Leadership in Distance Education: Qualities and Qualifications Sought by Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

This article presents the results of an investigation into the qualities and qualifications sought in distance education leaders by institutions of higher education in the United States. The researchers examined 191 distance education leadership position announcements posted by online sources between 1997 and 2010. Content analysis of these announcements suggests that distance education leadership in higher education requires preparation at the graduate level and a variety of academic and administrative experiences and skills including leadership, program evaluation, technical expertise, teaching, and course development. Leadership responsibilities are equally broad within a range of strategic, operational, and instructional areas.     

An Environmental Education Program for Teacher Trainers in Finland

Abstract

Finland's Ministry of Education sponsored the development of an environmental education (EE) course for practicing educators of teachers. One to 3 persons from each teacher training unit at various universities and training schools attended a tutor training session, during which a course for other teacher trainers was developed. The course focused on personal development and curriculum development. Tutors used distance education with some locally arranged contact teaching to teach the course. Tutors also led local study groups. Teacher trainers who attended the course learned and applied new teaching practices and produced new model lessons. They also reflected on their personal environmental philosophy and gained in environmental knowledge. Preliminary evaluation of the program indicated that high-quality learning experiences occurred. This 2-step distance education model could be used for large-scale implementation of EE for in-service teacher training.     

Community of Inquiry (CoI): A Framework for Social Work Distance Educators

ABSTRACT

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, a research-based seminal work, provides a structure for integrating a collaborative constructivist approach in course design, implementation, and evaluation. The CoI framework suggests that by fostering three essential elements – social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence – a community of inquiry can be created to promote student engagement and learning. This paper will present the concepts of the CoI framework for social work educators to consider for distance education course design, implementation, and evaluation.     

Computer self‐efficacy,academic self‐concept,and other predictors of satisfaction and future participation of adult distance learners

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a predictive model of satisfaction of adult learners in a Web‐based distance education course and their intent to participate in future Web‐based distance education courses. The factors examined were computer self‐efficacy, academic self‐concept, age, gender, academic status, years of computer use, frequency of computer use, computer training, Internet experience in a class, and participation in a workshop for a Web‐based course. Computer self‐efficacy was the only predictor variable that was statistically significant. There was a positive relationship between learners' satisfaction with their Web‐based distance education courses and their intent to participate in future Web‐based courses.     

Student satisfaction with distance education in a criminal justice graduate course

As distance education becomes more widespread and sophisticated, a key concern should be how well programming meets the needs of its student clientele. The present study examines student satisfaction across learning environments (studio versus remote) and over time. Survey questionnaires were administered in a distance education course, and scales were constructed for (1) evaluation of the instructor and (2) specific aspects of distance education. Attitudes were generally favorable, although most students would still prefer a “traditional” classroom and satisfaction ratings significantly declined over time. Implications for improving services are explored regarding technological aspects of the classroom that pose difficulties for some students.     

Public Policies and Strategies of Actors

Abstract

A comparison of student learning outcomes between distance education and campus-based nursing students in a mental health course working toward registered nurse (RN) licensure in a baccalaureate (BS) degree program is presented. Learning outcomes were evaluated using results from a commercially developed content mastery test taken by students who completed a sophomore-level mental health course. Results utilizing independent t test analysis of archival data indicated no statistically significant differences between the distance education students and the campus-based students in either initial knowledge prior to the mental health course or in the educational effectiveness of the distance education and classroom-based delivery.     

Comparing Student Evaluations of Distance Learning and Standard Classroom Courses in Graduate Social Work Education

Abstract

This study compared the student course evaluations of standard education and distance learning courses in the school of social work of one southern university. The sample included 14 distance learning (DL) and 122 standard education courses. A 20-item quantitative student course evaluation and a 7-item qualitative questionnaire were used to compare differences between social work courses taught in a standard classroom setting with those taught using distance learning technology. Comparisons of identical courses taught in both formats found that students rated distance learning higher than the standard classroom for a course having predominantly lecture content. Conversely, ratings for clinical practice courses were just the opposite with lower ratings for distance learning than the standard classroom. Results of a qualitative survey (n = 39) of students conducted at the end of a course taught by distance learning found that 73% of the students felt that distance learning technology interfered with class participation. However, 73% of the students felt the instructor handled technological problems in a professional and patient manner. Although 54% of the students reported that they would take another course by distance learning, more research is needed to determine what social work courses can be most effectively taught by distance and classroom formats.     

Attitudes of higher education faculty toward distance education: A national survey

Abstract

Although distance education is growing in importance in the United States, little research has focused on the attitudes of American college and university teachers toward college‐level distance education and toward the use of specific media in distance education provision. The attitudes of both participating and nonparticipating faculty toward distance education need further examination, since teaching innovations cannot succeed without their support. This study examines the receptivity to college‐credit distance education of faculty members in two‐ and four‐year higher education institutions. The research questions focused on general receptivity to distance education, the relationship between professional characteristics and attitude toward distance education, the connection between previous distance education experiences/ familiarity and receptivity, and on attitudes toward different distance education media and methods.     

