Distances & access to education >> Results

JALN Introduction to the special issue on the right to education - John R. Bourne, Janet C. Moore, Claudine Schweber

Editorial: Technology, Policy, and the Right to Education - Barbara Spronk

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Author:	Barbara Spronk
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Abstract Almost 60 years have passed since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 26 of that declaration deals with the right to education (…). In that time, distance education has emerged as a way of extending educational opportunities to those for whom poverty, remote location, gender, disability, or dislocation has made education more of a luxury than a right, especially in the world’s poverty zones. At basic and secondary levels, open schools and classrooms are using distance education approaches to help universalize primary education and make secondary education at least a possibility for those who would otherwise become permanent school leavers (cf. Yates & Bradley, 2000, and Bradley, 2003). Perraton estimated that as many as 20 per cent of university students in developing countries were studying at a distance, compared with 12 per cent in industrialized countries (2000). Those percentages, no doubt, are considerably higher today. Nonetheless, 72 million children remain out of school, one in five adults is without basic literacy skills, and many pupils leave school without acquiring essential skills and knowledge (UNESCO, 2008). Is distance education helping to make a significant dent in these numbers? In company with distance education journals worldwide, this special issue of the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (www.irrodl.org) invited contributions that addressed this question. Contributors were asked to focus on the following issues: What is the role of distance education in the implementation of the right to education? How is distance education involved when education is seen as a right? What is its position in educational policy, as a factor of quality and an instrument for liberty? Do the technologies of distance education act as enablers or barriers to achieving the universal right to education? In response, we received a number of papers that focus particularly on technology and policy.
Keywords editorial

Access and Equity to Education in India through Synergy of Conventional and ODL Systems: A Step towards Democratization of Education - Purnendu TRIPATHI, Siran MUKERJI

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Author:	Purnendu TRIPATHI, Siran MUKERJI
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Abstract India has witnessed tremendous development in educating and training its vast human resource of over one billion through sustained effort of conventional and distance mode of education. In pursuit of making Right to Education a reality, the Government has been initiating efforts for developing the educational infrastructure and training human capital. Consequently, the Country with a literacy rate of 64.84%, has 767520, 274731 and 152049 schools along with 12 open schools at primary, middle and secondary/ higher secondary levels catering to 130.8, 51.2 and 37.1 million students respectively. At higher education level, 13578 colleges and 407 universities along with 106 distance education institutions address needs of 11.7 million students. These institutions of learning, in true sense have been instrumental in educating the vast human resource of over one billion but democratization of education i.e. access and equity to education is still a dream to be realized. This paper endeavours to explore the achievements so far and identify the challenges and constraints that have prevented the country to achieve the goal of universalisation of education and high level of literacy.
Keywords universalisation, access, equity, democratization of education

How to realize social fairness and equality through distance and open learning? - Li Yawan, Qi Wei

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Author:	Li Yawan, Qi Wei
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Abstract For the past decades, China has formed a relatively perfect legal system for education. The Constitution of People’s Republic of China adopted on December 4, 1982 stipulates the general principles of equal rights to education. On the basis of that, China established a dozen of specific laws and regulations on education in which concrete rights to education are proclaimed. To realize equal right to education is to guarantee most people to receive education and more people to enjoy higher education. Applying the American scholar, Professor Martin Trow’s concept about the three phases of higher education, which are Elite Education, Mass Education and Popularizing Education, China is now stepping out of the elite education phase and progressing to the mass education. For the past ten years, China’s higher education is developing fast. The overall active enrolment from various kinds of higher educational institutions has amounted to 23 million and the recruits from higher education institutions have reached over 5 million by 2005. Though the gross rate for enrollment has been 21%, many people who intent to continue their study are closed outside the door of the higher education institutions and many who want to upgrade their knowledge and skill cannot find the places suitable to their concrete conditions. Therefore, there is great potential to develop open learning and distance education so that different people’s requirement for education and training can be satisfied.
Keywords equal right to education, mass education, equity

