THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF DISTANCE EDUCATIONVol. 9 No. 1 1995

BOOK REVIEWSDistance Education: New Perspectives.K. Harry, M. John, and D. Keegan,eds. (London and New York: Rout-ledge, 1993, 348 pp., $40.00).

The editors of Distance Education: NewPerspectives have created a comprehen-sive textbook with chapters by twentyauthors from eleven countries on fourcontinents. As a sequel to volumes pub-lished in the early 1970s and 1980s,these papers provide an overview ofresearch and developments in the field ofdistance education from 1982 to 1992.The presentation of the historical back-ground and context is concise and shouldbe very helpful to students and othersnew to the field.

The first section of the book, "Theoryof Distance Education," begins with OttoPeter's (Germany) chapter "Understand-ing Distance Education." Petersexamines the descriptive terms for dis-tance education—such as "a form ofstudy for people at work"—used in vari-ous languages as evidence of a widevariety of methods and approaches.Michael Moore (United States) thendescribes three types of interaction:learner-content, learner-instructor, andlearner-learner, discussing what happensin education when there is no face-to-face class. France Henri of theTele-universite (Quebec) and AnthonyKaye of the Open University (UnitedKingdom) raise the issues of locus ofresponsibility and quality comparisonsbetween distance-delivered and face-to-face instruction. The important researchsummarized in this chapter has hithertobeen available only in French. ErlingLjosi (Norway), in "Distance Educationin the Society of the Future: From Partial

Understanding to Conceptual Frame-works," points to foundations for moreadequate research; the perspective hereis that of distance education as a serviceto industry. Bruce Barker, A. G. Frisbie,and Kenneth Patrick (United States) dis-cuss how the 1980s were a time ofbroadening the definition of distanceeducation as new telecommunicationstechnologies influenced both the practi-cal and theoretical bases of the field.

Part II, "Organizations and Struc-tures," begins with the reminder that achange of name for the InternationalCouncil for Correspondence Educationto the International Council for DistanceEducation (ICDE) was a watershedevent, indicating not merely the chal-lenge of multimedia but also the increaseand importance of distance teaching uni-versities and a recognition of their needto cooperate. John Daniel of the OpenUniversity (United Kingdom), whichnow offers courses in Eastern Europe,points to the international value of dis-tance education and to its potential forpeace-making and human development.He proposes a force (similar to the Unit-ed Nations peace-keeping force) todevelop distance education. EditorDesmond Keegan of Australia, who hasserved as director to the Italian DistanceEducation Consortium, includes a"typology of distance education sys-tems" based on his earlier book,Foundations of Distance Education(Keegan 1986). Included are descriptionsof widely varying distance educationmodels from a number of different coun-tries.

James Taylor and his co-authors(Australia) provide a cross-cultural,multi-institutional perspective on student

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persistence, concluding that a "variety ofapproaches are desirable." This researchis very important in pointing out theproblems of institutional resistance andlethargy. Greville Rumble (United King-dom) discusses cost issues and askswhether cost-effectiveness for studentstranslates into cost-effectiveness for theinstitution. My answer is a definite yes,especially when the savings from build-ing construction and maintenance areconsidered.

Part III, "Administration of DistanceEducation," surprisingly neglects theissue of increasing coordination andcooperation; perhaps this issue will bethe focus of the coming decade for dis-tance education. In "OpenUniversities—The Test of all Models,"Ross Paul (Canada) presents a philoso-phy of open learning based onaccessibility, flexibility, and learner con-trol. Paul, President of LaurentianUniversity, discusses how these theoreti-cal principles can be implemented inpractice. Benedetto Vertecchi (Italy) pre-sents a two-level strategy of masterylearning and evaluates methods such asthe double mastery research conducted atthe University of Rome. Percy Marlandand librarian Ronald Store (Australia), intheir chapter "Some Instructional Strate-gies for Improved Learning," offerguidelines for evaluating materials basedon careful research on printed materialsfor distance education. Vicki Vivian, in"Electronic Mail in a Children's Dis-tance Course," describes the successfulteaching of outback youngsters in Aus-tralia using fax and computers withmodems.

