lifelong learning and distance higher education - Asia Pacific Region

Research can be a useful tool for change. It can support innovation, help developeffective business models and improve current practice. For this to happen, though,research into distance education needs to be integrated within the decision-making ofany institution considering the use of distance education. In particular, there needs to bea greater focus on policy research, research that can help decision-makers implement andsupport lifelong learning.Lastly, in recent years there has been a major shift in policy with respect todistance education, a move away from increasing access as its core rationale, to thecommercialisation of education. In many countries, though, access to higher educationremains a major challenge. Even in economically advanced countries, access to lifelonglearning is becoming more and more important. Policy-makers should be aware thatdistance education can bring increased access, support innovation in teaching and be usedto organise higher education more effectively. Distance education research can play astrong supportive role in such change.POLICY CONSIDERATIONSA number of policy recommendations can be drawn from this review of research intodistance education:• There is a large body of research-based knowledge that provides clear guidelines forthe successful practice of distance education; institutional decision-makers ignorethis knowledge base at their peril.• Research has shown that student success can be markedly increased by specialiseddistance course design and good quality personal support through distance tutors.• Distance education is not a good substitute for conventional higher education forstudents straight from high school, but distance education is a powerful mechanismfor supporting lifelong learning.• Online learning is seen as a means to better prepare learners for knowledge-basedeconomies; in contrast, mass media distance education may be more cost-effectivefor agricultural- or industrial-based economies.• Research has indicated that very careful course design and online moderation areneeded for student success; however, course design in distance education is drivenmore by theory than research. More research on course design and online tutoring isneeded, particularly in terms of developing critical and original thinking.• Programmes that are delivered internationally require local cultural adaptation; jointand equal partnerships between institutions in different countries are one way toensure cultural relevance.• There is an undue emphasis on funding research into distance educationtechnologies; more funding needs to be devoted to the “softer” areas of research indistance education, such as policy research, cost-benefit analysis, instructional designand learner support.• Research can inform decision-making but needs small, internally-supportedprofessional teams working in collaboration with other similar teams to produce anddisseminate meaningful results.145