Rumble's "Social Justice, Economics, and Distance Education"

Rumble's article explores ways that distance education can be used, as a cost-effective effort, in order to improve “bad lives”.  I totally agree with Rumble's opening assertion that “education…is a fundamental right” (p. 167).  Although I wholeheartedly agree with this statement, history has shown that higher education is seen as more of a business and a place for those in the elite class, as opposed to a “fundamental right” for all. Even today, when one encounters someone from a lower socioeconomic class who has graduated from an Ivy League school, it is viewed as a nearly impossible success story and a welcome surprise, not at all something that is seen as normal.

Rumble asserts that the state or government should “ensure that education is provided cheaply and flexibly to meet the lifelong needs of some 9.4 million people in 2050” (p. 168). This number is staggering and makes me wonder, how can the government ensure that access to education is available for this number of people? Also, is this something that the government wants to do? The state of primary education that serves students of lower socioeconomic status, at least in the United States, is pretty reprehensible in certain areas of the country. This primary education that the government is supposed to be providing is, in recent years, being overshadowed by a much higher quality of education that these students are receiving from charter schools that are not run by the government.

With this said, my belief in the government regarding its priorities when it comes to education, in general, is not high. Essentially, I am not sure if the government would want to ensure equal access to education for 9.4 million people.

Rumble states, “The implications of my position for distance educators are varied, but they include a re-emphasising of the humanitarian mission of distance education as a means of meeting lifelong educational needs of massive numbers of people” (p. 168). This ideology is amazing and is one of the reasons why I enjoy the field of distance education so much. Unfortunately, not everyone working in the distance education field has this humanitarian mission in mind when creating and teaching courses. Is this because some educators find themselves suddenly creating courses for students in various corners of the world and no longer engaging in traditional education with their local students, who they know and identify with? Or could this be because the same disparities that are seen in traditional education are spilling over to distance education, despite its humanitarian beginnings? Or is it the fear of the “unknown”?

Either way, I believe that in order for distance education to meet the needs of all students around the world, those working on and teaching courses for these students must understand the humanitarian purpose of distance education.

Reference:

Rumble, G. (2007). Social justice, economics and distance education. Open Learning: The Journal of Open and Distance Learning, 22(2), 167-176.