Anthony Bates of the Open LearningAgency (British Columbia) gives a ten-year perspective on technologies,evaluating the past and proposing aframework for assessment. Bates sug-gests that advanced technology, although

restricted in some countries, will changethe nature of distance learning. However,technological decisions must be preced-ed by policy and educational decisions.The issue is not what technology but"what kind of teaching we want to pro-vide." Bernadette Robinson (UnitedKingdom), with experience in Asia,Africa, and Central America, discussesteaching by telephone and audioconfer-encing, as well as impending changes inthe field. D. R. Garrison of the Universi-ty of Calgary (Canada) evaluates severalkinds of technology for two-way educa-tional communication in "MultifunctionMicrocomputer Enhanced Audio Tele-conferencing" and points out the needfor a simplified, more unified system.

Becky Duning of the University ofNorthern Colorado (United States) and aco-author of Reaching Learners throughTelecommunications (Duning, Van Kek-erix, and Zaborowski 1993) points outthat while correspondence education inthe United States was a hundred yearsold in 1992, a primary question relatingto distance education is still unanswered:What might the medium allow us to dothat we cannot do now? In "The Comingof the New Distance Educators in theUnited States" she discusses how video-conferencing and hypermedia arechanging the "rules," resulting in manyunresolved issues and considerableuncertainty for the future. Barry Scott, aphysicist at IBM's UK Multimedia Solu-tion Center, describes the effective useof video technology in "IBM DistanceLearning Developments Using Video-conferencing."

Part V, "International Perspectives,"begins with the editors pointing out thatwhile the term might suggest internation-al collaboration, practice inevitablyseems to be constrained by nationalboundaries. G. Ram Reddy, distin-guished open university educator from

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India, sees distance education as one ofthe era's most important innovations. Hisstatistics on the sometimes "staggeringnumbers involved" (for example, a goalof two million participants a year inChina) supports this contention. HilaryPerraton, who established the BotswanaExtension College, discusses "NationalDevelopments and International Cooper-ation in Commonwealth Africa." Hereports discussion in the Commonwealthof Learning (COL) of questions relatingto the potential for establishing regionalinstitutions and the lack of necessaryexpertise. Zhao Yuhan, Dean of Studiesat the Central Radio and Television Uni-versity (CRTU) in China, describes thislargest and "greatest distance educationteaching university in the world." CRTUis unique in that most of its students,rather than studying at home, receiveinstruction via radio and television in thefactories and shops in which they work.Solomon Inquai, formerly an extensionuniversity dean in Ethiopia, reports in"Refugees and Distance Education" onthe potential value of this form of educa-tion for displaced persons.

Part VI, "The Study of Distance Edu-cation," reports on the development ofdistance education as a field of study anddiscusses how the offering of degrees indistance education theory and practicehas expanded the potential of research inthe field. Ian Mitchell (Australia), execu-tive editor of the journal DistanceEducation, reflects on the advancementand aspirations of professionals in thefield in terms of values, positions, degreepossibilities, and course content. LouiseSuave of Quebec provides a "Media andDistance Education Course Description,"including content and pedagogical strate-gy, for a pioneering program at theTele-universite. Janet Jenkins of theUnited Kingdom reports on the rapidprofessionalization of distance educationin "Strategies for Collaborative Staff

Training in Distance Education." In a"modest effort to suggest guidelines"while bringing cohesiveness into theory,Borje Holmberg (Germany) discusseskey issues in distance education from anacademic perspective. Specifically,Holmberg identifies and outlines issueswith which scholars "must now grapple."

This useful and needed text could bethe foundation of what I have been wish-ing and working for: an on-line list ofongoing research projects in distanceeducation, including a continually updat-ed list of problems that need to beinvestigated. This list could be thesource of ideas for student researchpapers and theses, thus helping to avoidduplication of efforts and to encouragecomparisons and collaborations inresearch from country to country.

