Cultural & Political
Issues in E-Education
Mary Ellen Price
University of Phoenix
E-Education in the Global Environment
EDTC 575
Dr. Julie Frese
Political Issues
Access to Education
Access to Education

For the individual…
– In the U.S., American values such as
independence, meritocracy, and efficiency
often create situations of “haves” and “have
nots” with respect to education. Only those
who can afford the required hardware,
software, and internet access (not to mention
tuition) can afford to attend distance classes
(Carr-Chellman, 2000).
– The financial burden is similar throughout the
world, meaning many people cannot afford
education.
Access to Education

For the individual…
– Proposed solution: The International Council
for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) works
to provide access throughout the world. It
encourages organizations to make educational
content available for free (Stover, 2005).
– A nonprofit organization in the U.S. has
created a $100 laptop computer and is selling
it to governments in the developing world for
distribution to children in rural areas (Smith,
2005).
Access to Education

For the company…
– Companies must decide if providing hardware,
software, internet access, troubleshooting and
maintenance services is worth the cost to train
their employees.
– If companies opt to require workers to take
training after work hours or outside of the
office, they may face claims of discriminatory
access to training (Pritchard–Becker, 2001).
– Proposed solution: Companies must consider
all costs and attempt to provide equal access
for all employees whether they choose to
provide distance or face-to-face education.
Copyright Law




Access to education is sometimes restricted by
copyright laws.
Proposed solution: The ICDE wants to reverse the
basis of copyright law using a system called
“open licensing”. This would assume that
materials are available for use unless rights are
specifically withheld by the copyright owner
(Stover, 2005).
Some institutions are making their materials
available for free, but many copyright owners are
unlikely to accept this system.
In the meantime, an easier method of requesting
copyright permission for multimedia materials is
needed. This could be similar to the Copyright
Clearance Center for print materials (University of
Phoenix, 2003).
Cultural Issues
Student Expectations
Power Distance and Reliability
Cultures with a high power distance are
likely to accept less instructor reliability
because the students perceive the
instructors as having power and privilege
(Swanson, Frankel, & Sagan, 2005).
Conversely, students from cultures with a
low power distance expect instructors to
treat them as equals.
 Proposed solution: Even if some students
will tolerate instructor failure, treat all
students with respect, as if they will not
accept failure.

Responsiveness
Students have varied expectations about
the level of instructor responsiveness to
requests & whether exceptions to rules
will be made (Swanson, Frankel, & Sagan,
2005).
 Proposed solution: The instructor should
provide clear guidelines and stick to them.
The instructor should also be available to
students as much as possible and try to
provide quick feedback (Swanson, Frankel,
& Sagan, 2005).

Uncertainty Avoidance
Students from cultures with high
uncertainty avoidance may be
uncomfortable with a spontaneous
instructor who makes changes to plans
during the course.
 Proposed solution: Instructors should
provide clear guidelines at the beginning
of the class and stick to the plan
(Swanson, Frankel, & Sagan, 2005). A
clear and detailed syllabus will also put
these students at ease (Melland & Volden,
2001).

Individual vs. Community
Some cultures have more of an individual
emphasis while others promote more of a
community focus. Students focused on
the good of the community may not want
to slow down the whole class by asking
questions in a synchronous environment
(Newman & Scurry, 2001).
 Proposed solution: Offer plenty of
opportunities for asynchronous
communication, including discussion
boards and e-mails.

