This article concerns recent developments and current trends in lifelong education in Greece, specifically those related with funding from European Social Fund (ESF). The analysis undertaken focuses mainly on (a) the expansion of continuing training activities in Greece during the past ten years and the development of new training organizations as…

Higher education staff involved in e-learning often struggle with organising their student support activities. To a large extent this is due to the high workload involved with such activities. We distinguish support related to learning content, learning processes and student products. At two different educational institutions, surveys were…

The present study was undertaken to measure the attitude of the students towards teacher training programs through Distance Education offered by Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), Islamabad, Pakistan. To achieve the said end, the descriptive method of research was considered appropriate. The population of the study consisted of the B. Ed.…

Open, distance and elearning institutions of higher education often face ethical issues relating to their distinctive mission, especially where the core role is to open educational opportunities to under-represented groups while maintaining academic standards. Openness is surely a "good thing"; and yet there are often tensions relating…

Universities have come under serious attack because of their lackluster response to HIV/AIDS. This article examines the response of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and its strategic responses in combating HIV/AIDS epidemic. This is achieved by examining NOUN's basic structures that position the University to respond to the epidemic; and…

This book, written by authors representing 12 countries and five continents, is a collection of international perspectives on distance learning and distance learning implementations in higher education. The perspectives are presented in the form of practical case studies of distance learning implementations, research studies on teaching and…

This study investigated the factor structure of motivational constructs as expressed by older adult learners and examined how these constructs correlated with selected socio-demographic characteristics at the National Open University of Taiwan (NOUT). Results were based on the responses of 371 elders to the 32-item Reasons for Participation Scale…

This study sought to determine the effects of prior knowledge on the achievement of undergraduates in an economics course at the Open University of the Netherlands (OuN). A total of 49 law and 39 economics students were given 4 instruments to test prior knowledge of economics, presented with a learning unit from the course "Economics and…

Describes the concept of the Open University as this has been translated into actuality in Britain, discusses the science curriculum, identifies some weaknesses of the Open University, and points out parallel efforts in the United States. (PB)

This paper begins with a short description of the British Open University which covers the programs of study (undergraduate, continuing education, and higher degrees); mediums of teaching (correspondence texts, broadcast television, audiocassettes, radio, face-to-face or telephone tutorials, audioconferencing, summer schools, home experiment kits,…

This lecture discusses factors that would be involved if the British Open University's distance education program were to be extended to Western Europe through the use of satellite transmissions. The cost benefits of such a move are discussed, including the possibility of additional funding through the European Commission. Another factor…

This lecture considers the effectiveness of television as a medium for distance education in light of the experiences of the Open University in Great Britain. The main theses of the paper are that television is an important component of high quality open and distance education, but only when its unique teaching characteristics are exploited, and…

The variable cost per student-course is with one exception lower in the Open University than elsewhere. This constitutes a strong case for the use of existing Open University packages in campus universities in England. (Editor/PG)

This article discusses a recently developed educational alternative in the United States. This is the "university without walls," characterized by independent study combined with vocational training. (Text is in German.) (Author/AM)

This selected, annotated bibliography for the Audio-Visual Media Research Group of the Open University includes sections on (1) general bibliographies and literature reviews, (2) experimental studies, (3) BBC audience research reports, (4) miscellaneous items, (5) radio in less developed countries, and (6) Audio-Visual Media Research Group…