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    Distance Education in the Philippines: Problems and Prospects

    A Term Paper

    Presented toDr. Paolo Nio M. ValdezDepartment of English and Applied Linguistics

    De La Salle University

    In Partial Fulfillmentof the Requirements for

    ENGLRES2nd Trimester, SY (2009-2010)

    ByMendoza, Rainier D.December 17, 2009

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    Thesis Statement

    Distance education could probably be the best alternative to classroom learning

    in the Philippines since it can save a lot of time, resources, and can increase learning

    potential.

    Outline

    I. Introduction

    II. Background of Distance Education

    A. History

    B. How It Works

    C. Prospects

    III. Advantages of Distance Education

    A. Resources

    B. Flexibility

    C. Learning Potentials

    IV. Disadvantages of Distance Education

    A. Efficiency

    B. Indirectness

    C. Other Common Problems

    V. Possible Solutions to Problems of Distance Education

    VI. Conclusion

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    Introduction

    Everyone has the right to have good education. In fact, the interest of people in

    getting better and higher education has been increasing over time. This situation leads

    to increasing demands on the part of the educational institutions, especially those

    belonging to the so-called top schools. As a result, schools cannot anymore

    accommodate students in their classrooms. Distance education could probably be the

    best alternative to classroom learning in the Philippines since it entails minimum use of

    physical resources like classrooms and audio-visual equipment. At the same time, it

    can save a lot of time without sacrificing the learning potential of the students.

    In the Philippines, distance education is just beginning to take root. Nonetheless,

    the directions that it will likely take are pretty clear. Librero (2008) cited that the schools

    offering distance education are banking on the half a million students who have finished

    high school but either dropped out or failed to enroll in college each year. Thus, there is

    a big market for distance education at the tertiary level.

    On the other hand, the current state of distance education in the country has so

    much to be desired. Similarly, there is a reluctant acceptance both by the industry and

    some higher education administrators on the capacity of distance education to become

    a viable alternative system of delivering quality education services. The current mindset

    of people in favor of teacher-centered learning environment rather than learner-centered

    environment could also be a hindrance to the progress of distance education.

    This research is about the problems and prospects of distance education in the

    Philippines. The main concept involved here is distance education, which is defined by

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    the University of the Philippines Open University as a system of delivering educational

    services to the learner whose main feature is the separation of learner and teacher in

    space and time. The United States Distance Learning Association defines distance

    learning as the acquisition of knowledge and skills through mediated information and

    instruction (Holden and Westfall, 2005).

    The problem encountered in this research was that previous researches on

    distance education were done mostly by professionals engaged in teaching. For

    example, Dr. Felix Librero is a professor of development communication at UP Open

    University (Librero, 2008). This made a gap to the researcher who is just taking up a

    college degree. Moreover, most of the studies focus on how educational institutions

    started their course offering as well as the management of the day-to-day operations of

    the schools. Some of the researches are concentrated on specific programs or

    institutions. For instance, the journal Distance Education focuses more on the

    establishment of Distance Education Institution while the book Distance Education in

    the Philippines: Issues and Concerns discussed some of the issues in UP Open

    University.

    Thus, this study aims to identify the problems commonly encountered by schools

    offering distance education and at the same time determine its prospects. Specifically,

    the study identifies the issues and concerns that institutions offering distance education

    in the Philippines are facing. It also presents the strengths of distance education and

    the opportunities available to those interested in engaging in the said activity. Lastly,

    this paper would like to find some possible solutions to the problems that are

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    encountered by these institutions so that it would be a good alternative to classroom

    setting education.

    This research could add some additional information for future researches to be

    made by undergraduate students. This is most likely intended for high school or college

    students who want to study about distance education. Furthermore, the study could

    provide suggestions to the government so as to improve the conduct of distance

    learning in the country. The management of colleges and universities offering distance

    education can also gain insights on the results of the study.

    Background of Distance Education

    History

    Distance education may sound new to many people. In reality, it is an old

    concept. Holden and Westfall (2005) stated that distance education started as early as

    the late 1800s in the United States. It has developed quickly because of the emergence

    of technology such as the Internet. It evolved into different branches like e-learning,

    online learning, and web-based learning. The evolution was rooted in correspondence.

    Wallener (n.d.) stated that the typical correspondence course involves the

    exchange of teaching materials between a student and a teacher geographically remote

    from each other. It leads to the use of media, computer mediated instruction, and the

    use of Internet to make the process more conducive to learning. The other significant

    development is the use of the term advanced distributed learning which was coined in

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    the mid-1990s. It was also adopted by many organizations (Holden and Westfall,

    1995).

