrules for adults through which work experience isgiven special credit.

The conditions under which higher education oper-ates in Scanr'inavia are quite similar to those of

18

some of the Australian states and the Canadian prov-inces. For example, the geographical conditions ofBritish Columbia are very similar to those of Norwayand some of the many community colleges, espe-cially North Island College in the coastal region,have adopted a policy of course offerings mainlyintended for adults, highly decentralized and delib-erately designed to support the development of theregion.

When the total enrollment of adults in higher educa-tion is considered, it seems justifiable to ask whetherthe rates of participation are higher in those statesand provinces which follow a decentralizei smallscale approach to distance education as a ..upple-ment to other distribution forms. The establishmentof big, central s..,ecialized universities, such as theGerman Fernuniversitat in Hagen and AthabascaUniversity in Alberta, do not seem to have promoteda high adult participation in the area as a whole, inspite of the impressive student numbers for thoseindividual institutions. Perhaps such large, central-ized solutions were undertaken primarily in coun-tries where traditional universities were not partic-ularly p epared to open themselves to new studentgroups or to adjust the pattern of their course of-ferings to the specific demands of these groups?

In any case Sweden is no doubt among those coun-tries that have taken yet another step towards theinclusion of a policy of continuing education at theuniversity and college level. In contrast to a greatnumber of other countries, it new has an officialpolicy of offering only a part of a full degree programin its own right as a supplement to basic training atthe secondary level of education. Consequently, thecriterion of completion rates for a full degree can nolonger be used as an indicator of the effectiveness ofthe studies in that part of the system.

This gives us a specific purpose for discussing thereasons behind a more general policy of continuingeducation and their consequences for the design ofdistance education programs within such a systemof education.

MOTIVES FOR A GREATEREMPHASIS ON CONTINUINGEDUCATIONThe term continuing education is here used in awide sense of the word. It denotes those parts of thelife-long learning concert that have to be met by anykind of systematic educational program, includingboth organized study circles and formal programsleading to some specific competence, certified byany type of diploma, certificate or degree.

In this connection it may suffice to distinguish be-tween two main motives for a greater emphasis oncontinuing education. First, we have a social motiveto even out differences in formal and/or real compe-

1 7

tence due to the social bias in the application andselection procedures in the ordinary school system.In this perspective the main goal for continuingeducation is to provide adults with a second chanceto a vocational, general secondary or higher educa-tion competence depending on what level theybroke off from their earlier school career. This com-pensatory philosophy directs particular attention todifferences between social classes or strata but alsobetween regions and age groups which are oftencorrelated with social background variables. Eventhough recent school reforms aim at evening outsocial and regional differences in the enrollments topost-compulsory education, they are seldom quitesuccessful in doing so. Therefore, a pool of un-t.ipped talent will always remain at least to someextent, although its size will decrease with the %oakattainment of the reforms. A specific case may bethe aim to bridge the generation gap. It is regardedas a matter of justice that provision should be madefor the adult generation of at least some of the edu-cational opportunities which now so generously areoffered to the youth, since it is this older generationwho through taxes have paid and still are paying thecosts for the great expansion of the educationalsystem. However, if that wish to bridge the gener-ation gap was the main social motive, the provisionof continuing education opportunities for adultswould mean just a temporary expansion for a num-ber of years, until the older generation approachedthe age of retirement.

The other motive is stronger and so much longerlasting that one is tempted to speak about an eternalneed. It is based on the needs for education of allkinds evoked by the changing society with respectto new technologies, structural changes of the econ-omy and other forms of rationalization. But neweducational needs do also stem from the social andenvironmental consequences of nem technologiesand economic changes as well as from the trendstowards more participation by blue and white collarworkers and other employees in the decision mak-ing processes in the work-place and in municipalboards or working groups, in labour unions andpolitical parties.

