A profile of researchers

October 1999, Vol 8, Issue 4

A profile of researchers in open, distance and adult education in Asia and their research foci

Out of the ten mega-universities offering adult and distance education in the world, five are in Asia (China, India, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand). In particular, the largest open distance education system in the world is in mainland China, where 2.82 million adult students are taking courses in 962 adult higher education institutions. Amongst them, 690,000 of them have enrolled in 45 radio and television universities.

Amidst the huge population of 3 billion people in Asia which adds up to two-thirds of the global population, 500 million are potential students seeking continuing education opportunities. This implies an acute demand for open, distance and adult education in the region. The exchange and collaboration among open distance education researchers and practitioners in Asian countries should be high on the educational development agenda of each and every country in the region, and requires an adequate, appropriate and comprehensive information source to locate and learn about the expertise available.

Since such information was not available, the Centre for Research in Distance and Adult Learning of the OUHK embarked on a project in September 1998 to set up a data bank of researchers in Asian countries and their foci in tertiary open distance and adult education research. The data of each researcher include his/her academic/administrative position; correspondence, email and homepage addresses; contact numbers; command of foreign languages; education and training; research areas and interests; recent major publications; abstracts of recent research projects; and proposed future studies. The information of 400 researchers from 17 Asian countries/regions was summarized and analysed. However, as some educators prefer not to disclose their personal particulars, the databank only contains 289 names.

Gender and age distribution

The distribution of open, distance and adult education researchers in Asia is extremely unbalanced. Females account for only a quarter of the sample, a symptom of the lack of gender equality in access to higher education and to senior positions in the workplace. About 70 per cent of the total number of researchers are aged between 40 and 59, and 43 per cent of the total sample are over 50, a fact clearly underlining the need to train a greater number of younger or new researchers in this field. Most open, distance and adult education researchers in the sample command high-level administrative positions in their institutions, which illustrates that the role of scholar-manager is becoming popular in Asia's higher learning institutions.

The application of modern information technology

It appears that information technology resources have not been fully utilized in Asia. Thirty-five per cent of the surveyed educators do not have email accounts of their own. Homepages, an efficient medium for exchange and communication, cannot be found in 52 per cent of the educators' affiliated institutions. Ninety-five per cent of these researchers do not have personal homepages, and as a result are lagging behind the emerging paradigm of flexible interactive student-centred learning and the virtual learning environment.

The need for specialized training

In most areas of the Asian region, systematic academic training in open, distance and adult education is more an exception than the rule. A mere seven per cent of the sample have received professional training in the field of open, distance and adult education. Among them, only 12 received their specialist training in Asia. The pedagogical methods in distance education and conventional education have a very sharp distinction. However, most of the tutors in open distance universities are from traditional universities and they use conventional teaching methods to teach distance learners. A sound system of recruiting, supervising and evaluating tutors to ensure the quality of distance education is yet to emerge.

Major research projects

Among the major research projects researchers have participated in, 'Management and planning' and 'Evaluation and quality assurance' are those that have attracted the highest number of open, distance and adult educators. This may be because more than 60 per cent of the educators are senior level management. This will contribute significantly to the enhancement of management efficiency and hence the quality of educational outcomes.

Comparing the research projects undertaken by the educators since 1995 and their proposed future projects, there is a strong similarity between the two. An exception is 'Technology and media', which has attracted much more attention. Many educators seem to know of the increasing role played by modern information technology in open, distance and adult education.

Many researchers in Asia are still focusing on distance teaching rather than on distance learning, probably as a result of the teacher-centred tradition in many institutions in Asia.

Exchange and collaboration in open, distance and adult education within Asia

Asian researchers are eager to establish various forms of links among open distance universities in the region. More than 70 per cent want to have more information exchange and academic visiting among the institutions, while more than 60 per cent want more collaborative research activities in the region. About half want to exchange study materials and to join hands to develop courses and training programmes.

The findings show that English is the most commonly used foreign language among the 400 Asian educators. Eighty-three per cent of them can read English, and it should be the medium of communication in academic exchange. The Internet has played an important role in facilitating exchange and collaboration. However, only about half of the universities have Internet facilities. Among those which have the Internet, many only use their local languages on their websites.

Forty per cent of the sampled researchers are affiliated with institutions of open distance education and 58 per cent come from conventional institutions. Thus conventional institutions also play a significant role in the provision of open, distance and adult education.