So much has happened since the writ-ing of most of these collected papers thatany instructor must wish for an on-lineelectronic text that could be regularlybrought up to date. Until such a text isavailable, however, we continue todepend on print publications for theoreti-cal and practical contributions to theliterature of the field. The editors of Dis-tance Education: New Perspectives haveprovided a valuable set of papers that hasbeen subjected to peer review, is well-annotated, is topically indexed, andwhich is wisely limited to a specific his-torical period. I recommend this book forteachers, students, and researchers in dis-tance education; for historians ofeducation; and for libraries.

References

Duning, B., M. Van Kekerix, and L.Zaborowski. 1993. Reaching Learn-ers through Telecommunications. SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass.

Keegan, D. 1986. Foundations of Dis-tance Education. London: Routledge.

Parker Rossman

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The Oryx Guide to Distance Learning.William E. Burgess. (Phoenix, Ari-zona: Oryx Press, 1994, 424 pp.,$98.50).

The Electronic University: A Guide toDistance Learning. (Princeton, NewJersey: Peterson's Guides, 1993, 193pp., $15.95).

"Does anyone know who offers a Mas-ter 's degree in art education at adistance?" "I'm looking for a bachelor'sdegree in business administration froman American Assembly of CollegiateSchools of Business (AACSB) accredit-ed school, preferably on line. Anyideas?" "Are there programs to help melearn more about distance educationoffered at a distance?" These questionsare typical of those asked almost dailyby subscribers to the Distance EducationOnline Symposium (DEOS-L) at ThePennsylvania State University. Theresponses are usually one of two types: alisting from helpful DEOS-L subscribersof those programs that meet the require-ments of the querier or a notation ofseveral sources of information where theanswer might be found. Two of the mostfrequent sources of information cited arethe publications listed above. Whatneed(s) do these publications purport tofill, and to what extent do they meet theirobjectives? Just how helpful are thesepublications for those with a "need toknow"? After a brief overview of thetwo publications, I will examine eachfrom the perspective of these questions.

The Oryx Guide to Distance Learningprovides "information on 298 institutionsoffering over 1,500 media-assistedcourses for which academic credit can beearned [with]... only those media-assist-ed courses for which academic credit isawarded by fully accredited postsec-ondary institutions listed" (p.vii). The

text also notes that "a full degree pro-gram can be pursued solely throughdistance learning and detailed descrip-tions of the available programs areincluded in this Guide" (p. viii). Howev-er, the main emphasis is on availabilityof courses. The introduction concludeswith a cautionary note reminding thereader that the information contained inthe Guide has been supplied by the insti-tutions themselves or is from publicsources and is assumed by the authors tobe accurate. Additionally, the text pro-vides a glossary of delivery systems usedin distance learning. More importantly, itprovides instruction on how to use theGuide, complete with a sample entryhighlighting where specific information(e.g., tuition and fees; grading and exampolicy) may be found in each entry. Inaddition to extensive course descriptionsin the main body of the text, the Guideprovides almost sixty pages of indices,with each entry indexed under subjectmatter, delivery system, and name ofinstitution. The Guide concludes with anappendix that lists institutions providingnationwide and worldwide courseaccess. Only institutions based in theUnited States are included.

After what appears to be the almostmandatory foreword, the shorter Elec-tronic University provides a one-pageprofile of a distance learner, completewith demographic information and pic-ture, the learner's academic goals andachievements, the institution in whichthe learner was enrolled, courses taken,and, in the learner's own words, thoughtson distance learning and its relationshipto work, family, and community respon-sibilities. Many such profiles arescattered throughout the publication,providing a "friendly feel" to the publi-cation and a sense that the reader,presumably a prospective distancelearner, is not alone—others have gone

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before and succeeded. Reinforcing thissense of support, the first major sectionin the publication presents a comprehen-sive look at the question "Is distanceeducation right for you?", complete withdiscussions of who the distance learnersare; how different technologies are usedto help learners; and considerations ofcareer counseling, academic advising,and cost, concluding with a sectionencouraging the prospective distancelearners to engage in self-assessment toincrease the likelihood of success in pur-suing their educational goals.

