Open distance e-learning as the producer of space for quality assessment in higher education

Abstract

This chapter contributes an Open Distance Learning (ODeL) perspective on the importance of quality assessment in higher education. Two issues motivate the articulation of this chapter. First, COVID-19 has violently pushed all higher education institutions into some kind of distance teaching and learning and assessment. Therefore, any academic discussion on ODeL is topical and relevant for the sharing of experiences across contexts. Second, ODeL has an important role in socio-economic development, especially in Africa where a large percentage of the population lives below the poverty line. In such cases, ODeL advances access to higher education by people whose prospects are to improve their situations and the situation of their communities. As such, quality assessment in such contexts has implications on whether those individuals and communities will be completely emancipated through education or if the education they attain will still exacerbate their marginalization. The chapter uses spatial theory as a lens to present various spatial practices as ways in which quality assessment can be ensured in the ODeL institutions or for online assessments. It indicates that the social space for assessment does not have to be physical but requires quality and enabling spatial practices which are enhanced by technological resources. The chapter suggests that all stakeholders should play their part in the provision of such quality. The chapter concludes by challenging researchers to empirically examine the output of ODeL assessments so that the quality of this mode of education can be improved to enhance its contribution to society.