FORMS OF CONTINUINGEDUCATIONTraditionally two main forms of continuing educa-tion are recognized. First of all we have differentvarieties of non-credit course, sometimes, as so of-ten in the Nordic countr:es, in the form of a studycircle under the auspices of a free educational asso-ciation, sometimes at a "folkhOgskola" or peoplescollege more or less in the Danish Grundtvig-tradi-tion, sometimes in the form of a formal course, e.g.arranged by a university department of continuingeducation. The organization depends upon the na-

tional, cultural context and its traditions. There areno formal entry requirements and there are seldomany direct links to original research. Sometimes thelabel of "consumer-oriented" studies are applied tothis category of continuing general education, eventhough there are both arguments and some evi-dence that the participation cannot that easily bedistinguished from more investment oriented, com-petence-related studies.

The other category thus aims at developing a specif-ic competence related to the demands of the work-ing life. In contrast to the characteristics of a ^c -eraleducation program, which often implies a .1n-tation in a field, the main emphasis is here oper-ational skills for which the individual, after the train-ing, can take responsibility, although he or she insome way is under somebody's supervision. Thiswell-known category embraces

upgrading courses, often of an inservice trainingtypefurther education courses within the participant'sordinary field of workretraining courses for new job requirements inanother occupation at the same level of respon-sibilityprograms leading to a higher competence in thesame or in a new occupation.

The rapidly changing world of work has made thistype of continuing education a very frequent one. Itis often stressed that, in the future, everybody has tobe prepared to change occupational status severaltimes during a life-time. This is also the basic ideabehind the term "recurrent education" as an expres-sion of a deliberate policy to distribute formal edu-cational opportunities more evenly over the life-span and to launch financial schemes in order topromote adult participation. In any case it meansthat the old "ruck-sack model" no longer works.School can no longer be expected to provide theschool leaver with all the intellectual food neededfor the rest of the journey through life.

In this field there are immense demands to be filledfor which dietance education has a defin le toplay. And here we should recall what as saidearlier about full degrees. There is no valid argu-ment that higher education always has to mean a fulldegree also for adults. Instead, they may be betterserved by getting a higher education credit course injust one or two specialist areas, perhaps combinedwith quite different subjects, depending on theirbasic level of training, their specific work situationand their own motivation and career plans. Contin-uing education for adults in a position of responsib-ility in working life does also provide an excellentopportunity for the research community to dissemi-nate their findings and ways of thinking directly tokey target groups which often are in a position toinfluence the working patterns and to pave the wayfor new technologies or administrative routines.

19

18

Thus, an active participation by researchers may bein their own interest and also promote speeding upthe research dissemination process.

Finally, a third variety of continuing educationshould perhaps be added to the two traditional onesmentioned above. This "third alternative" seems tocorrespond to the demands for a more profoundknowledge base by those who in different capacitiescooperate closely with highly specialized profes-sionals and by those who in various advisory ofdecision making bodies have to take a stand andeven cast a vote on complicated new schemes af-fecting the economy, the environment, the workingconditions and the life quality in the local communi-ty c r in society at large. The required competencedoes not need operational skills but a deeper under-standing of implications and consequences thanusually are connected with the outcomes of studycircle activities and other forms of general educa-tion. The targets outlined here may often require adirect link with the research front and imply in-tellectual processes of evaluation and synthesis, as-sessing probabilities against each other at a quitehigh taxonomical level of cognitive educationalgoals.

CONSEQUENCES FOR THEDESIGN OF DISTANCEEDUCATION PROGRAMSFinally, we should consider the consequences of thenew continuing education needs, outlined above,

for the design of distance education programs. Inthis connection it may suffice just to emphasize afew crucial points as some food for further thoughtsand to promo, further thinking. Consequently thissummary of the main contents of my presentationwill deliberately end up with the following openquestions:

(1) What steps would be taken within distance edu-cation to promote the use of the adult students'own experience as a resource in the teachingand learning situation?

(2) How can distance education programs beadapted to the rapidly changing research front inmany key areas which is necessary for the deep-understanding of the third variety of continuingeducation mentioned above?

(3) How can one better provide for an individual-ized feed-back to adult students who, depend-ing on their different starting points and varyingexperiences, face difficulties at very differentpoints in a study program, which cannot alwaysbe foreseen?