    Distance education started in higher education community. Clearly, there have

    been revisions in the name being used and the approach being adopted. For instance,

    the concept of distance teaching has been used for a while. This resulted in the use of

    the term distance learning (Holden and Westfall, 2005).

    There has been a widespread adoption of distance education in the Philippines

    since the advent of the 21st century. Indeed, the Philippines is one country that has kept

    pace with the development in distance education. The University of the Philippines

    Open University (UPOU) pioneered distance education for learners in and outside the

    country. Since 1995, UPOU has not only made its signature UP brand of education

    more accessible online but has also significantly become one of Asias leading

    institutions in this field of education. Currently in 43 countries all over the world, UPOU

    is also a National Center of Excellence for Open Learning and Distance Education as

    designated by the Commission on Higher Education, and a National e-Learning

    Competency Center as designated by Information Technology and e-Commerce

    Council (University of the Philippines Open University, n.d.).

    In addition to UPOU, the other institutions that offer distance education include

    the Asian Institute for Distance Education; CAP College Foundation; Central Luzon

    State University, Open University; Continental University; Mindanao State University

    Wisdom International; Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Open University; Philippine

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    Womens University; and Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Open University

    (Distance education in the Philippines, n.d.).

    How it works

    Distance education and distance learning could be interchangeably used

    although it can also be used differently. The United States Distance Learning

    Association defines distance learning as the acquisition of knowledge and skills

    through mediated information and instruction (Holden and Westfall, 2005). On the

    other hand, the term distance education is used in learning activities within a higher

    education or professional continuing education (Holden and Westfall, 2005).

    Distance education uses different ways of media to help students learn more.

    Maassel, Eder, and Selvey (n.d) stated that the key actors in distance education a

    teacher, one or more students, and a curriculum are similar to any type of education.

    Likewise, the teacher must still teach the student, assess, give guidance, and prepare

    test. However, an important attribute of distance education is the physical separation of

    the teacher from the institution sponsoring the instruction. In addition, materials

    provided to the learners are structured in a way that helps them learn at a distance.

    A form of distance learning called correspondence course has been used for

    decades. Pollick (n.d.) stated that a set of study materials, exercises, and tests should

    be given to students of this course. Then, the professor will grade these mailed tests

    periodically and would give a certificate of completion. There is a low possibility of

    interaction in this form of distance education.

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    From the works of many researchers and educators, it appears that distance

    education covers the concept of distance learning. In other words, distance education

    is a broader concept and distance learning is subsumed under this concept.

    Nonetheless, the two terms have been identical.

    Prospects

    Setting-up a distance education institution depends on different factors such as

    the objectives of the program, choice of instructional materials, administration, and type

    of students. The objectives of the program determine to a large extent the overall

    design of courses and learning activities. These decisions should be made at the start

    of the development of distance education. Another factor is the choice of resources or

    materials needed in a course. It is important because the better choice of materials

    appears to affect the development success (Bowser & Race, 1992). Distance education

    has already reached the point where it has a significant effect on the curriculum,

    interaction, and relationships to institutions. The administration of distance learning

    needs the establishment of academic and administrative community (Miller, 2009).

    Finally, the possibility of setting-up a distance education depends on the kinds of

    students it teaches.

    The prospects of distance education are great primarily because of its broad

    applicability to various types of students. According to the University of North Carolina

    and the PricewaterhouseCoopers, distance education serves life long learners,

    corporate learners, professional enhancement learners, degree completion adult

    learners, college experience learners (a.k.a. as the traditional students), pre-college

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    (K-12) learners, and remediation and test prep learners (Oblinger, 2000). This is

    confirmed by Oblinger (2000) who stated that it depends on the goals of a person to

    determine which type of learners they are.

    Distance education is also applicable to a wide range of disciplines and areas. It

    is appropriate for both natural and social sciences and can cover both qualitative and

    quantitative courses.

    Advantages of Distance Education

    Resources

    Integrated distance learning (n.d.) stated that distance education can save up

    resources due to portability. Students do not have to move to a place near the school to

    study there. It can also save money by lessening other expenditures such as the

    transportation and tuition fees because there will be less use of school facilities and

    materials.

    Flexibility

    Distance education could also be flexible. Because of this flexibility, it can help

    solve different problems. Oblinger (2000) stated that in can solve four specific problems

    such as access to education, meeting the capacity requirements of students in the next

    decade, significant revenue sources among educational institutions, and defiance to

    change among higher education institutions.