Brics and clicks - Mary Bold, Lillian Chenoweth, Nirisha K.Garimella

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Author:	Mary Bold, Lillian Chenoweth, Nirisha K.Garimella
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Abstract Projections for the global economy frequently center on the BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. As futurists and economists alike define and re-define both formal and informal coalitions (for example, by broadening the R in BRIC to include all Eastern European economies or instead re-directing the discussion to G-8 countries or to World Trade Organization members), the education profiles of the individual nations sometimes resemble economic indicators: what is imported, what is exported, and what is the potential for expansion. Higher education, and specifically distance learning (the Clicks element of this paper), can already be charted in these terms for some nations. This paper describes the current role of distance learning in countries described as growing economies and proposes a typology for describing change as additional data become available. The paper informs readers of global developments in distance education, using the BRIC nations as examples.
Keywords cross-border education, globalization, BRIC, GATS, internationalization, distance learning, access, right to education

Access to education with online learning and open educational resources: can they close the GAP? - Dr. Christine Geith, Karen Vignare

Open educational resources for blended learning in high schools: overcoming impediments in developing countries - Richard C. Larson, M. Elizabeth Murray

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Author:	Richard C. Larson, M. Elizabeth Murray
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Abstract With today’s computer and telecommunications technologies, every young person can have a quality education regardless of his or her place of birth. This is the dream that Open Educational Resources (OERs), when viewed as a right rather than a privilege, are directed to realize. For developing countries, we propose a type of OER initiative that leverages not only technology but also the skills of the in-class teacher, that utilizes not only the Internet but also lower-tech delivery platforms, and that is created not only by developed countries of the West but also by educators in many countries worldwide. We outline the design of a cross-border, collaborative learning and teaching system called the Blended Learning Open Source Science or Math Studies Initiative (BLOSSOMS), with an associated partnership network established for its implementation in developing countries. BLOSSOMS is to develop a large, free repository of blended-learning video modules for high school math and science classes, created by gifted volunteer educators from around the world and designed to offer potentially transformative learning exercises that will enhance critical thinking skills and retain students’ interest in math and science. The initiative has been designed and developed within a multinational network of partner organizations in the developing world, a characteristic that distinguishes it from many other OER projects.
Keywords Open Educational Resources, OER, blended learning, online repository, international collaboration, high school education, mathematics and science, critical thinking

Bringing the real world of science to children: a partnership of the American Museum of Natural History and the City University of New York - Anthony G. Picciano, Robert V. Steiner

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Author:	Anthony G. Picciano, Robert V. Steiner
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Abstract Every child has a right to an education. In the United States, the issue is not necessarily about access to a school but access to a quality education. With strict compulsory education laws, more than 50 million students enrolled in primary and secondary schools, and billions of dollars spent annually on public and private education, American children surely have access to buildings and classrooms. However, because of a complex and competitive system of shared policymaking among national, state, and local governments, not all schools are created equal nor are equal education opportunities available for the poor, minorities, and underprivileged. One manifestation of this inequity is the lack of qualified teachers in many urban and rural schools to teach certain subjects such as science, mathematics, and technology. The purpose of this article is to describe a partnership model between two major institutions (The American Museum of Natural History and The City University of New York) and the program designed to improve the way teachers are trained and children are taught and introduced to the world of science. These two institutions have partnered on various projects over the years to expand educational opportunity especially in the teaching of science. One of the more successful projects is Seminars on Science (SoS), an online teacher education and professional development program, that connects teachers across the United States and around the world to cutting-edge research and provides them with powerful classroom resources. This article provides the institutional perspectives, the challenges and the strategies that fostered this partnership.
Keywords science education, teacher education, pre-service, in-service, teacher shortage, distance learning, online learning, blended learning, multimedia

Future Directions for Distance Education - Paul Kawachi

Online Distance Learning provides Additional Learning Opportunities and improves the Socioeconomic Status of Working Adults in Malaysia - Dominic WONG

