Untitled - socium.ge

e-learning in post-secondary education 289students to have access to the Internet, irrespective of home conditions. Postsecondaryinstitutions, in particular, can play an essential role in developingcountries in providing at least a presence in the information society.Although a great deal of attention is given to the digital divide in educationalcircles, less attention has been paid to other social and cultural issues.An OECD study (2001) noted the trend toward private and public partnershipsin managing the costs and complexity of e-learning in the face of globalcompetition, and raised questions about the public interest of such partnerships.The potential also for cultural imperialism and economic exploitation ishigh when programs emanating from more economically advanced countriesstart attracting the more wealthy students from less-developed countries. Forinstance, students from some countries find the approach to learning based onsocial constructivism alien, at least initially, compared to more traditionalteacher-focused and information-based courses offered in their own country.Thus, as well as the disadvantage of working in a second language, studentsfrom foreign countries also have to overcome cultural barriers to learningonline. Nevertheless, for many students in less-developed countries, the prestigeand opportunities to learn from well-established Western institutions withoutthe cost of leaving home more than compensate for the extra difficulty.(For more on the cultural issues of international e-learning programs, seeBates and Escamilla de los Santos, 1997; Mason, 1998; and DistanceEducation, 2001, vol. 22, no. 1: the whole edition is devoted to this topic.)CONCLUSIONSUnderlying this debate is the critical issue of who benefits most from e-learning.As access to computers and the Internet is not equal, and because studentsdiffer in their learning needs, it is important not to treat e-learning as a panaceafor post-secondary education. It is a useful method that serves some groupsbetter than others. It is particularly appropriate for students who need to workand study at the same time. This might include students who have to workpart-time to cover living costs or tuition fees, and especially lifelong learnerswho have families and jobs, and have probably already been through aconventional state higher education institution once already. It is also appropriatefor students in rural areas or areas without good local post-secondaryeducation institutions. It is appropriate for employees who need to learncontinually in the workplace.Electronic learning is less appropriate for immature students, for studentsunable or unready to learn independently, and for students in need of close andpersonal interaction with other students (although an introduction to e-learningunder controlled conditions is probably beneficial even for this group of