Matters of modernity, late modernity and self-identity in distance education

Abstract

Open and distance education represents contemporary forms of education which are responding to the shift to late-modernity, especially in the forms of technology and media employed, but also in terms of the attenuated relationships between teachers and students. It is argued that distance education can be seen as a creature of modernity which has provided important foundations for the ways open education is constructed. Drawing on the work ofAnthony Giddens, the author uncovers some ofthe relationships between distance education, late-modernity and the self Issues are raised concerning the personal risks and benefits involved in emerging forms ofopen and distance education.

Theories of teaching and learning in open and distance education

“…Proceeding from differing practical perspectives they have acknowledged the utility of our ideas in their own work and succeeded in creating syntheses Inglis believes impossible (Lockwood 1992, pp.41-46;Morgan 1993, pp.83-87, 128-133). Research on student learning confirms that students are not merely cogs in an instructional machine and it is better for teachers to understand them otherwise (Evans 1994;1995). Quite radical versions of our theoretical approach are practically possible (Nation 1991;Nation and Walker 1993).…”

The Information and Communication Technology User Role: Implications for the Work Role and Inter-Role Spillover

“…This was a major purpose of this paper: to understand the impact of technology not only on behavior such as the use of ICTs in the work role, but also on identity itself and how it relates to both psychological (i.e., inter-role conflict) and behavioral (i.e., self-selection into work roles) outcomes. Role behavior is sometimes difficult to predict, in part, because the self is complex and differentiated based on multiple role identities (Stets and Harrod, 2004; Riketta and Nienaber, 2007) and because technology can contribute to a more differentiated sense of self (Evans, 1995) and help in enacting other roles. Individuals in modern society occupy a number of roles which, of course, makes for an interesting if not complicated self and way of life, perhaps especially for working persons facing multiple and varied demands, sometimes conflicting, from multiple life roles (Williams et al, 1991).…”

Troubled times? Personal identity, distance education and open learning

“…While the significance of contemporary changes is much debated (Featherstone 1991;Giddens 1991;Harvey 1991;Lash and Urry 1994), a certain commonality exists in the view that responsibility for dealing with the complexity, unpredictability and speed of change is increasingly placed back on individuals. The notion that national governments can manage rationally their economies and populations has been challenged by generally growing material standards of living and globalising tendencies in which decisions taken in one part of the globe impact upon people's opportunities and choices in another.…”

“…These are issues which others have already started to explore (e.g. Evans 1995). This article is a contribution to these developing areas of debate, situated within certain strands of post-structural, post-modernist and feminist thought (Usher and Edwards 1994).…”