Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of...
-
Upload
eduskills-oecd -
Category
Education
-
view
33 -
download
1
Transcript of Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of...
![Page 1: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments
Haixia Xu, Ph.D.
National Center for Education Development
Research
Chinese Ministry of Education
International Seminar on “Opening Higher Education:
What the Future Might Bring”
8-9 December, 2016
Berlin, Germany
![Page 2: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Background for Open Distance Education in China
Developments of Open Distance Education
Trends of Open Distance Education in China
Overview
![Page 3: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Background for Open Distance Education in China
The largest higher education system in the world Total enrollment: 40.8 million
A dual-track higher education landscape Regular higher education: 28.16 million, 69%
Versus
Adult higher education: 12.64 million, 31%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Regular HEIs Adult HEIs
Higher Education Enrollments in 2015 (Unit: Million)
Series1 Series2
![Page 4: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Background for Open Distance Education in China
A dual-track adult higher education sector
• Enrollments in adult HEIs (6.34million)
• 3.5 million in open universities
• Enrollments in regular HEIs (6.28 million)
• All in schools of web-based education
• The latter grows faster than the former: brand effect?
Enrollments in Adult HEIs
In Adult HEIs Within Regular HEIs
![Page 5: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Background for Open Distance Education in China
An rapidly expanding open distance education sector
• A total enrollment of 9.8 million
• 77% of the adult HE enrollments
• 24% of the entire higher education sector
Chart Title
Open DE Overall HE
Chart Title
Open DE Adult HE
![Page 6: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Background for Open Distance Education in China
Adult higher education as a supplement to regular higher education
--Directly influenced by demand for higher education
--Separate admission standards
--Less resources, i.e., lower per student appropriations
--A tradition of teaching working adults at a distance, primarily using hybrid
teaching methods
--Aspiration for degree-granting status
Types of open distance education --1978: Broadcasting and Television University (renamed as Open University in
2012)
--1981: Self-taught higher education examinations
--1999: Schools of web-based education
--2012: Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
![Page 7: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Developments of Open Distance Education: Open University of China
An ambitious origin: the Central Broadcasting and Television University
• Established in 1978
• Modeled after the UK Open University
• To widen access to higher education
A complicated system
• The central university as the governing body and degree-granting authority
• 44 provincial-level broadcasting and television universities
• Local broadcasting and television universities
• Learning centers
• Controversies regarding revenue-sharing, degree-granting, and governance
![Page 8: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Developments of Open Distance Education: Open University of China
An amazingly expanding system
• Enrollments: from 166 thousand in 2000 to 3.5 million in 2015, up 21 times in 15 years
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
New Enrollments in 2010-2015 (Unit: Million)
![Page 9: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Developments of Open Distance Education: Open University of China
A system keeping up with the times…technologically
• Broadcasting and videoconference-based courses • 1996: Internet-based “open education” pilot • 2002: Web-based education institute • 2012: Open University initiative
• Six individual open universities
Long-term challenges remain…
• Insufficient Infrastructure • Less well prepared or motivated students • Relatively weak faculty • Lack of learning support
![Page 10: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Developments of Open Distance Education: Open University of China
The Open University Initiative as a Milestone
• Goals: A new university taking full use of ICT
• No more monopoly: six Open Universities enjoys degree-granting authority
• Exploring open education as a mode of learning
• More focus on quality than quantity
Challenges
• How to make the transformation from technology-centered to learner-centered?
![Page 11: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Developments of Open Distance Education: Self-taught Higher Education Examinations Established in 1981 as an innovative way of granting degrees
A combination of self-study, institutional tutoring, and national testing
Relatively rigorous
Declining participation: “bad money drives out good”
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Participants in 2010-2015 (Unit: Million)
![Page 12: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Developments of Open Distance Education: Web-based Education Institutes within Regular Universities
A way of exploring a new mode of education
• in 1998: Four piloting universities : Tsinghua, Zhejiang, Hunan, and Beijing Communications
• in 2002: Sixty-eight universities approved to establish schools of web-based education
Unprecedented institutional autonomy
• Who to admit?
• What programs to offer?
• What degrees to grant?
Issues
• Legitimacy
• Separate criteria for admissions, teaching, graduation
• Huge enrollments
• Predominantly face-to-face classes
• Misuse of funding
![Page 13: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Developments of Open Distance Education: Web-based Education Institutes within Regular Universities
Increasing new enrollments
• In 2015, the new enrollments averaged 20,000 per university
• More popular than OU or Self-taught Exams
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
New Enrollments in 2010-2015 (Unit: Million)
![Page 14: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Developments of Open Distance Education: Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
MOOCs as the catchword in China
• Qinghua and PKU joined edX in 2013
• Shanghai Jiaotong and Fudan joined Coursera
• Tsinghua launched its MOOCs platform
• Icourse.com
Platforms: Over 100 MOOCs platforms in place
• Who built it? HEIs, enterprises, HEI-enterprises
• Who is served? General public, students, specific lines of work
• High homogeneity
• Lack of S-S/S-I interaction
• Lack of a sound business mode
• Lack of quality mechanism
![Page 15: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Developments of Open Distance Education: Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
Learners
• 20-24: 40%
• 25-29: 23%
• 15-29: 16%
• Students: over 50%
• Working adults: over 40%
• With baccalaureate degree: 60%
• With master degree: 20%
• High enthusiasm, low participation
• More interest in overseas MOOCs (84% versus 11%)
• Unsatisfactory online interaction
![Page 16: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
Developments of Open Distance Education: Observations
National perspective
• Regular higher education seems to become more open
• Schools of web-based education
• MOOCs offerings
• A fast growing sector of distance open distance education
• Open universities
• Schools of web-based education
Institutional perspective
• Web-based education emerging as a new mode of learning
• More than education Informationalization
Student perspective
• Limited changes
![Page 17: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Developments of Open Distance Education: Trends
Expanding Access
Make higher education open to all learners
Targeted gross higher education enrollment rate by 2030: 65%
Ensuring Equality
Digital divide (urban-rural, inter-region, inter-groups)
“Offering fuel in snowy weather” instead of “icing on the cake”
Calls for powerful public service platforms
![Page 18: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
Developments of Open Distance Education: Trends
Enhancing Quality
Improve quality assurance
Innovate the mode of learning
Fusing education and technology
Online interaction
Learning support
Set up a learning outcome recognition, accumulation and transfer system
A system that is open, not closed
More choices for students
![Page 19: Open Distance Education in China: Trends and Developments by Haixia Xu (Chinese Ministry of Education)](https://reader031.fdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022022200/58ac04c21a28abb6718b6481/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Two Dilemmas
Policy Dilemma
How Open is Open Enough?
Institutional Dilemma
How to develop students’ practical skills in a online environment?