Roles of distance education in the implementation of the right to education in Indonesia: analysis and lessons learnt from the sociological, political and economic points of view - Aminudin Zuhairi, Ida Zubaidah & Daryono

Martini - With or Without the Olive? - Bill McNeill

Distance Education in Rural China achieves Inter-School Collaboration and Increased Access to Education - Xiaoying FENG, Weiyuan ZHANG, Li CHEN

Building Social Capital through Distance Education in Asia - Paul KAWACHI

Distance education opportunities for mature women in Greece and Cyprus: comparative perspectives and implications - Marios Vryonides & Michalinos Zembylas

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Author:	Marios Vryonides & Michalinos Zembylas
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Abstract The introduction of distance and e-learning education programs in the Greek and Cypriot higher education systems in the past few years has often been accompanied by parallel rhetoric. This rhetoric evolves and focuses primarily around the need for the state to offer flexible educational provisions to groups of mature students who would otherwise be at the risk of social marginalization or even exclusion. Marginalization is the result of social processes that require new and a constantly updated body of knowledge and skills to adapt in a social environment that is changing day by day and transforms the fundamental conditions of our social existence (Grummell, 2007). Often, perhaps not surprisingly, the rhetoric of equality of opportunity and social inclusion may inadvertently contribute to further marginalization of some social groups. Good intentions are rarely ‘good’ enough. Our goal in this paper is to focus on the complex ways in which the rhetoric of opportunity and social inclusion is materialized in two innovative educational programs—one at the University of the Aegean in Greece and the other at the Open University of Cyprus.
Keywords e-learning, Greece, mature women students, equality of opportunity, social inclusion

Microfranchising microlearning centers: a sustainable model for expanding the right to education in developing countries? - Tiffany Zenith Ivins

An online learning model to facilitate learners' rights to education - Lin Lin

If higher education is a right, and distance education is the answer, then who will pay? - Dr. Katrina A. Meyer

Determined to learn: accessing education despite life-threatening disasters - Claudine SchWeber, Ph.D.

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Author:	Claudine SchWeber, Ph.D.
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Abstract The ‘right to education’ proclaimed by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights requires access to learning as well as the support systems. Since access can be interrupted by various circumstances, the possibility of providing continuity despite external dangers by using online distance education, offers an intriguing and valuable option. For example, life-threatening disasters, such as war or hurricanes, can interrupt or halt ongoing higher education coursework. Despite that reality, some students remain determined to continue the learning. How can institutions respond to this determination fast enough to be of use and effective enough to maintain their educational reputations? Empire State College’s (New York) activities in its Lebanon Residence Program after the 2006 war and Xavier University in New Orleans’ actions in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina provide valuable answers. Together with the unique Sloan Semester—created to temporarily provide educational continuity for hurricane affected students—these programs also offer lessons on resilience and survival in a crisis.
Keywords educational access, distance learning, e-learning, higher education and disaster, resilience, sloan semester, educational continuity, crisis management, academic continuity

Distance English language teacher training program in Turkey : e-learning opportunities for the right to education - Dilek ALTUNAY & M. Emin MUTLU

Paths of participation in a knowledge-based era: disseminating e-learning opportunities in Central Asia - Carlos Machado, Elvira Lussana

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Author:	Carlos Machado, Elvira Lussana
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Abstract In education, as in many other aspects of modern life, the question of how to implement Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) is an important challenge for anyone with a stake in training and learning, as educational technologies are spreading rapidly in a globalised world. According to the Task Force of the International Council of Distance Education there have been more than 20 changes to teaching and learning behaviour which have caused a shift on the educational paradigm. All these changes have brought about new reformed curricula in many areas. This paper concentrates on the implications of reforming curricula, extending the Bologna Declaration and introducing learning technologies in a number of higher education institutions (HEIs) within developing countries of Central Asia. With the objective of innovating in education, while administrators (i.e. what it can be understood as rectors and vice-rectors) are busy in following national action plans and strategies for education, the pressure for change and the pace of education change have increased considerably over the last years, partly due what has been defined as a world wide education reform movement (Hargreaves, 1996). As a result, educational systems – and not only in Central Asian countries - are experiencing new directions in the areas of teaching practice, curricula, teacher education and the involvement of educationally significant stakeholders. Our experience and conclusions from years of participation in developing programs to improve the quality of education is put forward hereunder.
Keywords e-learning, open sources, developing countries, e-readiness

