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The Futures of Education in the Global Context: Sustainable Distance Education

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Education and Approaches".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 88569

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
1. International Council for Open and Distance Education, 222 35 Lund, Sweden
2. Ossiannilsson Quality in Open Online Learning (QOOL) Consultancy, 222 35 Lund, Sweden
Interests: artificial intelligence; equity; futures of education; inclusion; human rights; learning; lifelong learning; leadership; innovation; online learning; open access; open education; open educational resources; OER; personal learning; quality education; seamless learning; sustainable development goals; SDG4
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Distance Education, Anadolu University, Eskisehir 26470, Türkiye
Interests: sustainable learning ecosystems; online learning; distance education; open and distance learning; open education; educational technology; artificial intelligence
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Sustainability focuses on a topic that is demanding increasing attention because of the many lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the significance of emergent distance education and sustainable distance and online education. The articles in this Special Issue will target the many futures of education in which “learning to become” is the main goal. As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to escalate, educators around the world were encouraged to move to online and distance learning. However, these practices could be regarded as emergency distance education, which differs from planned practices, such as distance learning, online learning, and their derivations. In terms of educational processes, the interruption, or rather the disruption, of education has underlined the importance of openness in education and has highlighted many issues that must be taken into account, such as alternative assessment approaches, safety, ethics, privacy, monitoring, and evaluation methods. An appropriate response requires the promotion of learning and reflection on the need to invest in innovative and creative solutions that will enable high-quality, efficient, and personal sustainable distance education to ensure that no one is left behind both now and in the future.

UNESCO’s Sustainability Goals (SDGs) for 2030 have been adopted as a special SDG for Education (SDG4), as growth and sustainability are crucial for education in the future. The cornerstones of SDG4, which are aimed to achieve quality education for all, are access, equity, gender equality, inclusion, democracy, and lifelong learning. The only way to reach these goals is through opening up education, which was emphasized in the Cape Town Declaration 10+ through the following means: open access (OA), open educational resources (OER), open pedagogy, empowering learners, and open communication. UNESCO now has a new global initiative for 2050: Futures of Education: Learning to Become. Going beyond the SDG, this initiative is aimed at reimagining how knowledge and learning can shape the future of humanity and the planet.

Connected to this initiative is the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), which has changed the way we live our lives, work, perform, communicate, relate, conduct business, and learn. However, educational systems and organizations are among the last institutions to change or adapt. Instead, they could be at the forefront of the 4IR by being proactive and taking the lead in both practice and research in this field. However, although the 4IR involves a technical and digital revolution or transformation, to a much greater extent it concerns changing mindsets about people, ethics, values, norms, and attitudes.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to escalate, educators around the world were encouraged to move to online and distance learning. Most governments around the world temporarily closed their educational institutions in the effort to contain the pandemic. According to UNESCO, more than 1.6 billion students and young people around the world have been affected, which is 91% of the total number of enrolled learners (April 20, 2020). This pandemic has accelerated the demand for the transition from traditional education to its online equivalent, while maintaining the fair continuity of learning, which is a human right.

The question around the globe has been how to ensure that learners continue to learn at all levels, wherever they are. Most countries have offered online distance education as an alternative. Attempts have been made to create solutions to ensure the provision of active online learning, online student interaction, and e-assessment and e-evaluation. These practices could be regarded as emergency distance education, which differs from planned practices, such as distance learning, online learning, and their derivations. These emergency practices have led to a better understanding of the opportunities offered by online learning among university managers, teachers, and learners. However, these measures have also highlighted the gaps and systemic limitations in existing educational systems that are highly dependent on the simultaneous presence of students and teachers in the same place. Educational systems founded in previous centuries have been based on the traditional paradigms of learning and developing competences for active citizens. A recent research article in Asian Journal of Distance Education described what was happening in many countries around the globe; A global outlook to the interruption of education due to COVID-19 pandemic: Navigation in a time of uncertainty and crises.