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    Oblinger (2000) cited that state residents and company workers have education

    and training needs but work and family responsibilities would not allow them to study.

    At the same time, the current academic program calendars have not matched the time

    availability among people. Thus, distance education enhances their access to different

    learning activities.

    The current facilities alone may not be adequate to meet the increasing capacity

    requirements of many students. Thus, distance education is believed to be an added

    leverage to provide the needed capacity in the next decade. At the same time, distance

    education has fueled an increased demand among people which could augment the

    revenue sources provided by the traditional markets for educational institutions.

    Furthermore, distance learning provides challenge to higher educational institutions to

    adapt rapidly to an increasingly competitive environment. In that sense, distance

    education can catalyze institutional transformation (Oblinger, 2000).

    Learning Potentials

    Students also have increased learning potentials since they are not required to

    be in the classroom. In fact, they could have increased learning potentials when they

    are outside. Integrated Distance Learning (n.d.) states that program participants, both

    students and instructors, are finding that learning which is not limited by a common

    denominator of other students provides potential benefits in material depth and/or

    extension of the time a student invests for additional study in areas of interest.

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    Disadvantages and Problems of Distance Education

    Efficiency

    Distance education may be inefficient due to problems encountered like the fast

    change in technology and pedagogy, organizational adaptability, and knowledge

    management (Oblinger, 2000). It could be inefficient because these problems

    encountered will slow the development of a certain course. Study materials will have to

    be updated immediately as compared to classroom learning where the professor could

    easily update the information by verbally changing it.

    Indirectness

    Distance education also becomes inefficient since the students cannot be directly

    seen by the teacher. With developing technologies used in distance learning, especially

    online learning environment, students could easily plagiarize. According to McCord

    (2009), the best way to combat plagiarism is to have academic honesty.

    Technology may even interfere with the learning, and sometimes, lack of

    participation can be annoying to the teachers. There can be more limited

    communication because there are less physical and classroom sessions (Salter, 2009).

    Other Common Problems

    Librero (2008) cited that the other problems commonly faced in distance

    education, specifically in the Philippines, are classified into five: financial, technological,

    structural, attitudinal, and content and navigational.

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    Financial problems refer to the cost of equipment, faculty training, student

    support services, computer software, and upgrading of old facilities to accommodate

    new technologies. Thus, schools with fund sources are gaining more access to the new

    learning technologies. Closely related to financial problems are technological barriers,

    which include the lack of technical infrastructure and expertise in the use of new

    information and communication technologies (Librero, 2008).

    The traditional organizational structure of higher educational institutions is

    considered as a structural barrier since this is not compatible with the communication

    requirements of distance learning. Reporting relationships and accountability

    requirements form part of the structural problems. The attitudinal problems deal with

    the old orientation of most teachers on the paradigm where teacher delivers the lectures

    to rows of students in a classroom. This indicates that they are not yet ready to

    relinquish this mode of control over student learning. Finally, the content and

    navigational problems pertain to the lack of instructional materials that the teachers or

    the students need. In some cases, the materials are available but they are not

    necessarily appropriate to meet the needs of teachers or the students (Librero, 2008).

    Possible Solutions to Problems of Distance Education

    Historically, detection of plagiarism was done by experts, but there are some

    sites and web search engines that make the identification of plagiarized information

    easier. A range of mathematical approaches to comparing textual content were the

    results of improvements in information technology. Still, institutions should be cautious

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    of depending on these tools as the only ways of detecting plagiarism because they are

    still not fully developed at this time (McCord, 2009).

    Although distance education has difficulty in coping with the changes in

    technology and pedagogy, it still has the potential of increasing the access to people

    seeking education (Oblinger, 2000). The classroom setting should not be replaced by

    distance education; rather, they should be a perfect substitute to each other.

    Organizations involved in distance education should invest in fast-changing

    technologies particularly in the area of information and communication. This is

    imperative specifically in the development and updating of instructional resources.

    Similarly, the use of information and communication technologies could enhance the

    marketability of program offerings and the extent of reach with regard to the target

    learners. Organizations should also advance the use of modern and effective

    pedagogical approaches that appropriately cater to the various types of learners and

    their respective learning needs. In the same vein, the andragogy for adult learners

    should also be enhanced whenever appropriate. Furthermore, educational and training

    institutions offering distance learning programs should establish knowledge

    management systems and should ensure that they are effectively functioning. All of

    these require sound management on the part of the organizations.

    In the Philippines, the number of students enrolling in distance education is still

    minimal. This is due primarily to marketing strategies that are not aggressive and have

    failed to enhance the interest of the public. While the institutions of higher learning in

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    the country offer quality programs, the thought that they are less effective remains as a

    belief among many people.