Faculty work in developing and teaching web‐based distance courses: A case study of time and effort

Abstract

Using an experiential case approach, this study explores the conventional wisdom that distance education courses require greater faculty work effort and time commitment than traditionally taught courses. The study's basis for analysis is an instructor's time and effort in developing and delivering a graduate‐level course in public administration, for both a distance course (a modality with which he had no previous experience) and his traditional classroom courses. The study finds support for the conventional wisdom. But it also suggests hypotheses for future comparative analysis that development and delivery time and effort may partially depend on the accumulation of instructor experience and the level of institutional support. This article also identifies some implications for future research and faculty participation in distance education.     

The Effects of IQ Level and Sex on Divergent Thinking of Seventh Grade Pupils of Low,Average, and High IQ

Abstract

The study represented a systematic effort to alter attitudes by emphasizing recognition and evaluation of basic assumptions. It consisted of seventy-five college students enrolled in their first course in professional education. A semantic differential was administered at the beginning and again at the end of the spring semester, 1964-65. For ten of the thirteen concepts tested, significant differences were obtained, based upon the t-test for correlated samples.     

Identifying at‐risk students in videoconferencing and web‐based distance education

Abstract

Based on the multivariate framework of student attrition developed by leading researchers in the field of distance education and instructional technology, this study centers on a method of assessing the ability of a student to complete a distance learning course. The focus of the investigation is construction and validation of a brief survey instrument to identify at‐risk students enrolled in Web‐based and videoconferencing courses.     

Learning design for multiple modes of provision: the Zambian community school teacher development programme

Abstract

The use of technology to support learning is becoming ubiquitous in Africa. However, technology is more often used to distribute information rather than as a tool to mediate learning. The work presented here on a programme for Zambian community school teachers (non-traditional students) illustrates how learning design allied to appropriate theoretical concepts make use of technology to mediate learning. The objective of this course was to support Zambian community school teachers, with little formal teacher education, to use interactive methods to support their teaching practices. The research makes use of a constructivist-hermeneutic-interpretivist-qualitative paradigm to critically evaluate the learning design by experts. A social constructivist framework for learning design and technology mediation was used to create and evaluate learning resources. The work illustrates how a distance education paper-based course design is enhanced by the use of contemporary learning theory and digital technology to model good interactive classroom practice.     

Costs and Effectiveness of Online Courses in Distance Education

This paper discusses cost-effectiveness as it applies to education, focusing particularly on the delivery of online courses in open and distance learning. The general concept of cost-effectiveness is discussed, and issues concerning the costs and effectiveness associated with using online technology in distance education are then addressed. Finally, a pilot project on an online course at the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) is used as an illustrative example. The key features of the pilot project relating to costs and effectiveness are outlined, and ways to improve its cost-effectiveness in implementing its second stage are suggested.     

Education for pupils with profound disabilities: Issues of policy,curriculum, teaching methods,and evaluation

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses some issues in the education of pupils who have profound disabilities. Following an examination of policy and curriculum issues, we review recent research on teaching methods. In particular, we look critically at the concepts and methods of behavioural psychology and its influence in this field of education. We then examine the issue of evaluation of educational outcomes using illustrations from current research at a special school for adolescents with profound disabilities. Finally, we suggest some directions for future research which place the education of persons who have profound disabilities clearly within the mainstream of educational thinking and research endeavour.     

Evaluation systems and the pace of change – The example of Swedish higher education1

Abstract

The aim of¹ this article is to illuminate and discuss evaluation and evaluation systems in relation to the pace of change. It is argued that evaluation promotes and accelerates change. The article will thus contribute to a critical scrutiny of evaluation as a societal phenomenon and as a widespread practice in education. To accomplish this aim, the inherent purpose of evaluation and evaluation systems is brought forward. National evaluation systems for Swedish higher education are used as an empirical example. An analysis using Rosa’s three aspects of social acceleration (technical acceleration, acceleration of social change, and acceleration of the pace of life) is offered to demonstrate how the evaluation systems are related to, sustain, and promote an increase of the pace of change (acceleration) in educational practice in higher education.     

A Course on Disability Advocacy

Abstract

This paper presents the development of a new course on disability issues entitled “Disability Rights and Social Work Practice” that was offered in the spring semester of 1999 in the Bachelors of Social Work program. This disability advocacy course consists of three components: distance education utilizing websites and a computer interactive program, community service learning, and seminars on campus.     

The Impact of Online Assessment on Grades in Community College Distance Education Mathematics Courses

Abstract

This study compared the impact of proctoring on the final course grades of community college students enrolled in distance education mathematics courses. The goal was to determine whether distance education students who are evaluated entirely online, in environments that are not proctored, receive grades that differ from distance education students who take proctored exams. In an analysis of 850 grades from a variety of distance education mathematics courses, 406 were given to students who were evaluated in a proctored environment, and the remaining 444 were a result of assessment that was conducted entirely in the online setting and was not proctored. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference between the grades that were earned in any of the individual courses. Also, no significant difference was found when the grades of the 406 students who took exams in person were compared with the 444 who were assessed entirely in an unsupervised online environment.     

Empowering Social Work Faculty

ABSTRACT

Based upon the emergence of alternative paradigms both inside and outside of social work education, four paradigms representing the most traditional to the most radical are presented. Each paradigm is discussed in terms of its ontological and epistemological assumptions as well as other pedagogical issues including role of the teacher, methods of evaluation and course structure. Educators are urged to use these paradigms to better understand legitimate differences between faculty, to become more conscious and deliberate in their choice of methods, to identify areas of incongruence, and to push themselves and the profession towards philosophies and methods most congruent with social work values an ethics.