Although there has been tremendous growth worldwide in the supply of education at all levels during the last 50 years, including distance education, the COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest challenge yet faced by expanded national education systems. The World Economic Forum (WEF) (April 13, 2020) noted that the education system is now in crisis and that our current education system is becoming irrelevant. The pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, as it has forced archaic systems and processes to be overhauled. Educational institutions in all countries have become aware that this unprecedented situation will lead to a paradigm shift in near future. This shift will lead to sustainable change. However, no shortcuts are allowed in digital transitions and distance education. Nonetheless, the good news is that most educational institutions are in the process of moving forward toward a sustainable educational ecosystem that are relevant to people, products, and processes as well as leadership, management, and infrastructure. The lesson learned during the COVID-19 pandemic is that education is much more than content, exams, and delivery modes. It concerns not only social and emotional relationships, empathy, feelings, ethics, and the joy of learning but also social justice, access equality, inclusion, quality, and lifelong learning, as emphasized by SDG4. It has become explicit that social injustice, inequality, inequity, and the digital divide have worsened during the pandemic, requiring unique and targeted measures if they are to be addressed. In addition, in learning to become, learning must be personalized according to wherever and whoever learners are.

In terms of educational processes, the interruption, or rather the disruption, of education has underlined the importance of openness in education and has highlighted many issues that must be taken into account, such as alternative assessment, safety, ethics, privacy, monitoring, and evaluation methods. An appropriate response requires the promotion of learning and reflection on the need to invest in innovative and creative solutions that will enable high-quality, efficient, and personal sustainable distance education to ensure that no one is left behind both now and in the future.

Prof. Dr. Ebba Ossiannilsson
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aras Bozkurt
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • futures of education
  • open online learning ecosystems
  • innovation in educational technology
  • sustainable development
  • globalization in online hybrid education


