Pre-tertiary distributed education in Canadian urban centers.

Abstract

For the most part, the focus of distributed learning has steered away from pre-tertiary education; however, there is a growing demand today to consider alternative methods of delivering instruction at this level of education. While this is not a new concept, and distance education has been used in the past to service high school students residing in remote areas, falling enrollments, financial cut-backs and escalating drop out rates now make it conceivable to provide correspondence courses to schools located in major urban centers. These "schools within schools" can function only if effective organizational structures are applied at the host institution. Furthermore, support systems must be employed in order to ensure that adolescents learning at a distance are successful. These strategies may need to sacrifice some of the student's autonomy and as such, fall beyond traditional notions of distributed learning designed for adults.

On the whole, distance education has tended to focus on the mature learner. Yet, there is a growing demand today to examine unique delivery systems for the many high school students who can no longer be serviced by conventional instruction. The latter includes but is not limited to students who reside in areas that are geographically isolated from metropolitan centers. In fact, escalating drop out rates, continuing budgetary constraints and falling enrollments in some regions have made it not only feasible but imperative that urban schools now consider alternative methods of distributing education.

Current Canadian statistics are staggering. For example, some Canadian school systems report that 3 out of 10 students do not complete high school (Employment and Immigration Canada, 2001). Seeing that employment opportunities for unskilled workers continue to disappear in the North American context, these figures are extremely alarming. In a highly competitive global market, it will be difficult to maintain an economic foothold with a weakened manpower base. As newer jobs demand specialized skills and training, dropouts will not be marketable and will eventually be forced to rely on social services in order to survive. The increased stress on these programs will be costly for everyone, and will burden and perhaps even collapse already fragile systems.

Isolating a single factor for the drop out problem is a complicated task. Social, financial and personal components must be examined. However, what is certain is that many of these students terminate their studies prematurely because they can no longer cope with traditional, classroom instruction (Beatty, A., Neisser, U., Trent, W.T., & Heubert, J.P., 2001). Continuing cutbacks in educational budgets have also drained many of the resources previously available to metropolitan school districts. As such, many of these institutions have been hard pressed to provide services to those high school students who (because of particular circumstances i.e., illness, involvement in external, athletic programs or other concentrations, pregnant teenagers, young offenders etc.) require a flexible schedule in order to complete their secondary education requirements(Robertson, H.J., 1998).

Fluctuating enrollments in some regions have created a two-tier system of education in many urban centers (Manchee, D., 2001). Schools with large and well-to-do populations have been able to offer a progressive syllabus inclusive of a number of specialty courses (i.e., drama, music, advanced science and mathematic courses etc.), while other schools have had to cancel many of these courses because of low student enrollment. Unfortunately, many of these specialized programs tend to form a base of prerequisite material needed for entrance in certain fields of collegial study. As staffing is also dependent on student population, and financial considerations, many schools are no longer able to maintain adequate teacher expertise in a variety of disciplines (Beer, M. 2001). Distributed education could address some of these issues by providing an alternative method to traditional instruction.

Background

Distributed instruction at the secondary level of education is not a novel idea in the North American context. As a matter of fact, Canada was an innovator in pre-tertiary (secondary schooling) distance learning. As early as the 1920's, Canada was involved in providing publicly funded correspondence courses in certain areas of the country. The latter mostly took the form of furnishing a service to students who resided in remote areas or who were unable to attend local high schools because of illness. From these humble beginnings, emerged the Saskatchewan Government Correspondence School, the Alberta Correspondence School, and the British Columbia's Correspondence Education Branch; all supply courses at a distance to many in-school students (McKinnon, 1986).

In the United States, distributed education at the high school level shares similar origins. By the late 1920's, the University of Nebraska had set up a program that provided distance education to students registered in small high schools in order to enhance their curriculum. By the late 1980's, The National University Continuing Education Association's Independent Study Program Profiles reported that there were 103,381 enrollments in 37 member institutions' secondary level independent study programs across the country (Young & McMahon, 1991). The demand for distributed education in the United States and Canada is now growing. Publications by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (2001) offer an InfoBase of numerous distance-learning projects by identifying specific schools, which are using a variety of delivery systems in order to provide (in-school) correspondence courses at the elementary and secondary level.

As it is more than likely that the demand for distributed instruction will continue to escalate, a need exists to consider the type of services and the type of support strategies that will be required in order to maximize the advantages of this alternative, delivery system.

