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The Industrialization Theory of Distance Education Revisited

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Open and Distance Education Theory Revisited

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Abstract

This chapter introduces and outlines Otto Peters’ Industrialization Theory of Distance Education against the background of the world education crisis after World War II, the educational systems in the 1960s and 70s, and the rise of open and distance learning. The theory is revisited in light of its reception and relevance in the era of online learning and digital transformation. Online learning shares many roots with distance education as a form of mediated education which is heavily influenced by technology to facilitate interaction between learners, teachers, and educational institutions. It is concluded that the theory can still serve as an important foundation to understand, review, and improve online distance education to meet the growing demand for flexible learning opportunities in knowledge-based societies and developing countries.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The original wording was as follows (Peters, 1967): “Das Fernstudium ist ein arbeitsteiliges und rationalisiertes Verfahren der Wissensvermittlung, das infolge konsequenter Anwendung von Organisationsprinzipien sowie weitgehender Nutzung technischer Mittel und der dadurch in beliebiger Zahl ermöglichten Reproduktion von objektiviertem Lehrverhalten zur gleichen Zeit einer großen Zahl von Studenten ohne Rücksicht auf deren Wohnort gestattet, am Universitäts- oder Hochschulstudium teilzunehmen” (p. 41).

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Acknowledgements

I was born in 1972, the year in which Otto Peters was awarded his doctorate for his thesis about the pedagogical structure of distance education as an industrialized form of teaching and learning. It was an honor and priviledge to be Otto Peters’ last doctoral student from 1999 to 2003, and I would like to gratefully acknowledge his academic support and guidance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Open Education Research (COER), University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany

    Olaf Zawacki-Richter

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  1. Olaf Zawacki-Richter
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Correspondence to Olaf Zawacki-Richter .

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  1. Department of Education, International Christian University, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan

    Insung Jung

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Zawacki-Richter, O. (2019). The Industrialization Theory of Distance Education Revisited. In: Jung, I. (eds) Open and Distance Education Theory Revisited. SpringerBriefs in Education(). Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7740-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7740-2_3

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