DEFINITIONS, HISTORY, AND THEORIES OF DISTANCE

EDUCATIONCAROLYN JENKINS-HAIGLER

WHAT IS DISTANCE EDUCATION?

• Distance education is defined as institution-based, formaleducation where the learning group is separated, andwhere interactive telecommunications systems are usedto connect learners, resources, and instructors (Simonson,2006).

MAIN COMPONENTS

• First is the concept that distance education isinstitutionally-based. This is what differentiates distanceeducation from self-study.

• The second component of the definition of distanceeducation is the concept of separation of the teacher andstudent. Most often, separation is thought of ingeographic terms—teachers are in one location andstudents in another.

CONTINUED

• Interactive telecommunications is the third component of thedefinition of distance education. Interaction can be synchronous orasynchronous—at the same time, or at different times.

• Finally, we examine the concept of connecting learners, resources,and instructors. This means that there are instructors who interactwith learners and that resources are available that permit learning tooccur. Resources should be subjected to instructional designprocedures that organize them into learning experiences thatpromote learning, including resources that can be observed, felt,heard, or completed.

DISTANCE EDUCATION DEFINED FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

• Rudolf Manfred Delling stated in general that distance education is aplanned and systematic activity that comprises the choice, didacticpreparation and presentation of teaching materials as well as thesupervision and support of student learning and which is achieved bybridging the physical distance between student and teacher bymeans of at least one appropriate technical medium.

• Hilary Perraton (1988), distance education is an educationalprocess in which a significant proportion of the teaching isconducted by someone removed in space and/or time fromthe learner.

CONTINUED

• Greville Rumble (1989) offered a definition of distance education. He noted that, in anydistance education process, there must be: a teacher; one or more students; a course orcurriculum that the teacher is capable of teaching and the student is trying to learn; and acontract, implicit or explicit, between the student and the teacher or the institutionemploying the teacher, which acknowledges their respective teaching-learning roles.

• Desmond Keegan (1986), the following four definitions were central to an attempt toidentify the elements of a single, unifying definition of distance education:

1. The French government, as part of a law passed in 1971, defined distance education as education whicheither does not imply the physical presence of the teacher appointed to dispense it in the place where it isreceived or in which the teacher is present only on occasion or for selected tasks.

CONTINUED

2. Börje Holmberg, distance education covers the various forms of study at all levelswhich are not under the continuous, immediate supervision of tutors present withtheir students in lecture rooms or on the same premises but which, nevertheless,benefit from the planning, guidance and teaching of a supporting organization.

3. Otto Peters emphasized the role of technology, saying that distanceteaching/education (Fernunterricht) is a method of imparting knowledge, skillsand attitudes.

4. Michael Moore, the related concept of “distance teaching” was defined as the familyof instructional methods in which the teaching behaviors are executed apart fromthe learning behaviors, including those that in a contiguous situation would beperformed in the learner’s presence, so that communication between the teacherand the learner must be facilitated by print, electronic, mechanical or otherdevices.

KEEGAN’S FIVE MAIN ELEMENTS

• The quasi-permanent separation of teacher and learner throughout the length of the learningprocess (this distinguishes it from conventional face-to-face education).

• The influence of an educational organization both in the planning and preparation of learningmaterials and in the provision of student support services (this distinguishes it from private studyand teach-yourself programs).

• The use of technical media—print, audio, video or computer—to unite teacher and learner andcarry the content of the course.

• The provision of two-way communication so that the student may benefit from or even initiatedialogue (this distinguishes it from other uses of technology in education).

• The quasi-permanent absence of the learning group throughout the length of the learningprocess so that people are usually taught as individuals and not in groups, with the possibility ofoccasional meetings for both didactic and socialization purposes.

FOUNDATIONS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

Keegan (1986) classified theories of distance education into three groups:

• Theories of independence and autonomy

• Theories of industrialization of teaching

• Theories of interaction and communication

A fourth category seeks to explain distance education in asynthesis of existing theories of communication anddiffusion, as well as philosophies of education.

HISTORY OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

Distance education seems a new idea to most educators oftoday. However, the concepts that form the basis ofdistance education are more than a century old. Certainly,distance education has experienced growth and changerecently, but the long traditions of the field continue to giveit direction for the future.

SUMMARYIn the rapidly changing and diverse environment in whichdistance education is practiced, many questions remainunanswered. In this environment it is difficult to arrive at onedefinition or agree on a theory of how to practice and doresearch in the field of distance education. New technologies,globalization, and new ideas about student learning challengethe traditional approaches to the practice of distanceeducation. This theme of change is evident in the discussionsof distance education and its definition, history, status, andtheory.

Carolyn Jenkins-Haigler