Following two more learner profilesis a section on how readers can comparedistance education programs; once again,the emphasis appears to be on empower-ing the reader to engage in criticalthinking and decision making. The Elec-tronic University then providesinformation on how to use the guide andhighlights what is included: a list ofthose institutions that offer one or moredegree or certificate programs at a dis-tance, arrayed alphabetically byinstitution name as well as by indicesthat enable the reader to search forentries on the basis of subject matter andgeographic location. Those programswith nationwide and worldwide accessare identified, as well. Several additionaldistance learner profiles, a glossary ofelectronic media terminology, and adescription of distance degree consortiaand networks precede the program pro-files of relevant institutions in bothCanada and the United States. Signifi-cantly, what is not included areindependent learning or correspondencecourses.

How effective are these two guides inanswering the "usual" questions? Thethree noted at the beginning of thereview served as my check points. Mysearch for a Master 's degree in arteducation was relatively unsuccessful.

The Oryx Guide to Distance Learningprovided me with a comprehensive listof institutions offering art, art history,and education, each with available cours-es listed under the institution's name inthe index. No notation was providedregarding degree level. Narrowing mysearch to those institutions with thelongest list of courses and those whichincluded art education courses, I foundthat specific institutional profiles did notprovide information on availabledegrees, a decided limitation. In contrast,through a fairly simple process of mov-ing from The Electronic University'slisting of art to education in the index,then using only the index listing forgraduate programs, I was able to discernthat nine institutions offered an array ofMaster's and Ph.D./Ed.D. degrees ineducation; programs ranged from adulteducation to educational technology toleadership and supervision. There was nolisting for art education, but at least I hadsome institutions to contact for furtherinformation.

Searching for a business administra-tion degree on line from an AACSBaccredited institution proved no lesschallenging. Back in the subject matterindex of the Guide, I found BusinessAdministration, then went to the technol-ogy index to find computerconferencing. By flipping back andforth, I discovered one institution onboth lists. The main body of the Guideconfirmed that a business administrationdegree could be completed at a distancefrom the institution in question. Thenature of the accreditation of the degree,if any, was not noted. My search wassomewhat more difficult in The Elec-tronic University because it has notechnology index. By checking eachundergraduate business administrationprogram entry, I was able to determinethat there was a business administration

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degree offered on line, and that there wasan AACSB accredited business adminis-tration program, but they were not thesame program!

What about programs that focus ondistance education and are offered at adistance? The Guide offered no guid-ance. Somewhat surprisingly, distanceeducation was not listed in the subjectindex. The Electronic University provedmore helpful. Two certificate programsand one degree program were found inthe subject-matter index. The informa-tion in the main institutional listings wasbrief to a fault. Another telephone callwould be needed. The fact that neitherthe certificate program in distance edu-cation offered through The PennsylvaniaState University nor the University ofWisconsin-Madison's program was list-ed highlights the main challenge theauthors of these guides face: the contentis only as good as those consulted. Notall providers are asked for information,and not all of those asked actually pro-vide information.

All in all, both publications couldhelp a reader obtain basic information onavailable programs offered at a distance.More comprehensive course emphasisand descriptions are included in TheOryx Guide to Distance Learning; afocus on degrees and on a broader geo-graphic area, i.e. North America,characterizes The Electronic University:A Guide to Distance Learning. Anotheralternative for finding answers to the

queries above is the on-line listing ofover 16,000 credit and noncredit distanceeducation courses, degrees, and continu-ing education programs provided by theNational Distance Learning Center. Asimple Telnet (ndlc.occ.uky.edu) had meinto the on-line database and selectingfrom distance education and correspon-dence education offerings at the K-12,postsecondary, and continuing educationlevels. Search combinations are availablefrom a variety of selections: providers,subject, medium, intended audience, dateprogram desired, etc. I quickly discov-ered several on-line businessadministration baccalaureate degrees, butno special accreditation was noted. Thisdatabase is user friendly and has thepotential of being very up-to-date.

A number of sources of informationexist to provide answers to questionsrelated to the availability of distanceeducation courses, degrees, and continu-ing education programs. The Oryx Guideto Distance Learning and The ElectronicUniversity: A Guide to Distance Learn-ing provide two options. An on-line database provides a third. None of thesesources is perfect, but together, by pro-viding information about the availabilityof educational opportunities, theyadvance one of our most importantgoals: providing accessible education forall.

Chère Campbell Gibson

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