    The UPOU Chancellor, Dr. Grace Javier Alfonso (2009) reveals that in just 14

    years, UPOU now leads in the number of courses offered among the 71 member-Asian

    Association of Open Universities. However, this premiere institution in the country is

    still at the bottom in terms of the number of students. But in terms of the courses

    offered such as the masteral programs, the UPOU is taking the lead because most

    universities do not have similar programs yet. For this reason, UPOU is regarded as

    one of the Ivy League schools in distance education. Maintaining this status is a

    challenge to the management of the university (University of the Philippines Open

    University, n.d.).

    For the other institutions in the country, the challenge involves reducing the cost

    of operating the distance education programs since the number of students enrolled

    remains relatively lower each year. This boils down to the issue of appreciation and

    acceptance of degree earned through distance education. Nonetheless, these

    institutions believe that soon enough the people will learn to appreciate and value

    distance learning in much the same way as the traditional classroom instruction.

    Conclusion

    Distance education could be a good alternative to the traditional classroom

    instruction since its philosophy and features provide relatively comparable results. On a

    broader context, distance education could solve the problem of access to education,

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    constraints on classrooms, and conflict of classes with work schedules. Overall, it could

    serve as a catalyst for institutional transformation.

    On the other hand, it faces problems which could make it inefficient. The more

    pressing problems being faced by institutions engaged in distance education include the

    fast changes in technology and pedagogy which could slow the development for

    distance education courses and plagiarism among students since it cannot easily be

    detected because of the distance between the teachers and the students.

    The study also found out that many schools, especially in the Philippines, failed

    to adopt the internationally accepted norms and have low quality of instructional

    modules or materials. In addition, the support services to students are inappropriate.

    There is also a common observation that some schools have questionable system of

    student evaluation while others do not have adequate full-time faculty. Furthermore,

    many schools have problems on the skills and management development of staff

    involved in the operation of distance education.

    Despite these problems, the study confirms that distance education could lead to

    the liberation of the learner because it regards the facilitation of learning as more

    important than rigid or dogmatic instruction. Students enrolled in distance learning have

    tendencies to develop self-disciplines and cultivate learning from their own actions or

    initiatives.

    Therefore, there is a good future for distance education in the country. The

    availability of modern information and communication technologies could hasten its

    growth if only the school administrators are open and fast in adapting to their changes.

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    The positive attitude of the Filipinos with respect to the importance of higher education

    could also enhance its market potential. The managerial ability, ingenuity, and

    entrepreneurial spirit that are inherent to Filipino administrators are factors that could

    increase the prospect of distance education. Thus, schools should invest in marketing

    strategies in order to tap the potentials that could be derived from engaging in distance

    education.

    Finally, the study concludes that distance education offers people an alternative

    to the classroom setting, but it should not threaten the traditional classroom learning.

    Instead, it can work alongside and widen the number of people with access to

    education. In that way, it will help educate the whole country.

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    References

    Bowser, D., & Race, K. (1992). Orientation for Distance Education Students: What is

    its worth? Distance Education, 12, 109-122.

    Brigham, D. (1992). Factors Affecting the Development of Distance Education.Distance Education, 13, 169-192.

    Cropley, A., & Kahl, T. (1983). Distance Education and Distance Learning: Some

    Psychological Consideration. Distance Education, 4, 27-39.

    Distance education in the Philippines. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2009, from

    http://www.distanceeducationblog.com/distance-education-in-the-philippines/.

    Holden, J., & Westfall, P. (2005). An instructional media selection guide for distance

    learning. Retrieved October 19, 2009, from

    http://www.usdla.org/html/resources/2._USDLA_Instructional_Media_Selection_Guide.pdf.

    Integrated distance learning. (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2009, from

    http://ghprussia.ru/resources/analysis/mba-trends-4.html.

    Librero, F. (2009). Distance education in the Philippines: Issues and concerns. Quezon

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    Maassel, A., Eder, J., & Selvey , W. (n.d.). Using distance education to address the

    national shortage of Math, Science, and Technology teachers: recommendations

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    Oblinger, D. (2000, March). The nature and purpose of distance education. Retrieved

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    nature_and_purpose_of_distance_education/.

    Pollick, M. (n.d.). What is distance education? Retrieved November 24, 2009, from

    http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-distance-education.htm.

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    University of the Philippines Open University. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2009,

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    Wallener, D. (n.d.). What is a correspondence course?Retrieved November 24, 2009,

    from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-correspondence-course.htm.