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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 3369 KiB  
Article
Promoting Self-Regulated Learning for Students in Underdeveloped Areas: The Case of Indonesia Nationwide Online-Learning Program
by Permata Nur Miftahur Rizki, Indria Handoko, Purba Purnama and Didi Rustam
Sustainability 2022, 14(7), 4075; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14074075 - 30 Mar 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3243
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused educators around the world to access online-learning systems. Applying the online system involves challenges, such as the students’ need to cope with changes in their learning process, where they must develop capabilities to manage their learning more independently. [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused educators around the world to access online-learning systems. Applying the online system involves challenges, such as the students’ need to cope with changes in their learning process, where they must develop capabilities to manage their learning more independently. Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) is an approach considered to help us understand students’ ability to manage their learning strategies and achieve improved performance. This paper aims to investigate the SRL of Indonesian students in underdeveloped areas when using a learning management system (LMS), namely SPADA, initiated by the Indonesian government. This study employed the clickstream data (CSD) of SPADA to examine students’ SRL within the first nine months of its implementation. We also analyzed the correlation of certain activities in SPADA with the students’ SRL results. The findings suggest some positive indications of SPADA implementation, particularly in promoting the students’ SRL, either students in general or in the underdeveloped areas. Some improvements indeed still need to be made on the system, including in improving the platform architecture to gain a better measurement method on students’ SRL. Full article
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23 pages, 1841 KiB  
Article
Responding to the Initial Challenge of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of International Responses and Impact in School and Higher Education
by Christian M. Stracke, Daniel Burgos, Gema Santos-Hermosa, Aras Bozkurt, Ramesh Chander Sharma, Cécile Swiatek Cassafieres, Andreia Inamorato dos Santos, Jon Mason, Ebba Ossiannilsson, Jin Gon Shon, Marian Wan, Jane-Frances Obiageli Agbu, Robert Farrow, Özlem Karakaya, Chrissi Nerantzi, María Soledad Ramírez-Montoya, Grainne Conole, Glenda Cox and Vi Truong
Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1876; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031876 - 7 Feb 2022
Cited by 49 | Viewed by 8591
Abstract
This paper presents and analyses solutions where open education and open science were utilised to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education. The COVID-19 outbreak and associated lockdowns created huge challenges in school and higher education, demanding sudden responses which aimed [...] Read more.
This paper presents and analyses solutions where open education and open science were utilised to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education. The COVID-19 outbreak and associated lockdowns created huge challenges in school and higher education, demanding sudden responses which aimed to sustain pedagogical quality. Responses have varied from conservative to radically innovative. Universally, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted and shocked societies worldwide, and education systems were on the front line. The lockdowns largely stopped face-to-face and formal education in almost all countries, and in most cases, distance learning soon became the ‘new normal’. A central challenge concerned sustaining educational visions and ideals in such circumstances. To better understand the state of the art in the educational landscape, we collected case studies from 13 countries during the first year of the pandemic starting on 11 March 2020 (when the World Health Organization declared a pandemic). This paper presents summaries of the full country reports that were collected and describe lessons learned. Our overall aim was to identify good practices and recommendations from the collected case studies that can be taken forward in the future. We categorised the responses on the three generic educational levels (macro, meso and micro) and identified seven key aspects and trends that are valid for all or most countries: (1) formal education at a distance for first time; (2) similar approaches for formal education; (3) missing infrastructure and sharing open educational resources; (4) diverse teaching and learning methods and practices; (5) open education and access to open educational resources; (6) urgent need for professional development and training for teachers and (7) assessing and monitoring learning environments, teachers and students. Finally, we identified key recommendations on how open education and open science can benefit formal education in schools and universities in the future, namely, improved awareness of open educational practices, provision of ICT infrastructure, embracing and sustaining the practice of open access publications and OERs, capacity building for stakeholders and finally encouraging research and development in the area of open education and open science. We found significant evidence for the proposition that open education and open science can support both traditional face-to-face and distance learning. Full article
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16 pages, 757 KiB  
Article
Determining Factors Affecting Acceptance of E-Learning Platforms during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Integrating Extended Technology Acceptance Model and DeLone & McLean IS Success Model
by Yogi Tri Prasetyo, Ardvin Kester S. Ong, Giero Krissianne Frances Concepcion, Francheska Mikaela B. Navata, Raphael Andrei V. Robles, Isaiash Jeremy T. Tomagos, Michael Nayat Young, John Francis T. Diaz, Reny Nadlifatin and Anak Agung Ngurah Perwira Redi
Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8365; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158365 - 27 Jul 2021
Cited by 97 | Viewed by 12705
Abstract
Online meeting platforms have been widely utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the current shift from traditional learning. However, the acceptance of the different online meeting platforms for e-learning has been underexplored. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors [...] Read more.
