Distance Education Policy Research Articles

A politics for interactivity: Progressivism and its limits in federal congressional deliberations of distance education policy

This article analyzes federal congressional discourse on distance education policy, describing progressive reformers’ use of the term, interactivity . Isolating congressional records of deliberations that treat interactivity, rhetorical analysis first traces progressive legislators’ and educators’ attempts to use the term to eliminate a restriction on financial aid funding for distance education students. Next, critical analysis describes how legislators and educators have advanced interactivity as a simple educational good. Contrasting legislators’ and educators’ views on interactivity with perspectives drawn from emerging computers and composition research, this article discusses what the field has to contribute to public deliberation of this issue. A conclusion notes opportunities for researchers’ participation in progressive reform efforts.

Distance Education and the Role of the State: A Sweden/USA Perspective

This study aims to comparatively explore the role of the state (federal policy) in distance-education initiatives in the higher education communities of Sweden and the United States. In a globalized context, education institutes now have the capabilities to provide education and educational resources more efficiently and to a wide-ranging and diverse audience. Within the education sector and distance education, the role of the state and federal policy becomes increasingly important, in terms of how distance-education platforms are developed and implemented in institutions of higher education. The first section of this article provides an overview of the United States and Sweden's current higher education and distance-education landscapes, focusing on the role of the state and federal policy with respect to the funding and overall aims of distance education. The development of distance education in Sweden is highly related to political goals and policies, the top down/domestic/‘inside’ approach. The governing body dictates the funding and policy for distance education, and implementation is left to the university body. In the United States, the landscape differs in that no one federal institution provides direct funding or unified guidelines for developing distance education, but universities are left to their own devices and capabilities for implementation. In Sweden, high ambitions and goals are set at the national level, but the educational organizations are changing only slowly. The pressures on the education organizations are high because of steadily decreasing funding and fewer and fewer staff in relation to students. In the United States, education functions primarily as a state and local responsibility. In conclusion, the article aims to exploit the differences between the two countries' role of the state (federal policy) in distance-education policy, and present a middle ground which would be most balanced for distance education, entailing some federal supervision with the allowance for a certain level of autonomy in regards to development, implementation, funding and longevity.

Good Teaching is Good Teaching: The Relationship Between Guiding Principles for Distance and General Education

The Innovations in Distance Education (IDE) project was launched in 1995 with a grant from the AT&T Foundation. The 3-year ini tiative was designed to help faculty at Penn State, Lincoln, and Cheyney universities create a supportive institutional culture in which the possibilities of distance education could be realized. The project consisted of two principle components, the Faculty Initiative and the Distance Education Policy Symposia. The Fac ulty Initiative's culminating work was the faculty-determined An Emerging Set of Guiding Principles and Practices for the Design and Development of Distance Education (Innovations in Distance Education, 1998).1 Twelve of Penn State's academic colleges and its library system along with Cheyney and Lincoln universities, two of Pennsylvania's Historically Black Institutions, contributed to the Faculty Initia tive. During each year of the 3-year project, funding was awarded to several of the participating academic units. These grants were intended to provide faculty, selected by their administrative heads, with time and resources needed to fully participate in the project. To ground their deliberations regarding issues of instructional de sign and pedagogy in experience, the faculty also were expected to prepare specific courses or noncredit programs for delivery via dis tance education. Faculty funded by the IDE project not only had support staff involved in distance education, but also had access to University resources and an opportunity to implement an individu alized professional development plan, meet regularly with other faculty across academic disciplines, and attend national or interna tional distance education conferences.

Distance Education, Multimedia and the Internet

Multimedia approaches to distance education have been mooted for further development at a time when there is less government involvement in New Zealand education. The Internet is a likely resource for exploitation by distance education institutions. Not only does the Net appear to be a huge source of information for teachers and students, but it could also serve as a testing bed for multimedia teaching/learning applications. However, the use of the Internet involves connectivity, system familiarity, and social and cultural issues. Because of the need to resolve these issues, this paper reiterates the necessity for a comprehensive national distance education policy.

Distance Education and Public Policy

The status of distance education in the United States and Canada is characterized by a great deal of activity but a lack of policy focus. This paper presents four conceptual models, each representing a point on a policy-oriented continuum, provides an example of each currently functioning, then analyzes the various stakeholders of and future directions for distance education.

Swedish distance education and regional policy

(1991). Swedish distance education and regional policy. Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning: Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 47-51.

Distance education and academic policy: making it all fit

Distance education and academic policy: making it all fit