Schools within Schools

At least for the present, it is certain that the intent to implement alternative, instructional delivery systems is not to compete with the current educational structures, but rather to distribute instruction so that auxiliary, educational opportunities exist for students who are no longer able to attend traditional, classroom instruction. These students fall under two main categories:

(a) Students who need to make up course deficiencies:

1) Programs designed for potential dropouts who are no longer able to cope with traditional, instructional methods

2) Programs designed for students who are missing credits in order to complete their high school requirements

3) Programs designed for students who need flexible school schedules because of external commitments

4) Programs designed for students who are experiencing long term illness, or who live in geographically isolated areas

(b) Students who need or desire an expanded or specialized curriculum:

1) Enrichment courses not provided by the host institution because of budget constraints 

2) Electronically expanded classrooms in order to offset low student enrollment and cancellation of classes

3) Courses designed to provide teacher expertise in a particular discipline not available at the host institution

4) Electronically linked classrooms in order to diversify curriculum and develop global understanding

Distributing instruction at a distance breaks down both time and space barriers which may be persuasive factors in determining an adolescent's final decision on whether or not to remain in school. While little qualitative data are available on this subject, it can be assumed that many potential dropouts are no longer able to manage conventional education. Although recently a great deal of funds have been invested in many "Stay in School" projects in Canada, the tendency has been to focus on those adolescents who have already decided to cease their studies, and consequentially, these efforts may prove to be too little, too late. It is vital that students be informed about the importance of staying in school long before they have ever entertained any thoughts about dropping out. This also means allowing for a variety of instructional options.

A student who has difficulty coping with a regular, classroom environment would benefit greatly from an independent (in-school) study program. The latter (under the supervision of an agent from the host school) would be framed by a flexible schedule that would allow the student the opportunity to work at a desired time and pace.

There are comprehensive models of instructional systems where a symbiotic link has been established between a host institution and an organization, which provides correspondence education. The Correspondence School, Te Kura-a-Tuhi (see http://www.correspondence.school.nz) in Wellington, New Zealand, for example, furnishes a complete selection of academic and technical courses to students registered in urban high schools. The host school is responsible for the procurement of any necessary materials (audio visual, library facilities etc.) not supplied by the external institution. The host school is also required to set up a designated area where students learning at a distance may gather and to assign a committed teacher or individual to function as a liaison between the two institutions, handle administrative tasks and monitor student progress.

Such models provide sound possibilities not only for potential dropouts, but also for any student who needs a flexible enough timetable in order to complete school requirements. Courses may be taken concurrent or outside the student's regular, classroom schedule.

These "schools within schools" can embellish an academically impoverished curriculum by providing administrative opportunities of scheduling specialty courses even when faced with low student enrollment, or tight budgets. Small groups of students learning at a distance could also be electronically linked with other classes of pupils across schools, regions, or countries for that matter. These students would be given the chance to become part of a detailed and dynamic classroom and gain access to teacher expertise in a particular domain.

The costs involved in these linkages are not exorbitant as they are highly dependent on the delivery systems being used, from inexpensive e-mail, telephone or computer services to more lucrative, satellite technologies, and while a complete cost analysis is beyond the scope of this paper, countries who have employed elaborate, distance education systems for secondary education have always reported important financial benefits (Young, R., & McMahon, M. (1991).

Recently, numerous private and public organizations have emerged to provide distributed programs to urban institutions. For example:

The Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY) at Stanford University is a continuing project dedicated to developing and offering multimedia computer-based distance-learning courses. Combining technical and instructional expertise, EPGY provides high ability students of all ages with an individualized educational experience, optimized in both pace and content. Through EPGY, students have access to courses in a variety of subjects at levels (see http://www-epgy.stanford.edu).

The Francis Virtual School (see http://www.francisvirtualschool.org) is an accredited New York State high school that offers on-line courses for credit. Proficient educators in subject domains develop all courses. These programs are student driven and use the abundant wealth of information that is found on the Internet. By using the latest Internet technologies with content specific courses students are able to complete high school classes right from their own home.

The Open School provides distributed learning content for K-12 students in the province of British Columbia (see http://www.openschool.bc.ca) and currently extends across Canada and around the world. The focus of this school is to distribute programs and to complement conventional institutions.

The Virtual High School (see http://www.virtualhighschool.com) offers award-winning courses designed by skilled Canadian teachers for students seeking a single course, schools needing a solution for special students, or school boards desiring their own branded portal for their courses.

However, while enthusiasm and demand for such schooling is on the rise, distributed education is not without pitfalls. Often, course content and design take precedent over student needs. Often, there is complacency in the fact that an electronic or digital connection has been made, that students are linked, that new technology or the INTERNET will provide all of the necessary guidance for the learner; in fact, without engaging strategies and support structures, adolescents learning at a distance are destined to failure.

Support Systems

Central to the whole notion of education at a distance is the idea of learner autonomy. Traditionally, practitioners advanced the notion that separation from teacher and group leads the learner into an autonomous state where learning is no longer dependent on a particular teacher, institution or curriculum, and where learners are free to set up their own objectives and time frames to carry out educational activities (Keegan 1986). These convictions seem to suggest that, somehow, autonomy will be a natural response to separation; that is, the learner no longer under the control of a specific teacher, classroom environment, or influence from peers, will automatically assume total custody of the learning process.

