Open and Distance Learning in Developing Countries (Routledge Studies in Distance Education)

This revised and updated edition of Open and Distance Learning in the Developing World sets the expansion of distance education in the context of general educational change and explores its use for basic and non-formal education, schooling, teacher training and higher education.

Engaging with a range of topics, this comprehensive overview includes new material on:

• non-formal education: mass-communication approaches to education about HIV/AIDS and recent literacy work in India, South Africa, and Zambia
• schooling: new research projects in open schooling in Asia and subsaharan Africa, and interactive radio instruction in South Africa
• the impact of new technology and globalisation: learning delivered through the internet and mobile learning
• the political economy: international agencies, the role of private sector, and funding.

With its critical appraisal of the facts and examination of data about effectiveness, this book provides answers to problems and poses key questions for the consideration of policy makers, educational practitioners and all professionals involved in implementing and delivering sustainable open and distance learning.

[G]ive an excellent overview of the broad spectrum of new educational technology advocates, what they have done over the years, and what they are proposing for the future.
–Comparative Education Review

The major strength of this book -- an absolute 'must read' not only for those involved or contemplating involvement in open and distance learning but for anyone interested in general educational change -- is the author's commitment to evaluate in depth all of the evidence, both negative and positive, the disadvantages as well as the advantages, and the promise versus actual achievement of this exploding field.
–P.S. Cookson, Athabasca University in Choice, Oct. 2000

The major strength of this book--an absolutemust read not only for those involved or contemplating involvement in open and distance learning but commitment to evaluate in depth all of the evidence, both negative and positive, the disadvantages, and the promise versus actual achievement of this exploding field. Upper-division undergraduates and above..
–Athabasca University