(4) How can we promote a necessary professional-ism among distance educators not only to writeteaching materials and study guides but to eval-uate, plan and design distance education pro-grams in a way that best suits the interests of thedifferent target groups?

(5) How can we best promote research on distanceeducation as part of a program aiming at a deep-er professionalization of the field as outlinedabove?

2019

BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILSJohn Danielis president of Laurentian University in Canada. He haswritten extensively about communications technologyand distance educatio and was president of the Inter-national Council of Distance Education from 1982-1985.Recently he has chaired the planning group for the dis-tance education initiative announced by the Common-wealth Heads of government in October 1987.

Distance educationand national development

JOHN S. DANIEL

DISTANCE EDUCATION AMONGTHE NATIONS: A WORLD TOURDistance education continues to grow and evolve ina marvelously diverse fashion around the world.The diversity reflects differences in political philoso-phy between countries, the availability of newmethods of communication, world economic tur-bulence and, in a few cases, the impact of particularindividuals. The following vignettes attempt to cap-ture the salient features of distance education (DE) invarious countries and regions. The coverage issomewhat biased toward postsecondary educationand we emphasize how distance methods havebeen harnessed to the national ambitions of differ-ent countries in conformity with their prevailingpolitico-economic values.

THE SOVIET BLOCThe right to distance education forms part of theconstitution of the USSR (Article 45);

"Citizens of the USSR have the right to education.This right is ensured by free p:ovision of all forms ofeducation ... by the development of distance andpart-time education courses ... by the provision offacilities for self-education."

The objectives of DE in the USSR are closely tied tothe efficient training of skilled manpower. Ilyin(1983) justifies the role of HDE in the USSR in fourpoints:

better training of specialists by the combinationof studies and work;

21

DE costs two or three times less than full-timeeducation;the work/DE ,..:ombi nation prevents students fromswitching professions after training which 15-20% of conventional graduates do;conventional graduates need two-three years ofwork before mastering their skills.

The clientele for postsecondary DE in the USSR ishuge, involving some 1.5 m students or 30% of allstudents in institutions of higher learning(Ilyin1983). Entrance is on the basis of competitive exam-inations. There are 14 specialized distance teachinguniversities (DTUs) and 800 distance subsidiariesand branches of full-time universities and institutesoffering a complete range of programmes. The tech-nology of Soviet DE involves correspondence cours-es (study guides and text books) and some televisionon a national educational channel. Its distinguish-ing feature is the 30% of study carried out in face-to-face settings, sometimes called the "consultationmodel". Soviet DTUs operate branches acioss thenation (e.g. 23 branches for the USSR Financial andEconomic Institute for Distance Education whichhas 32,000 students). Students are given paid leavefrom work to keep up with their courses and attendlectures and practical work at these branches.

The countries of the Soviet bloc are pleased with theresults of this model of DE and seek to improve eachelement of the system. Mohle (1983) talks aboutbetter integration of independent work into the edu-cational process. He repeatedly stresses the goal oftraining "creative personalities" who will take "per-sonal responsibility". He advocates however, theteaching of "clearly established positions" so cre-ativity may not extend very far into the DE curricu-

2 0

lum itself. Holmberg and Keegan (1984) note thatreliance on marxist-leninist thinking as the frame-work for teaching and research is repeatedlystressed by distance educators from the Soviet bloc.It is too early to know what impact the emphasis onopenness (glasnost) introduced by Mr. Gorbachevwill have on distance education. An article by Jedr-zycki (1984) on the proposed open university inPoland is evidence of the hopes that exist.

ASIAThe most exciting development in distance educa-tion in the 1980s have occurred in the Far East.Faced with the common need to expand highereducation countries have used distance educationin ways that reflect their varied educational andpolitical traditions.