Online meeting platforms have been widely utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the current shift from traditional learning. However, the acceptance of the different online meeting platforms for e-learning has been underexplored. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors for acceptance of an online learning platform among students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 500 senior high school students voluntarily participated to answer constructs under the Extended Technology Acceptance Model (ETAM) and Delone and McLean IS Success Model. Several latent including user interface (UI), perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived usefulness (PU), information quality (IQ), system quality (SQ), behavioral intentions (BI), and actual use were analyzed by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results indicated that PEU was found to have the greatest on actual use (AU), followed by UI and SQ towards PEU, which subsequently led to BI and AU. Finally, IQ was found to have a significant effect on PU, which led to BI and AU. The level of student acceptability considers the ease of use, user interface, system quality, information quality, leading to a positive behavioral intention for actual use. With that, it would be of best interest to consider the factors that would lead students towards accepting the platforms utilized and therefore the current education system. Moreover, this will lead to their acceptance and promote learning even with the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the model construct can be applied and utilized to analyze the online learning platforms in other countries. Full article
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17 pages, 8447 KiB  
Article
Trends for the Future of Education Programs for Professional Development
by María Soledad Ramírez-Montoya, Lucy Andrade-Vargas, Diana Rivera-Rogel and May Portuguez-Castro
Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7244; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137244 - 29 Jun 2021
Cited by 38 | Viewed by 10336
Abstract
Scientific and technological developments bring new requirements for university education and, particularly, the training of education professionals. There is a regular need to update curricula to integrate market trends and educational approaches. It is necessary to know future trends in education and teaching [...] Read more.
Scientific and technological developments bring new requirements for university education and, particularly, the training of education professionals. There is a regular need to update curricula to integrate market trends and educational approaches. It is necessary to know future trends in education and teaching programs. Our research in a higher education institution in Ecuador focused on providing perspectives on the future of educational programs by analyzing trends in educational programs’ designs, students and professors’ needs for innovative education. We used the descriptive/exploratory case study method, employing quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews, focus groups and benchmarking as instruments. The surveys were applied to 337 current students, 384 potential students and 313 graduates of Educational Sciences. We conducted interviews with 20 experts from Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Ecuador. We held focus groups with 32 education professionals, including rectors, principals, educational specialists and primary, secondary and university teachers. Benchmarking was used in our analysis of ten universities. The results focused on five elements that were units of analysis (1) characteristics of education programs, (2) student requirements, (3) required educational modalities, (4) trends in education and (5) future of education programs. The data and results may be of interest to decision-makers, academicians, researchers, students and citizens interested in professional education and other disciplinary areas. Full article
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18 pages, 1019 KiB  
Article
No Anxious Student Is Left Behind: Statistics Anxiety, Personality Traits, and Academic Dishonesty—Lessons from COVID-19
by Pnina Steinberger, Yovav Eshet and Keren Grinautsky
Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 4762; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13094762 - 23 Apr 2021
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 7022
Abstract
Scholarly studies have revealed that exposure to statistics courses affect students’ anxiety levels and that this has been associated with unethical misconduct. Thus, the present research’s main objective is to comprehend the mediating role Statistics Anxiety plays on the relationship comprising students’ personality [...] Read more.
Scholarly studies have revealed that exposure to statistics courses affect students’ anxiety levels and that this has been associated with unethical misconduct. Thus, the present research’s main objective is to comprehend the mediating role Statistics Anxiety plays on the relationship comprising students’ personality traits and academic dishonesty as manifesting before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its aim is to understand this phenomenon and provide theoretical tools for fostering sustainably personalized distance learning and instruction. Data were collected from students studying for a bachelor’s degree in the social sciences at three different Israeli colleges. The sample comprises 316 participants and data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results show a significant mediation manifested by an indirect effect between personality traits and academic dishonesty via statistics anxiety only in emergency remote teaching, although no parallel significant mediation was observed in the face-to-face course. These results could be explained by differences in delivery methods. Thus, we recommend that in the emergency remote teaching environment instructors’ presence include: (1) supportive, emphatic interaction to reduce virtual distance and (2) Social Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies, which foster students’ learning challenges and prevent anxiety and academic dishonesty. Full article
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13 pages, 3849 KiB  
Article
Analysing Students’ Reasons for Keeping Their Webcams on or off during Online Classes
by Vasile Gherheș, Simona Șimon and Iulia Para
Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3203; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063203 - 15 Mar 2021
Cited by 58 | Viewed by 9427
Abstract
Since, in some higher education institutions, it is not mandatory for students to turn their webcams on during online classes, teachers have complained that their students have adopted this behaviour once the educational activities moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering this, [...] Read more.