Radio, Television and the Internet providing the Right to Education in India - Sriram Arulchelvan and D. Viswanathan

Open Educational Resources: Enabling universal education - Tom Caswell, Shelley Henson, Marion Jensen, David Wiley

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Author:	Tom Caswell, Shelley Henson, Marion Jensen, David Wiley
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Abstract The role of distance education is shifting. Traditionally distance education was limited in the number of people served because of production, reproduction, and distribution costs. Today, while it still costs the university time and money to produce a course, technology has made it such that reproduction costs are almost non-existent. This shift has significant implications, and allows distance educators to play an important role in the fulfillment of the promise of the right to universal education. At little or no cost, universities can make their content available to millions. This content has the potential to substantially improve the quality of life of learners around the world. New distance education technologies, such as OpenCourseWares, act as enablers to achieving the universal right to education. These technologies, and the associated changes in the cost of providing access to education, change distance education's role from one of classroom alternative to one of social transformer.
Keywords OpenCourseWare, distance education, access, new technologies

OpenCourseWare, Global Access and the Right to Education: Real access or marketing ploy? - Henk Huijser, Tas Bedford, David Bull

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Author:	Henk Huijser, Tas Bedford, David Bull
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Abstract This paper explores the potential opportunities that OpenCourseWare (OCW) offers in providing wider access to tertiary education, based on the ideal of ‘the right to education’. It first discusses the wider implications of OCW, and its underlying philosophy, before using a case study of a tertiary preparation program (TPP) at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) to draw out the issues involved in offering a program that is created in a particular national and social context on a global scale. This paper draws specific attention to the digital divide, its effects in national and global contexts, and the particular obstacles this presents with regards to OCW. This paper argues that OCW provides many opportunities, both in terms of access to education and in terms of student recruitment and marketing for universities. To take full advantage of those opportunities, however, requires a concerted effort on the part of tertiary education institutions, and it requires a vision that is fundamentally informed by, and committed to, the principle of ‘the right to education’.
Keywords OpenCourseWare, right to education, digital divide, tertiary preparation programs

New Ways of Mediating Learning: Investigating the implications of adopting open educational resources for tertiary education at an institution in the United Kingdom as compared to one in South Africa - Tina Wilson

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Author:	Tina Wilson
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Abstract Access to education is not freely available to all. Open Educational Resources (OERs) have the potential to change the playing field in terms of an individual’s right to education. The Open University in the United Kingdom was founded almost forty years ago on the principle of ‘open’ access with no entry requirements necessary. The university develops innovative high quality multiple media distance-learning courses. In a new venture called OpenLearn, The Open University is making its course materials freely available worldwide on the Web as OERs ( see http://www.open.ac.uk/openlearn). How might other institutions make use of these distance-learning materials? The paper starts by discussing the different contexts wherein two institutions operate and the inequalities that exist between them. One institution is a university based in South Africa and the other is a college located in the United Kingdom. Both institutions, however, deliver distance-learning courses. The second part of the paper discusses preliminary findings when OERs are considered for tertiary education at these two institutions. The findings emphasise some of the opportunities and challenges that exist if these two institutions adopt OERs.
Keywords open educational resources, distance learning, open education