CHINAChina, home to one quarter of humanity, is expand-ing the provision of distance education rapidly. Theobjective is to meet the needs of the development ofthe national economy and of society (Jianshu 1987)as part of the modernization of education. While therationale behind DE in China and the USSR is simi-lar, the Soviet emphasis is on improving a well-established educational system whereas DE in Chi-na is part of a massive catch-up operation. In 1983only 0.6% of the population were university gradu-ates while 23.5% were semi-literate or illiterate. Inrelation to statistics like these, the numbers nowinvolved in DE in China, impressive though they arein absolute terms, represent only a modest begin-ning. But there is no lack of idealism. Staff are urgedto gain "a deeper understanding of higher corre-spondence education in the cause of socialist eco-nomic construction, to get them to dedicate theirlives to the development of higher correspondenceeducation in China" (Jianshu 1987). The aim is toprovide DE to 20m Chinese over the next 15 years.

In 1983 around 1,000,000 Chinese, or some 40% ofthe country's university population, were studyingat a distance. One third of this clientele was enrolledin the correspondence programmes that are offeredby 311 of China's 800 colleges and universities; onethird was associated with the Radio and TelevisionUniversity of China (RTVU) a decentralized sys-tem of institutions; the final third was associatedwith the local TV universities which, since 1978,have "sprung up like bamboo shoots after a springrain in China" (Yu Xu 1986).

As in the USSR, entry to DE in China is by selectionand there are close links with the workplace. Jian-shu (1987) reports on the unified entrance examintroduced in 1986 and taken by 1.3 m people.Many students at the RTVU branches are workersreleased full-time with pay. They watch the TV pro-

grammes in groups at the branches where they alsohave contact with part-time tutors. Although the TVuniversities are not "open" universities, the Chinesehope that the vast classroom without walls whichthey represent will, as a side effect, raise the educa-tional ambitions in the population at large.

The programmes offered by correspondence in Chi-na cover a wide range of topics and lead to the samediplomas as on-campus study. The choice of cours-es from the TV universities is narrower but nowexpanding outside the original offerings of scienceand technology. A satellite TV teacher's collegeopened in 1986 (Jianshu 1987).

The technology of correspondence teaching in Chi-na parallels that used in the USSR. Face-to-facecontact accounts for about 30% of the total time thatthe student devotes to the five components of eachcourse; independent study; lectures; submission ofassignments; tests; examination and thesis. Becauseof the importance attached to staff-student contactthe staffing ratios, at one full-time academic per25-40 students, are high compared to systemsbased purely on independent study.

China is pleased with the results of its DE and seeksto exop-i provision. Strong emphasis is placed onthe quality of management as the determinant offuture success. This is the major motivation behindcooperative projects with other countries. It is pro-posed (Jianshu 1987) that all institutions offeringcorrespondence courses should have a vice-presi-dent fo; correspondence education. In the TV uni-versities there is awareness of the need to improvetext materials and their links witn the TV pro-grammes. The independent thinking required by thepresent TV university format is seen as an advan-tage, however, in a country now trying to break a

.1* tradition of rote learning in its educational system.The new Chinese policy of encouraging personalinitiative will likely give DE an even better image.Some institutions, such as the Shanghai TV Uni-versity, would like to put greater emphasis on part-time learners and short-cycle programmes if thecurrent emphasis on full-time students can be re-duced.

22

TAIWANTaiwanese experience presents a fascinating con-trast to DE on the mainland. Chen (1988) reportsthat because of the traditional Confucian emphasison the teacher as role model in a face-to-face set-ting, the National Open University of Taiwan can-not award degrees, even though its curriculum andexamination standards are identical to those in con-ventional universities.

THAILANDThailand has created the most widely admired DE

21

institution after the U.K. Open University. Sukhot-hai Thammathirat Open University (STOU) wasfounded in 1978 and admitted its first students in1980. As Carr (1984) notes: "its presentation of suchvaried programmes so quickly is impressive by anystandards". For its objectives STOU "holds to theprinciple of lifelong education, aims at improvingthe quality of life for the general public, seeks toincrease the educational qualifications of workingpeople, and strives to expand educational opportu-nities for secondary school graduates in response tothe needs of individuals and society" (Srisa-an1984). The University is also charged with preserv-ing and developing national culture and has alreadymade a significant contribution in this area by in-creasing the quality and variety of books in the Thailanguage.