Since, in some higher education institutions, it is not mandatory for students to turn their webcams on during online classes, teachers have complained that their students have adopted this behaviour once the educational activities moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering this, the present research aimed to identify the reasons behind students’ choice to hide their faces during online classes and find possible solutions to remedy the situation to enhance the educational process’s sustainability. Thus, this article presents the results obtained by applying an online questionnaire between December 2020 and January 2021 among the students pursuing an academic degree, recording 407 responses. The results highlighted the fact that more than half of the students participating in the study reported that they do not agree to keep their webcams on during online classes, the main reasons being anxiety/fear of being exposed/shame/shyness, desire to ensure privacy of the home/personal space, and chances that other people might walk into the background. The relevance of the research, besides the scarcity of studies on the topic, is also given by the fact that finding and understanding the reasons for this behaviour are, in fact, the first steps in undertaking regulatory interventions on it. Full article
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15 pages, 280 KiB  
Article
Home-Based Learning (HBL) Teacher Readiness Scale: Instrument Development and Demographic Analysis
by Azlin Norhaini Mansor, Nur Hidayah Zabarani, Khairul Azhar Jamaludin, Mohamed Yusoff Mohd Nor, Bity Salwana Alias and Ahmad Zamri Mansor
Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 2228; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042228 - 19 Feb 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 7053
Abstract
The unprecedented disruption in education due to the COVID-19 pandemic has forced teachers worldwide to adapt to online teaching and the immediate implementation of home-based learning (HBL). However, little is known regarding teacher readiness for HBL. Thus, there is a pressing need to [...] Read more.
The unprecedented disruption in education due to the COVID-19 pandemic has forced teachers worldwide to adapt to online teaching and the immediate implementation of home-based learning (HBL). However, little is known regarding teacher readiness for HBL. Thus, there is a pressing need to develop an instrument to measure teachers’ readiness for online teaching, which can provide feedback to guide policymakers and school leaders in planning strategic interventions and support for implementing HBL. This study aimed to refine and validate the HBL Teacher Readiness Scale and to ascertain the view of secondary school teachers on aspects of their readiness to implement HBL. A total of 931 from a population of 3826 secondary school teachers were selected using random sampling, from the state of Selangor, Malaysia. The validity and reliability of the HBL Teacher Readiness instrument were tested using exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis. As a result of the analysis, the scale remained at 26 items across four factors, namely efficacy in technology, attitude, perceived behaviour control, and subjective norms. The Cronbach Alpha coefficient for the entire scale was 0.94. Demographic analysis revealed that, overall, the in-service teachers’ level of readiness was at a high level across all dimensions, although the highest was in attitude and the lowest was in subjective norms. Based on this initial sample, the HBL Teacher Readiness Scale was shown to be a suitable instrument to measure teacher readiness for change in the context of the implementation of HBL, although further testing should be conducted on more diverse groups. Full article
18 pages, 583 KiB  
Article
An Empirical Study on Online Learners’ Continuance Intentions in China
by Yiwen Li, Norihiro Nishimura, Hisanori Yagami and Hye-Sook Park
Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 889; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020889 - 17 Jan 2021
Cited by 38 | Viewed by 5566
Abstract
Online education in China is developing at a rapid pace due to its unique advantages, and its sustainable development is becoming increasingly crucial. Thus, this study attempted to understand learners’ continuance intentions in an online learning environment and examined the factors influencing online [...] Read more.
Online education in China is developing at a rapid pace due to its unique advantages, and its sustainable development is becoming increasingly crucial. Thus, this study attempted to understand learners’ continuance intentions in an online learning environment and examined the factors influencing online learners’ continuous retention. The research model for the influencing factors and study hypotheses were constructed based on multiple theoretical and synthesized perspectives, such as the information system success model; interactions between students, content, and instructors; and the theory of perceived value. To achieve the stated objectives, we conducted a questionnaire survey, in which 382 valid responses were collected from Chinese respondents from 32 provinces in China in April and May 2020. Furthermore, this study primarily employed Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the constructed model. The results indicate that service quality, course quality, and student–instructor interaction have indirect and positive effects on learners’ continuance intentions for online learning, while the variable of perceived value is a significant mediator for online learners’ retention and has a direct influence on their continuance intentions. Student–student interaction and student–content interaction do not have direct or indirect effects on online learners’ continuance intentions. Full article
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16 pages, 29002 KiB  
Article
Artificial Intelligence and Reflections from Educational Landscape: A Review of AI Studies in Half a Century
by Aras Bozkurt, Abdulkadir Karadeniz, David Baneres, Ana Elena Guerrero-Roldán and M. Elena Rodríguez
Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 800; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020800 - 15 Jan 2021
Cited by 106 | Viewed by 21313
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) has penetrated every layer of our lives, and education is not immune to the effects of AI. In this regard, this study examines AI studies in education in half a century (1970–2020) through a systematic review approach and benefits from [...] Read more.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has penetrated every layer of our lives, and education is not immune to the effects of AI. In this regard, this study examines AI studies in education in half a century (1970–2020) through a systematic review approach and benefits from social network analysis and text-mining approaches. Accordingly, the research identifies three research clusters (1) artificial intelligence, (2) pedagogical, and (3) technological issues, and suggests five broad research themes which are (1) adaptive learning and personalization of education through AI-based practices, (2) deep learning and machine Learning algorithms for online learning processes, (3) Educational human-AI interaction, (4) educational use of AI-generated data, and (5) AI in higher education. The study also highlights that ethics in AI studies is an ignored research area. Full article
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