Technology-Enhanced Learning in Developing Nations: A review - Shalni Gulati

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Author:	Shalni Gulati
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Abstract Learning ‘using’ technologies has become a global phenomenon. The Internet is often seen as a value-neutral tool that potentially allows individuals to overcome the constraints of traditional elitist spaces and gain unhindered access to learning. It is widely suggested that online technologies can help address issues of educational equity and social exclusion, and open up democratic and accessible educational opportunities. The national governments and non-governmental agencies who fund educational endeavours in developing countries have advocated the use of new technologies to reduce the cost of reaching and educating large numbers of children and adults who are currently missing out on education. This paper presents an overview of the educational developments in open, distance, and technology-facilitated learning that aim to reach the educationally deprived populations of the world. It reveals the challenges encountered by children and adults in developing countries as they attempt to access available educational opportunities. The discussion questions whether, in face of these challenges, developing nations should continue to invest money, time, and effort into e-learning developments. Can technology-enhanced learning help address the poverty, literacy, social, and political problems in developing countries?
Keywords developing countries, technology, e-learning, access, rhetoric, reality

Using distance education and ICT to improve access, equity and the quality in rural teachers’ professional development in western China - Bernadette Robinson

The Role of Open and Distance Learning in the Implementation of the Right to Education in Zambia - Richard Siaciwena, Foster Lubinda

Exploring the Role of Distance Education in Fostering Equitable University Access for First Generation Students: A phenomenological survey - Lisa C. Priebe, Tamra L. Ross, Karl W. Low

Online, distance education and globalisation: Its impact on educational access, inequality and exclusion - Dimitris Zondiros

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Author:	Dimitris Zondiros
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Abstract Online and Distance Education can be seen as a product and a producer of globalisation. Educational access, inequality and exclusion from education are topics of major importance in developing and developed countries’ efforts to use Online and Distance Education as a means to respond to the forces of globalisation. Socio-cultural, economic, political and technological factors and their complex combinations in the wider context of globalisation show that globalising forces affect deeply and in various ways the educational systems of any country and are expected to do so more drastically in the future. This is mirrored at the universities’ mission statements that were examined. While educational access has traditionally been given high priority, inequity and exclusion issues – along with globalisation pressures – undermined societies’ and universities’ efforts to fully achieve their aims. These society used Online and Distance Education (especially by establishing Open Universities) but responded to each country’s specific needs and priorities. It is suggested that a good response to these issues might be context-specific Online and Distance Education and Flexible Learning solutions, new pedagogy that is more aware of students’ needs and, alternatively, tailor-made modes of Open and Distance Learning and Flexible Learning that suit particular contexts and circumstances.
Keywords globalisation, online, distance education, access, exclusion

The impact of technology on accessibility and pedagogy : the right to education in Sub-Saharan Africa - Dele BRAIMOH, & Jonathan Ohiorenuan OSIKI

Training young people in the use of digital media: the highs and lows of establishing the Information Technology and Internet Proficiency Certificate (B2i) in France - Jean-François Cerisier, Caroline Rizza, Bruno Devauchelle, Aurélien Nguyen

Perspectives and Strategies towards Collaboration in Higher Education in the GCC Arab States of the Gulf - Siran MUKERJI and Nader K. JAMMEL

Development of equal opportunities to education using ICT in China : Overview of the nationwide project 'Modern Distance Education for Schools in the Rural Areas of China' - Li CHEN and Meiling CHEN

The Right to Education : A model for making higher education equally accessible to all on the basis of merit - Sir John DANIEL, Asha KANWAR and Stamenka UVALIĆ-TRUMBIĆ

Extending Open Distance Learning into Rural North-Eastern India - Sunil KUMAR, Neelam CHAUDHARY and Girija SHANKAR

Distance education in prisons: an educational right or a privilege? The case of "student inmates" - Fanny Salane

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Author:	John R. Bourne, Janet C. Moore, Claudine Schweber
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Abstract The eight papers in this special issue of the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks examine some of the roles that online education plays in implementing the right to education. The 1948 Declaration called for free and compulsory education with choice and equal access based on merit. The studies in this issue propose identifying metrics for progress towards universal access, using online education for continuity of learning despite disasters, stewarding resources, marshalling partnerships, and designing learning that promotes the values of the Declaration: ‘respect, understanding, tolerance, friendship, and peace.’
Keywords editorial, introduction

