lifelong learning and distance higher education - Asia Pacific Region

or another; and the humanistic approach to education will continue to have an importantplace, since — to quote the slogan of UNESCO’s 1997 Fifth International Conference onAdult Education — learning should be considered a “joy” as well as a tool, a right and acollective responsibility.The predominant model used in a lifelong learning programme will have practicalimplications for the method of educational delivery. In the sphere of distance educationusing ICTs, for example, one of the choices is between asynchronous, individual learning,where the students access the course material when it is convenient for them, andsynchronous, group learning, where the students interact collectively with the instructorin real time — e.g. through online lectures and seminars. While the asynchronous,individual approach can often work well for the functionalist model, it may not be sosuitable for the critical literacy model or the reflective learning model, where there ismuch to said for the cut and thrust of direct interchange with a teacher in a group setting.While most major distance universities operate a mixture of the synchronous andasnychronous modalities, there is a tendency among the large providers to emphasiseindividual learning, since it enables vast numbers of students to be catered for at low cost.Arguing for this approach, Sir John Daniel has said: “The focus on the individual givesstudents flexibility over when and where they study. It may be the home, the workplace,the commuter train or the airport lounge. Because it is convenient and flexible youcan reach large numbers — so access improves. And because you reach large numbersyou get economies of scale, so study costs less for all concerned. You also get higheracademic quality, because the scale allows you to make a bigger academic investment”.(Daniel, 1998: 27)The choice of model can also have implications for funding, since some models (e.g. thefunctionalist) can more easily attract funding than others (such as the critical literacy orthe humanistic model).THE NEW GLOBAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT ANDITS CHALLENGESWhile different models may lead to different problems in application, there are certainoverarching challenges for planners and policy-makers — some of them perennial, otherscreated or magnified by globalisation and technological change. One of the main aims ofthe present volume is to assist in finding practical and constructive ways to meet thesechallenges while pursuing the search for quality.An important set of challenges exists in the area of regulatory mechanisms andrecognition of qualifications for certification. Globalisation of education has broughtabout an erosion of the traditional role of governments in this sphere. As Marijk van deWende has pointed out: “Not only ownership, but also such issues as quality, credibilityand responsibility are being blurred. Often national governments are not in a position tosteer initiatives, nor can they always monitor the quality of a particular programme orthe trustworthiness of certain non-accredited providers… Consequently they are unableto inform citizens on the quality of certain products… Both students and, in a laterstage, their employers may be uncertain about the value of degrees and certificates”.(Van der Wende: 13). The value of a degree or qualification may also be affected byrestrictive practices within the student’s home country. As Támás Lajos writes: “In somecases, we find that as student mobility increases, access to university degrees entitlingholders to work in their chosen field is protected by professional associations. One ofthe instruments used to restrict the job market is the introduction of bureaucratic and5