The clientele of STOU con3isted of some 200,000students in 1983 and is expanding to a target of 0.5m by 1990. Students have either, (i) 12 years ofschooling, (ii) 10 years of schooling plus 5 yearswork experience, or (iii) a degree or diploma. Moststudents are in the 26-30 age group and govern-ment employees are much the largest occupationalgroup. Males slightly outnumber females and theregional distribution of students is close to that of thepopulation at large.

STOU's programmes focus on professional and vo-cational training in education, management, sci-ence, law, economics, health science, home econ-omis, agricultural extension, cooperation, politicsand communication arts. There are also extensiveprofessional development programmes with bodiessuch as the national police department. The target is400 courses, 100 of which were available in 1983.Delivery technology is based on quality corre-spondence texts with audio-cassettes, radio and TVbroadcast "unopposed" in prime time on the na-tional channel. State-of-the-art TV facilities are partof STOU's new campus north of Bangkok. The cam-pus also includes residence accommodation sinceall students must attend 4-5 day intensive work-shops during their studies.

The results of the first years of STOU's experienceare impressive. A large enterprise that is well in-tegrated with the existing educational infrastructurehas been built up quickly. Drop-out rates are modestat around 25% and the pass rates of 80% are high.Perhaps the most encouraging fact of all is thatS IOU can foresee the time when student fees alonewill cover the operating budget and governmentsupport will not be necessary. Just as the success ofthe U.K. Open University owed much to the lead-ership of its founding head, Walter Pery, so STOU'ssuccess reflects the dedication and brilliant admin-istration of its founder, Wich it Sris a-an. His appoint-ment to a senior government post in 1987 depriveddistance education of one of its world leaders.

VIET NAMViet Nam has awarded 50,000 degrees by distanceeducation since 1960. The focus now is on thein-service training of workers, 30,000 of whom areenrolled in distance courses offered by 30 conven-tional institutions. The combination of correspond-ence tuition and face-to-face contact in local cen-tres recalls the Soviet distance education model.The most pressing problem for DE in Viet Nam isshortages of paper and equipment (Unesco 1983).

JAPAN

Japan kept the world waiting for 16 years, from 1969to 1985, while it planned and designed its Uni-versity of the Air. Separate from the existing corre-spondence provision of Japanese universities, thisnew institution was established in 1985 to offerliberal arts programmes in domestic science, indus-trial and social scirmces, and cultural and naturalsciences. These are 4-year programmes aimed atboth adult students and high school graduates. Thestudents' weekly commitment of approximately tenhours is divided between TV (3 hrs), written materi-als (4-5 hours) and attendance at study centres (3hrs). (Yabe 1983)

SOUTH KOREASouth Korea set up a correspondence college withinSeoul National University in 1972 to provide a 2-year programme to those who failed the nationaluniversity entrance examination. Despite a drop-out rate of 70% it was highly cost-effective and itsgraduates had a very high success rate in entry to theupper years of conventional university programme,This college became the Korea CorrespondenceUniversity in 1982 and now enrolls some 250,000students in 5-year programmes in 13 subject areas.Admission is by lottery among high shool graduates.The instructional strategy includes printed materi-als, assignments, radio programmes, a studentnewspaper, and two weeks of lectures per year atlocal centres associated with conventional universi-ties (Kim 1983).

HONG KONGIn relation to its population the capacity of the uni-versities, colleges and polytechnics in Hong Kong issmall. For this reason it is the country with thehighest number of its citizens studying overseas(50,000+). Legislation formerly prevented theemergence of local DE providers to satisfy the highdemand for university study.

The largest provider of DE in Hong Kong is the OpenCollege of the University of East Asia. This college isthe most interesting collaborative venture in dis

23

tance education in the world. According to Swift(1986): "Our college is unashamedly parasitical.We offer English language degrees using almost en-tirely imported courses. We teach them in the sameway and at the same level as in the originatinginstitution and we examine them at the same levelby using external examiners (and often the exam-inations) from that institution."