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Author:	Dr. Christine Geith, Karen Vignare
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Abstract One of the key concepts in the right to education is access: access to the means to fully develop as human beings as well as access to the means to gain skills, knowledge and credentials. This is an important perspective through which to examine the solutions to access enabled by Open Educational Resources (OER) and online learning. The authors compare and contrast OER and online learning and their potential for addressing human rights “to” and “in” education. The authors examine OER and online learning growth and financial sustainability and explore potential scenarios to address the global education gap.
Keywords online learning, Open Educational Resources, OER, OpenCourseWare, sustainable business models, innovation

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Author:	Paul Kawachi
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Abstract This Paper reviews current research on how well distance education helps to provide access to education around the world, drawing from the Papers published to the ‘Distances and Access to Education’ website to date 20 June 2008, plus some recently added or related papers. This review takes the format of a meta-analysis of all these published works, and draws conclusions from them. These conclusions are : 1. Develop free and open education resources in the native language of each student - including student-created content in local radio and television ; 2. Externalize examinations away from the teaching process to regional supra-institutional accreditation agencies ; 3. Use scaffolds to provide collaborative group learning as the core structure in distance education courses for critical thinking skills for job mobility and social capital. These three conclusions derived and presented here can be interpreted as suggestions or guidelines for the future directions of distance education.
Keywords Review

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Author:	Dominic WONG
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Abstract This Paper reports the outcomes for working adult students after completing online distance learning in Malaysia. Detailed interviews were included. Findings showed that these adults in full-time employment could gain promotion, change employer and / or gain higher salary. The online courses were job skills or job-related studies, and these courses included courses provided by universities in Malaysia, in Australia, and in Britain.
Keywords outcomes, working adults, satisfaction, flexibility, interviews, Malaysia

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Author:	Aminudin Zuhairi, Ida Zubaidah & Daryono
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Abstract This paper addresses the roles of distance education in the implementation of the right to education, presenting sociological, political and economic analysis and lessons learnt from the specific context of Indonesia. Diversities in geographic, demographic, social cultural and economic conditions of the country provide specific challenges for its distance education practice and the process of social, political and economic transformation to which distance education can contribute.
Keywords distance education, right to education, challenges, socia, political and economic transformation

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Author:	Bill McNeill
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Abstract Distance education has been referred to as ‘any time, any place, any where’ - resonant of the 1970s Martini TV advert. For the purist a martini without the olive is not the real thing as an essential ingredient is missing, and the same can be said of education which is not the real thing for a disabled person if reasonable adjustment for their disability is absent. This paper considers the issue of study impairment within the context of a specialist distance learning institution providing vocational courses, and examines the aspiration, expressed by the United Nations (2003), that ‘the equalisation of opportunities for persons with disabilities is an essential contribution in the general and worldwide effort to mobilise human resources.’
Keywords disability, discrimination, distance, vocational, adults, international

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Author:	Xiaoying FENG, Weiyuan ZHANG, Li CHEN
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Abstract This Paper reports the use of forty-five learning scaffold strategies in a network of thirty-six schools across China. The collaborative network helps to provide access to school-children in rural regions by linking them together with school children in developed cities. The teachers involved asserted that the templates and scaffold strategies were effective for learning. The conclusions found that scaffolds should be used throughout the courses to promote collaborative learning among school children.
Keywords Schools, Collaboration, Rural regions, Development, Access, China

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Author:	Tiffany Zenith Ivins
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Abstract While availability of information and access to it enables education in developing countries, information alone does not secure transmission of knowledge—especially to remote learners in low-tech, infrastructure-poor communities. For this reason, 21st century distance education tools require innovative mechanisms for accessing the hardest-to-reach learners. This paper explores an ethnographic case study from Nepal as a means for illuminating the possibility for expanding the right to education in developing countries through an innovative approach: the microfranchising of microlearning centers.
Keywords youth, development, ICT, YMRC, technology, Nepal, South Asia, social entrepreneurs

