Open and Distance Learning for Sustainable Development

An interesting task for distance education to this emerging group of learners is its offer of a much
needed access to higher education. As such ODL, prompting to provide opportunities for these
learners, would respond to the following questions for its establishment in universities:
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• Should we offer these students the same teaching as in traditional universities?
• Should we take into account their age, their greater experience of life and employment,
their different motivational situation, and even their double or triple load of studies, job
and family?
• Should we develop a learning and teaching programme tailored to their special needs?
• Is it essential to plan and establish adult studies?
Every educationalist will answer these questions with ‘yes’. It is quite natural that teaching is
developed with regard to students in their special situations, and how this is done is, however, a
complicated problem that engenders pedagogical considerations.
The demand for the adaptation of studies to the special requirements of adults in employment
usually is a challenging task, because most university teachers reject it from the start. Why? Their
attitude is connected to their academic socialisation in traditional universities.
Traditional university education has primarily laid claim to a scientific character,
assumed that students are capable of learning and undervalued, or even ignored,
the educational aspects of teaching. Expository teaching processes were the most
suitable for this way. The primacy of the scientific character was internalised and
created an attitude among university teachers that there is only one form of
scientific teaching, which arises from the relevant research. This form of teaching
must in principle be the same for all students. And in their opinion, the reception
of teaching and the acquisition of the corresponding knowledge is a matter for
the students. (Schulmeister, R. 1995).
What is completely forgotten in this approach in the teaching in traditional universities is that:
• Learners are individuals who bring their own needs and history to the learning
environment.
• A person’s individual profile or learner characteristics will determine the way he/she
responds both to formal and informal learning environment.
• Every learner is an individual and general learner characteristics should only be used as a
guide.
Factors influencing learner characteristics
Many important issues stem from the characteristics of distance learners, whose aims and goals
are often quite different from those of traditional students. The characteristics are influenced by a
number of factors, which include the following:
• Cultural Background
Facing an ever-increasing evolvement of learner characteristics, it is paramount to be
sensitive to the needs of different cultural groups of learners, issues such as language and
cultural diversity. Diversity should be seen as a positive aspect in sharing knowledge and
experiences to promote understanding and tolerance. Take care when you are selecting
and customising learning materials to ensure that they do not cause offence to learners
from different cultural groups (esp. Graphics etc.)