Planning for the college began in 1981, studentswere enrolled in 1982 and the first graduates ap-peared in 1986. The college already breaks even onstudent fees alone (HK$40,000 for a 3-year degree)at an enrolment of 1000 full-time equivalent stu-dents. As enrollments increase and the college ben-efits from economies of scale its performance willimprove even further . Already in the 5 years of itsexistence withdrawal rates have decreased sharplywhile pass rates have increased.

Swift's account of the strategy of the Open College isrequired reading for anyone interested in interna-tional cooperation in distance education. He ad-dresses such issues as contract negotiation with oth-er institutions the possibility of cultural imperialism,governmental hostility to distance education, andthe opportunities for cloning the open college con-cept.

INDIAFaced with a huge unsatisfied demand for highereducation and alleged corruption in its external ex-amination system (A "challenge" examination ar-rangement), India turned to DE with the creation ofthe correspondence i nstitute of the University of Del-hi in 1962. Although the original intent was to createonly one such institute per state and to limit enrol-ment in each to 10,000 they proliferated to the extentthat 20% of India's I 33 universities now have corre-spondence institutes. Paul (1983) describes onesuch institute and Datt (1982) gives a profileof Indiancorrespondence students. The results of this move toDE disappointed the Indian authorities. Thee I ienteleis only 115,000, programmes are mostly limited toarts and commerce and the technology used rarelygoes beyond printed materials of inferior quality withoccasional use of radio and study centres.

Reddy (1984) lists the reasons why the correspond-ence institutes do not enjoy high credibility anddescribes the latest developments in DE in India.These are the creation of stand-alone open uni-versities intended to bring to Indian DE the serious-ness of purpose and professional competence that islacking in the correspondence institutes. Carr(1983) describes the background to the establish-ment of the Andhra Pradesh Open University in1982 and Singh (1985) reports on the creation of theIndira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)in 1985. This will be the keystone of a national

24

system of Indian open universities. Fuiihermore thelegislation creating IGNOU also gives it a coor-dinating role for DE throughout India. This signalsthe determination of Indian governments to use DEmore effectively.

PAKISTANPakistan has concentrated its investment in DE inthe Allama lqbal Open University (AIOU), createdin 1974 as "a People's Open University... to pro-vide part-time educational facilities through corre-spondence courses, tutorials, seminars, workshops,laboratories, te,evision and radio broadcasts andother mass communications media". AIOU's clien-tele is defined as "the masses" and degree work isintended to be only a small part of its programming.In 1983 about half the 65,000 students were en-rolled in degree courses. There is a strong emphasison teacher education and some 60,000 teachers outof a potential market of 160,000 had taken theAIOU primary teachers orientation course by 1982.The other main focus has been general education atthe junior college level (Fleming 1982). The tech-nology used by AIOU consists of printed books to-gether with radio and television broadcasts. Tutorialsupport in some 150 study centres is given for certif-icate courses.

After a rapid start and promising early results AIOUis experiencing some financial difficulties and suf-fering from the shortcomings of the country's com-munications infrastructure. The acquisition of itsown printing press was an important step in reduc-ing delays in the delivery of materials to students(Unesco 1983).

THE SOUTH PACIFIC ANDAUSTRALASIA

THE PACIFIC ISLANDSIn this region one talsk not of the number of uni-versities in the country, but of the number of coun-tries in the university. From its main campus in Fijithe University of the South Pacific (USP) serviceseleven count:ies: Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nau-ru, Nieu, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu,Vanuatu and Western Samoa. DE is a sine qua nonfor serving such a territory. Gillard and Williams(1986) describe how USP has risen to the challengeof serving this diverse student body distributed overan area of ocean the size of Australia. The tech-nology is essentially based on printed study materialbut interesting use has been made of satellite tuto-rials. Although only 5% of students actually usedthis service, which was limited to a total of 300hours per year, the existence of this possibility ofdialogue is believed to be psychologically impor-tant. The satellite used (AST-1) having ceased ser-vice, USP is seeking time on other satellites.

23

NEW ZEALANDNew Zealand has a long tradition of distance educa-tion since its population is dispersed throughout twoislands where travel is slow because of mountainousterrain. There is one major provider of distanceeducation at each level: the CorrespondenceSchool for elementary and secondary students; theTechnical Correspondence Institute for postsecond-ary technical education; and Massey University foruniversity level work. More recently Massey's workhas been complemented by an initiative of the Uni-versity of Otago in Dunedin which has set up anational teleconference network that will be usedfor programmes in dentistry, humanities, socialwork, wildlife management and continuing medicaleducation.

AUSTRALIAIf the organization of DE in New Zealand is simpleand logical a sharp contrast is to be found in neigh-boring Australia which is a federal state. Appropri-ately enough the latest book on postsecondary DE inAustralia is entitled Diversity Down Under (ASPESA1985). White (1982) traces the history of DE inAustralia, Mitchell (1986) gives ;:le example of onestate and Gough (1983) highlights the problem ofproliferation of institutions providing DE.

The objectives of Australian DE have evolved from"access" to "equivalence" and "excellence" in re-cent years according to Gough (ASPESA 1985). TheAustralian government sees the provision of DE asimportant because of ..- e trend to life-long recurrenteducation, an ageing population, the increasing ex-pectations of women, and a more competitive la-bour market. Australia is proud of its "dual mode"tradition whereby the same faculty teach conven-tional and distance students. The results of the Aus-tralian experience are a vibrant DE sector which,perhaps because of its diversity and competitive-ness, has contributed much to the international DEliterature. The lack of coordination among provid-ers is the problem most frequently identified.

AFRICANo continent has a greater need for distance educa-tion than Africa (Ansere 1982) but nowhere is therea greater gap between need and supply. Apart fromthe University of South Africa, which has expandedto 60,000 students (ot which 13,000 Blacks) since itbegan as the world's first open university in 1947(Van As 1985), provision of DE in Africa has lackedresources and continuity. A striking example of shat-tered hopes was the Open University of Nigeriawhich was closed down for economic reasons al-most as soon as it began (Omolewa 1984, Oduaran1985). Tanzania is another striking example of a

country where education and DE are claimed to becentral to national development but have lan-guished because national development has not gen-erated the economic resources to do much. Al-though development policies are changing, Reubenstill calls education "a state ideological institution"and describes Tanzanian DE against the backgroundcf Nyerere ,ocialism.

The greatest need for distance education in Africa isat the secondary and technical/vocational levels, aneed which universities have been helping to meet(e.g. in Kenya see Gitau 1984, 1986). Zambia offersuniversity level correspondence courses with someradio to 600 students (Siaciwena ' 984) but teachereducation and upgrading have been the nearestthing to university-level work attempted on anyscale in most African cow .ries. Gitau (1986) de-scribes Kenya's programmes for teachers and theircost-effectiveness has been assessed positively bythe World Bank (Hawkridge 1982). Holmberg(1985) notes how these efforts suffer from "a con-stant lack of material resources and funds" with"new activit;-_, virtually smothering older ones" alltoo often.

On the positive side, however, a significant cadre ofdistance education workers have been trained inAfrica in recent years and 29 African agencies activein distance education at some level responded to arecent survey conducted for the CommonwealthSecretariat (IEC/CET 1987). With more resourcesand some international help DE could grow signif-icantly in Africa in the years ahead. As in Zambia(Siaciwena, 1988) a key goal of national devel-opment in Africa is to reduce rural/urban disparitiesand inculcate useful skills.

LATIN AMERICADE in Latin America presents a fascinating study.Nowhere is the enthusiasm for distance educationgreater. New projects, such as the Columbia openand distance education system are described withmissionary fervour and an abundance of organiza-tional and planning charts (Gomez 1984).

The Association lberoamericana de Educacion Su-perior a Distancia publishes a bulletin that reportson developments in a number of countries. Thesehave included operations within conventional uni-versities such as the Universidad Abierta of UNAMin Mexico, the Universidad de Antioquia and theUniversidad Javeriana in Columbia, and the Centrode Teleducacion of the Universidad Catolica of Li-ma, Peru. Anderson (1982) suggests that some 50La