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Author:	Lin Lin
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Abstract This paper connects an online learning model to the rights to education that the online educational environments can provide. The model emerges from a study of ninety-two online learners and is composed of three kinds of inquiries, namely, independent inquiry, collaborative inquiry, and formative inquiry towards expert knowledge. Online learners naturally pursue and undertake these inquiries when they are equipped with communication channels and technologies. This model provides a thinking tool for integrating new media and technologies in an online learning environment in order to help students achieve their full rights to education.
Keywords learners’ rights, online learning environments, self-directed learning, independent inquiry, collaborative inquiry, formative inquiry towards expert knowledge

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Author:	Dr. Katrina A. Meyer
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Abstract If higher education is a right, and distance education is the avenue for making higher education universally available, then who shall pay? This article asks (1) can state governments in the United States afford to fund this initiative and (2) can public higher education institutions in the U.S. fund this effort through capitalizing on cost-efficiencies of online learning? To answer the first question, data on funding of higher education by states are reviewed and a negative conclusion reached. To answer the second question, research on methods for achieving cost-efficiencies through online learning is reviewed and a cautious positive conclusion is reached, assuming states and institutions are willing to invest in the people and processes, and the time, effort, and will that make achieving efficiencies possible.
Keywords enrollment growth, funding, cost-efficiencies, U.S. public higher education

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Author:	Dilek ALTUNAY & M. Emin MUTLU
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Abstract This article presents the Distance English Language Teacher Training Program at Anadolu University in Turkey and how distance education; particularly e-learning opportunities offered in the program contribute to the right to education. The program has contributed to solve the English language teacher education problem in the country and contributes to the right to education mainly in two ways: Firstly, it gives the ones who would like to become English language teachers the right to achieve their aim. Secondly, by increasing the supply of teachers of English, it allows students who want to learn English but cannot learn because of lack of teachers to learn English. The program also includes many applications contributing to the right to education. This practice is important in that it might bring new insights to foreign language teacher education and will be of value to other countries facing with similar problems.
Keywords right to education, teacher education, English language teacher education, e-learning, distance education, blended learning

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Author:	Sriram Arulchelvan and D. Viswanathan
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Abstract This Paper reports the various projects in India that use radio, television and / or the Internet in the past 20 years. These projects have been internationally recognized as educationally effective. Interesting and useful findings include that urban students use radio and use television more than rural students (due to language perhaps), and that campus-based local radio, television, and Internet should be more widely adopted. Accessibility, distance mode versus face-to-face mode, gender, urban versus rural, and age were all variables covered in this major study.
Keywords radio, television, internet, projects, demographics, india

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Author:	Bernadette Robinson
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Abstract The goal of ‘teacher quality for all’ is proving difficult to achieve in many countries, especially in rural areas, yet teacher quality is a key determinant of students’ participation rates and achievement levels. It also affects the attainment of social justice in terms of equity in educational quality for students. One contributor to teacher quality is professional development though limits on its availability and quality create inequity for many teachers. This paper describes how distance education and ICT improved access, equity, and quality in professional development for rural teachers in one province in western China, viewed through the lens of a ‘rights-based’ framework.
Keywords rural teachers, ICT, continuing professional development, teachers' rights, EU-China Gansu Basic Education Project

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Author:	Richard Siaciwena, Foster Lubinda
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Abstract As a member of the United Nations, Zambia is committed to the observance of human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. This is evidenced, among others, by the fact that Zambia is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Zambia has a permanent Human Rights Commission that includes a subcommittee on child rights whose focus is on child abuse and education. Zambia also has a National Child Policy and National Youth Policy whose main objectives are to holistically address problems affecting children and youth. This paper focuses on the progress and challenges currently facing Zambia and the role of open and distance learning in addressing those challenges.
Keywords open and distance learning, policy, human rights, teacher training, basic education

