3. Division starting from the integration of both
Division that integrates theoretical systems and research issues is exemplified by Lee, Driscoll and Nelson (2004)[14], ZHANG Xiumei (2005)[15] and LI Shuang (2009)[16]. These studies have two things in common. First, they use previous scholars' divisions of distance education research domains as a starting point. Second, they formulate new research frameworks through logical and systematic classification of previous research achievements.
For example, Lee, Driscoll and Nelson, based on the different division systems of Sherry and other scholars, defined six distance education research domains based on the five areas of education technology design, development, application, management and assessment. The six domains are: (1) design-related topics such as needs assessment, curriculum planning and design; (2) development-related topics such as the development of system and tools; (3) management-related topics including learning resource management, staff support, student support and technology support; (4) assessment-related topics such as quality, evaluation, return on investment, cost analysis and benefits; (5) institution- and operations-related topics such as administrative management, academic affairs, accreditation, policy and budget; (6) theory- and research-related topics such as theoretical construction, literature review, introduction to research methods, cultural and gender issues, learning styles and the history of distance education.
LI Shuang (2009) performed extraction and statistical analysis of keywords in the research papers of 13 domestic and international scholars. In line with research on the divisions of education sub-disciplines by QU Baokun and TANG Ying (1993), LI divided the domain of distance education research into the three categories of practical exploration, theoretical research and cultivation of professionals. Specifically, there are a total of 8 sub-domains: distance teaching and learning, media and technology in distance education, instructional design and curriculum development in distance education, learner support in distance education, distance education systems and management, distance education assessment, theoretical research of distance education, and cultivation of professionals in distance education.
4. Summary
Let us contrast the three categories of divisions. In the first category, domain division from a multi-discipline perspective is susceptible to resulting in multiple sub-domains, which has two problems. First, it hinders specialised learning of the discipline, and second, the difference between knowledge of the discipline itself and knowledge related to the discipline may be obscured. Starting from the discipline itself makes it easier to grasp the nature of the discipline, and aligns more closely to industry practices. The second category focuses on research issues. Usually one specific issue is divided systematically; such divisions are worthy of reference but lack a uniform standard. In contrast, the third category builds upon the achievements of previous researchers. These divisions have deeper insight and have a better grasp of the development trends of the research domains. Moreover, the divisions are based on logic and are stronger structurally.
On the whole, all three categories of divisions involve research by professional staff, literature research, theoretical analysis and logical reasoning. However, they have not yet integrated the practices of typical distance education institutions and especially lack attention to teaching management. Also, though the third category summarises previous research achievements, the statistical process ends up discarding lower-frequency or immature sub-domains. The content framework of distance education research is formulated without division of levels, making it difficult to serve as a substantial outline or reference in the study of distance education.
Thus, the following sections present a systematic analysis of the existing divisions of distance education research based on the domains of distance education institution practices, and formulate a preliminary content framework for distance education research.
III. Analysis of the content framework for distance education research
1. Basis
Educational technology is used to solve practical problems in education and teaching[17]. Likewise, distance education research sets out to solve practical problems in distance education. In order to clearly define the domains of distance education research, we first need to clearly define the domains of distance education practices and their specific content. Hence, the delineation of the content framework of distance education research should be based on the practical domains of distance education. There are three advantages to this approach. First, it is strongly grounded in practice, grasps the source of theoretical research of distance education, and strengthens the connection between theoretical research and practical exploration. Second, it enables us to analyse and classify the existing sub-domains of distance education using a uniform standard and structure. Third, defining the specific content of the sub-domains and formulating a content framework for research domains is beneficial for pooling the wisdom and achievements of various distance education researchers.
China’s RTVU system is the world’s largest distance education system. It is also the distance education institution with the longest history and largest scale in China. Therefore, its domains of practice are representative of distance education institutions as a whole. The Ministry of Education’s summary report “China Central Radio and TV University’s (hereinafter, “CCRTVU”) Pilot Programme for Reform of Professional Cultivation Model and Open Education” summarises CCRTVU’s achievements from 1999 to 2006 in its practical exploration of open and distance education and the RTVU system’s distance education practices over nearly 10 years. In the report, the RTVU quality assurance system is divided into five aspects: system operation, teaching resources, learning process control, teaching management and learner support. These five aspects systematically cover CCRTVU’s practices in open and distance education, making up the main sub-domains of the practices of distance education institutions.
This thesis adjusts the five aforementioned sub-domains as follows:
1. “System operation” is enlarged to “system construction and operation”, for the prerequisite to system operation is the construction of the system.
2. “Teaching management” is enlarged to “teaching management and quality assurance”. In distance education practice, quality assurance is generally closely linked to teaching management.
3. “Learning process control” is enlarged to “distance teaching and learning”. “Learning process control” is appropriate from the perspective of institutions and teaching. However, the perspective of learners should be included.
4. “Media technologies” is added. Examining the worldwide practice of distance education, we see that technology has a revolutionary influence on distance education, and serves as an important basis for the stage division of distance education. Former vice-chancellor John Daniel of the Open University UK also emphasised the effective use of technology in distance education.
5. The sub-domain of “theoretical research” is added. As a domain of practice, theoretical research is an indispensible item.
Following is an arrangement of the existing domain divisions of distance education based on the above seven practical sub-domains.
2. Principles
This thesis analyses and summarises the research domain divisions of 15 scholars using the above 7 practical sub-domains as categories and the research domain divisions of the 15 scholars as units. During this process, two major principles were followed:
The first is the principle of preserving content. Existing domain divisions by renowned domestic and international experts are built on years of scientific research and practice. The names of these sub-domains are maintained or embodied as far as possible.
The second is the principle of category refinement. During the process of analysis and summary, existing categories were refined in accordance with the coverage of the theoretical sub-domains. The sub-domains with wide coverage are placed beside or combined with the corresponding practical sub-domains. For example, “distance teaching” is combined with “distance teaching and learning”. The sub-domains with narrower coverage are considered research themes of the corresponding practical sub-domains. For instance, “distance teaching” is a research theme of “distance teaching and learning”. Sub-domains with extremely specific coverage become a specific research item within a certain research theme, such as “teaching models” becoming a research item under the theme of “distance teaching”.
3. Result
A content analysis was performed on the descriptions of the domain divisions for distance education research proposed by 15 scholars. Then, a systematic summary of the results of the content analysis was performed based on the practical domains of distance education.