Albeit empowering for some adult learners, these suppositions become sketchy and even problematic when referring to adolescents learning at a distance. In this case, autonomy may have to be defined in "fuzzy terms" only approximating the definition projected by some proponents of distributed education. For the most part, the notion that students will automatically take charge and manage their whole curriculum must be abandoned.

Adolescence is a tender stage in human development. Physical, mental, and emotional changes are occurring all at once causing a sort of suspended animation or entrapment between childhood and adulthood. Lewin (1951) in his field theory of adolescent development identifies the adolescent as "marginal", that is; he sees the adolescent as no longer belonging to the world of childhood, yet not belonging to the world of adults. Therefore, adolescents may not be emotionally equipped to handle total independent learning.

Distributed learning at the high school level will always require mediation from committed adults. The best scenario may be along the lines of the New Zealand model. A teacher or competent agent is placed in charge of the individual or groups of students learning at distance. This person assumes the role of facilitator and intermediary between the host school and the external institution. The facilitator may assume a variety of administrative and organizational responsibilities. According to the New Zealand Model, the latter may include:

(a) Supervisory tasks:

* Schedule specific periods during the day when distance learning occurs

* Designate a specific locale for distance study

* Make available audiovisual equipment, library facilities etc.

* Monitor student progress and inform students where to go for tutorial help

* Negotiate with the students target dates for assignments, evaluation etc.

(b) Administrative tasks:

* Check all correspondence from the external institution

* Ensure students are made aware of all important notices

* Set up an evaluation schedule

* Mail all student assignments and evaluation to the external institution

* Maintain registration records for distance study students

* Maintain regular contact with the correspondence school teacher

Besides the above organizational makeup, distance education at the high school level must be patterned so that there is maintenance and not interference with social links between independent learners and students who follow traditional, classroom instruction. Even students involved in total independent learning must be encouraged to participate in the everyday activities of the host institution. Pedagogical quarantine in any form is a formula for failure.

Conclusion

It is now both feasible and necessary to consider alternative methods of delivering instruction at the secondary level of education. Metropolitan schools across North America have undergone tremendous transformation in the last decades. Falling student enrollment in some regions, and continuing cutbacks in educational budgets have depleted many resources. Social and technological changes have altered student attitudes toward traditional instruction and may be factors contributing to the escalating drop out rates. Canadian and American educators must begin to address these significant issues.

Distributed Education may be one method of addressing some of these issues. Many courses could be offered (within existing institutions) at a distance thus breaking down space and time barriers that affect many students. These "schools within schools" could be instrumental in increasing student motivation especially for students who can no longer cope with traditional instruction.

Distance education at the high school level may take any form from electronically connected groups, to correspondence make-up courses, to total independent study even though some of these situations do not necessarily conform to traditional definitions of open learning. Rather, what is important here is the understanding that supports systems (distinct from those strategies employed with adult learners) are crucial if these programs are going to be successful.

What is also clear is the need for further research in this area. Current learning theorists, for instance, propose constructivist approaches to learning. Can these strategies be incorporated within distributed education models? If so, which support structures will be critical in order to ensure success?

References

Beatty, A., Neisser, U., Trent, W.T., & Heubert, J.P. (Eds.). (2001). Understanding Dropouts: Statistics, strategies and high-stakes testing. Washington, National Academy Press.

Beer, M. (2002). The lifeline budget: A community response to the Ottowa-Carleton District School Board Budget Process 2001-2002. Caledon Institute of Social Policy.

Keegan, D. (1986). The foundations of distance education. Croom Helm: London.

Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science: New York: Harper.

Manchee, D. (2001, August). Public schools. Today's Parent. pp 21-22.

McKinnon, N. (1986). Public elementary and secondary schools. In I. Mugridge & D. Kaufman (Eds.), Distance education in Canada (pp. 194-203). London: Croom Helm.

Public Affairs and Youth Affairs, Employment and Immigration Canada (1991). Stay in school: A parent's guide. (Cat. No. MP43-256/1991), Canada: Minister of Supply & Services.

Robertson, Heather-Jane. 1998. No More Teachers, No More Books: The Commercialization of Canada's Schools. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.

The Correspondence School (2002). Distance Courses for Secondary Schools. (Available from [The Correspondence School, Te Kura-a-Tuhi, Wellington 6020, New Zealand]).

U.S. Department of Education. (2001). Distance learning projects in the United States: K-12. Washington, DC: Office of Educational Research & Improvement (OERI).

Young, R., & McMahon, M. (1991). University-sponsored high school independent study. In B. L. Watkins & S. J. Wright (Eds.), The foundations of American distance education: A century of collegiate correspondence study (pp. 93-108). Iowa: Kendall/Hunt.

Andrew Agostino, Concordia University, Canada

Dr. Andrew Agostino is a part-time professor at Concordia University. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Technology. He has also worked extensively at the high school level for various school boards in the Montreal region.