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Author:	Lisa C. Priebe, Tamra L. Ross, Karl W. Low
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Abstract Using a qualitative study of distance education (DE) learners whose parents have not accessed post-secondary education (PSE), this paper proposes themes for further research in the study of first-generation students (FGS). This survey asked a number of open-ended questions about parental influences on university enrollment, and respondents’ reasons for choosing university in general and DE in particular. Findings were consistent with current research in many areas focusing on debt aversion, lower parental guidance, older starting age, and difficulty separating from familial roles. Differences were noted, including lower parental valuation of PSE and an increased emphasis on non-educational priorities, such as family and work. The limitations of the current study are discussed, as well as suggestions for future FGS research in DE.
Keywords distance education, first generation students, education equity, post-secondary education

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Author:	Dele BRAIMOH, & Jonathan Ohiorenuan OSIKI
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Abstract This Paper reports the background of open and distance learning in Africa from its initial early stages to the present. The authors then highlight the achievements and the problems faced in Africa, and most importantly set out a road map for governments and other agencies in order to develop open and distance learning to achieve the Right to Education and the millennium goals for Sub-Saharan Africa. The authors include an interest discussion on labour mobility as it affects education.
Keywords open and distance learning, developing countries, barriers, labour mobility, road map, Sub-Saharan Africa

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Author:	Jean-François Cerisier, Caroline Rizza, Bruno Devauchelle, Aurélien Nguyen
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Abstract ICT contributions to individual life long learning courses need a fair digital acculturation. Precisely, only School is able to support this kind of fair digital education. We propose to discuss this point of view through the analysis of the French training device X2I (B2i and C2i).
Keywords digital culture, acculturation, internet generation, uses, competences, training device, certification, B2i, C2i

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Author:	Siran MUKERJI and Nader K. JAMMEL
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Abstract This Paper reviews the higher education systems in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Arab countries, and reports the very high literacy rates in the populations, while indicating they are increasing the number of universities significantly in recent years. As a result they assert the proportion of women studying and graduating now from GCC universities are matching and surpassing the numbers for men.
Keywords Arabian countries, Literacy, Building new universities, Collaboration, Women

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Author:	Li CHEN and Meiling CHEN
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Abstract This Paper reports on the largest project in the world, which aims to reduce the gap in education quality between the urban areas and the rural areas in China - by sharing digital resources through ICT. This Paper gives an overview together with discussion of the challenges and some suggestions. The Paper shares some valuable information on how distance education can be used to enhance educational access and equity at low cost in developing countries.
Keywords Large-scale, Access, Equity, Challenges, Suggestions

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Author:	Sir John DANIEL, Asha KANWAR and Stamenka UVALIĆ-TRUMBIĆ
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Abstract This Paper reviews past models used for higher education, and with the current technology recommends a new model based on individualization of courses and utilizing global open educational resources - to provide access to all, as well as providing accredited quality, and at low cost. The proposed model centres on examinations and allows students to choose different ways of preparing for them.
Keywords Model, Quality, Access, Low cost, Global open resources, Individualization

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Author:	Sunil KUMAR, Neelam CHAUDHARY and Girija SHANKAR
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Abstract This paper describes the experiences of Indira Gandhi National Open University in extending its services into the North East Region of India. This region is considerably isolated with great challenges including continuous insurgencies. Solutions include using local languages, at least one full-time national employee at each study centre, and provide education to the national army there with shared access for the local people.
Keywords Least-developed region, Solutions, Local languages, Trust, Access

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Author:	Fanny Salane
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Abstract Post-secondary education in prison is delivered mainly via distance education. This approach, which is considered to be particularly well suited to the constraints of prison life, is used to supplement the education provided in situ and is essentially aimed at young detainees and those with a low educational level. It is thus seen as an affirmation of a prisoner's right to education. Our research carried out with detainees enrolled in post-secondary education shows that distance education is ill-suited to the prison environment and constitutes a limited right to education that is highly inegalitarian.
Keywords Distance education, Correspondence course, Post-secondary education, Prison, Right / Privilege, France