Educational Values


Students from different cultures may have
different educational values than the instructor.
For example, some cultures prefer discoverybased learning while others prefer a lecture
format (Johari, 2005). Learning theories, such as
behaviorism and constructivism, Fordism and
post-Fordism, are also valued differently by
students.
Proposed solution: The instructor should include
his or her values and teaching principles in the
course description and related advertisements.
Additionally, students should be reminded and
encouraged to be open to learning in new ways
(Johari, 2005).
Communication Styles



Students may have high or low context
communication styles. Those with high context
styles may struggle in a text-based learning
environment (Johair, 2005).
Proposed solutions: Use simple, clear English
with no slang. Explain as much context as
possible, not making any assumptions about
what is already understood. Provide information
about discussion topics prior to synchronous
communication sessions so that non-native
speakers can prepare in advance (Johari, 2005).
Instructors should initiate individual
conversations with the students and use a variety
of communication methods, including e-mail,
threaded discussions, and telephone calls
(Klesius, Homan, & Thompson, 1997).
Need for Community
Some students have a strong need for
social presence and a feeling of
community while they learn.
 Proposed solution: Make use of chat
rooms or other synchronous
communication methods (Wang & Newlin,
2001).
 Caveat: Instructors must be careful with
using chat rooms, since non-native
speakers may have difficulty keeping pace
with the discussion.

The Student Survey
To address the various student
expectations, use a survey to gather
cultural information about the students
before the class begins (Swanson, Frankel,
& Sagan, 2005).
 The survey can also address motivating
factors for the students (Melland & Volden,
2001) so that the instructor can provide
effective incentives throughout the class.

The Syllabus



Instructors should NOT be expected to conform
to the predominant student culture (Swanson,
Frankel, & Sagan, 2005).
Instructors SHOULD be clear about class policies
so that students can adjust their expectations
(Swanson, Frankel, & Sagan, 2005).
The “Learning-Centered Syllabus (Melland &
Volden, 2001, p. 24)” explains:
– Course goals
– Instructor expectations of students
– How & when students can communicate with the
instructor
– Class procedures & exceptions
– Grading
Summary


Individual instructors’ power to improve
accessibility is currently limited to allowing free
use of materials they have copyrighted or getting
involved with organizations that are trying to
improve access to education. Most political
issues are largely beyond the control of the
individual instructor.
Instructors do have a significant amount of power
to address the cultural implications of eeducation, though, by learning about their
students and by setting and sticking to clear
expectations throughout the class. Instructors
have a responsibility to plan for cultural
differences within their classes.
References
Carr-Chellman, A. A. (2000, Sep). The new frontier: Web-based education in
US culture [Electronic version]. Information, Communication, & Society,
3(3), 326.
Fulbright, H.M. (1999, Jul). Culture and politics [Electronic version]. Higher
Education in Europe, 24(2), 225.
Johari, A. (2005). Intercultural internet-based learning: Know your audience
and what it values [Electronic version]. Educational Technology Research
& Development, 53(2), 117-127.
Klesius, J.P., Homan, S., & Thompson, T. (1997). Distance education
compared to traditional instruction: The students’ view [Electronic version].
International Journal of Instructional Media, 24(3), 207.
References
Melland, H.I., & Volden, C.M. (2001, Apr – Jun). A nurturing learning
environment – on- or off-line [Electronic version]. Nursing Forum, 36(2),
23.
Newman, F. & Scurry, J. (2001, July 13). Online technology pushes pedagogy
to the forefront [Electronic version]. The Chronicle of Higher Education,
47(44), 7.
Pritchard-Becker, G. (2001, May). Learning from a distance [Electronic
version]. Community Banker, 10(5), 32.
Smith, S. (2005, Dec 1). The $100 laptop – is it a windup? Retrieved February
12, 2005, from http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/12/01/laptop/
Stover, C. (2005, June 15). World conference calls for ‘Open educational
resources’ [Electronic version]. Distance Education Report, 9(12), 2-8.
References
Swanson, S., Frankel, R., & Sagan, M. (2005, Fall). Classroom encounters:
Exploring the impact of cultural differences [Electronic version]. Journal of
Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 27(2), 37-48.
Wang, A.Y., & Newlin, M.H. (2001, Aug). Online lectures: Benefits for the
virtual classroom [Electronic version]. T.H.E. Journal, 29(1), 17.
University of Phoenix (Ed.). (2003). e-Education in the global environment.
Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing.