Olaf Zawacki-Richter

Online Distance Education: Towards a Research Agenda

eleed, Iss. 10 - Online Distance Education: Towards a Research Agenda offers a systematic overview of the major issues, trends, and areas of priority in online distance education research. In each chapter, an international expert or team of experts provides an overview of one timely issue in online distance education, summarizing major research on the topic, discussing theoretical insights that guide the research, posing questions and directions for future research, and discussing the implications for distance education practice as a whole. Intended as a primary reference and guide for distance educators, researchers, and policymakers, Online Distance Education addresses aspects of distance education practice that have often been marginalized, including issues of cost and economics, concerns surrounding social justice, cultural bias, the need for faculty professional development, and the management and growth of learner communities. At once soundly empirical and thoughtfully reflective, yet also forward-looking and open to new approaches to online and distance teaching, this text is a solid resource for researchers in a rapidly expanding discipline.

Mapping research trends from 35 years of publications in Distance Education

Abstract This article maps out trends in distance education research and scholarship from 35 years of publications in the Distance Education journal. Titles and abstracts of 515 full papers were analyzed using the text-mining tool LeximancerTM to identify and describe themes in distance education research covered by these publications in the journal over the period 1980–2014. Analysis of titles and abstracts over 5-year periods reveals the following broad emerging themes over the seven time periods: professionalization and institutional consolidation (1980–1984), instructional design and educational technology (1985–1989), quality assurance in distance education (1990–1994), student support and early stages of online learning (1995–1999), the emergence of the virtual university (2000–2004), collaborative learning and online interaction patterns (2005–2009), and interactive learning, MOOCs and OERs (2010–2014). The place of these themes within waves of alternating institutional and individual research is discussed.

Internationalization of higher education and the impacts on academic faculty members

Research on internationalization processes in higher education has steadily increased over the past decades. However, there is still a lack of analysis of how these developments have affected higher education and, specifically, the group of academic faculty members. To close this gap, this study explores the effects of internationalization on this stakeholder group. A two-round mixed-methods approach was applied in order to identify impacts on this group and rate their importance. From the internationally composed expert panel’s responses, 25 impacts on the individual, institutional, and global level were derived, constituting a preliminary foundation for further research on this topic. Findings from the study indicate a need for further investigation of the nature of individual impacts, as well as discussion on the separation of globalization and internationalization in higher education. Furthermore, they demonstrate the necessity of conducting research differentiated according to higher education systems and the faculty members within.

The geography of distance education - bibliographic characteristics of a journal network

The publication of the results of research in distance education in peer-reviewed journals is an important means of communication, dissemination, discourse and reporting of practice in the field. This study is an attempt at analyzing the relationships and influences among these journals. It is based upon a sample of 1416 scholarly articles published over six years in the 12 most widely cited international distance education journals. The bibliographic description and network analysis help us to investigate the structure and patterns of information exchange within the field of distance education research. The analysis of this citation network and the similarities in citation patterns reveals a clear core/periphery structure among distance education journals. The results of this analysis help us to understand the regional, international, impact and influence factors related to publication in these journals and across the field.

Research Areas in Adult and Continuing Education

This study builds upon a Delphi study carried out by Zawacki-Richter (2009) which posited a validated classification of research areas in the special area of distance education. We now replicate the study for the broader field of adult and continuing education (ACE). The aims of this paper are: firstly, to develop a categorisation of research areas in ACE; secondly, to identify the most important areas; and thirdly, to identify the most neglected research areas in ACE. Based on a literature review and a Delphi study, three broad levels with 28 research areas have been derived to organise the body of knowledge in ACE. Prospective researchers can use the results to identify gaps and priority areas, and explore potential research directions.

Two Decades of Research into the Internationalization of Higher Education: Major Themes in the "Journal of Studies in International Education" (1997-2016).

In recent decades, internationalization within higher education has emerged as a distinct field for practice and research. However, there are few meta-analyses of how the research trends and foci of this topic have evolved and shifted over time. This article analyzes the content of the Journal of Studies in International Education (JSIE), a central outlet for internationalization research, thus shedding light on overarching developments and trends within the field. In this investigation, the text-mining tool Leximancer™ is used to generate concept maps based on the titles and abstracts of all 406 scientific articles published in the JSIE between 1997 and 2016 (first issue). Four major developmental waves in this research area are revealed: delineation of the field (1997-2001), institutionalization and management of internationalization (2002-2006), consequences of internationalization: student needs and support structures (2007-2011), and currently, moving from the institutional to the transnational context of internationalization (2012-2016). The results show how the meaning of the concept has evolved to encapsulate several other related concepts in research on higher education, while reporting practices toward internationalization at individual, institutional, and national levels.

The Development of Distance Education Systems in Turkey, the Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia

Abstract In many countries, open and distance education is perceived as a way to meet the growing need for higher education. This paper explores the development of online and distance education in three countries that are still a white spot on the landscape of international distance education research although they have implemented elaborated distance education systems: Turkey, Russia and Saudi-Arabia. In order to understand the current state of distance education systems in the three countries, their respective systems are described from a historical perspective, compared in regard to their organization, important institutions for open and distance education and current developments. This comparative analysis directs the focus on little investigated education systems and contributes to an enhanced understanding of their past, present, and future.

Exploring four decades of research in Computers & Education

Abstract A content analysis of abstracts and titles of 3674 full papers in Computers & Education published between 1976 and 2016 was conducted in order to a) identify and analyze their thematic and conceptual flow, b) how these reflected the evolving technologies and theories and c) how the research topics and concepts semantically related to each other. Abstracts and titles can be considered appropriate for such conceptual analysis since they are lexically dense and focus on the core issues presented in articles. Based on a relational concept analysis using a text-mining tool, the study revealed that over the course of these 40 years, the articles progressed through four distinct stages, reflecting major developments in educational technology and theories of learning with media: the advancement and growth of computer-based instruction (1976–1986); stand-alone multimedia learning (1987–1996); networked computers as tools for collaborative learning (1997–2006); and online learning in a digital age (2007–2016). The paper concludes by suggesting that such mapping and analysis of the literature in this and other fields of educational technology, including non-English language journals, books and conference proceedings, can provide a valuable overview of research and scholarship for communities of practice and inquiry around the globe.

Organization and Management of Continuing Education in German and Finnish Universities.

In 2006, an international comparison study investigated the organization and management of university continuing education (UCE). The Finnish continuing education system proved to be especially advanced in this study. On the other hand, it became clear that Germany was still lagging behind in continuing education. In this article, German and Finnish universities are compared with respect to organizational forms and management structures in order to derive potentials for UCE and to identify decisive factors of success.

Durchlässigkeitsmodelle für lebenslange Kompetenzentwicklung in den Pflegewissenschaften

Die Moglichkeit einer zumindest teilweisen Akademisierung der Pflegeausbildung in Deutschland wird seit einigen Jahren als eine mogliche Antwort auf die wachsenden Herausforderungen im Pflegebereich diskutiert. So forderte der Wissenschaftsrat im Jahr 2012 eine Steigerung des Anteils der Pflegenden mit Hochschulabschluss auf 10–20 %. Bei der kontroversen Frage der Akademisierung von Pflegekraften wird jedoch haufig lediglich auf die Moglichkeit eines Ersetzens beruflich qualifizierter durch (ausschlieslich) hochschulisch qualifizierte Pflegekrafte fokussiert. Als Alternative zu einer ersetzenden Akademisierung werden in diesem Beitrag hybride Bildungsgange vorgeschlagen, die die berufliche Pflegeaus- und -fortbildung mit Hochschulstudiengangen verzahnen. Hybride Studienangebote kombinieren die Starken beruflicher und akademischer Bildung und erlauben durch flexible Zugangs- und Abschlussmoglichkeiten eine bessere Anpassung an individuelle Bildungsbiografien.