Editorial |
It is a pleasure to announce that the Fall, 1990 issue of the Journal of Distance Education - which marks the Journal's fifth anniversary - will be a special issue, devoted to questions concerning gender in distance education. This issue will be coedited by Dr. Barbara Spronk and myself, with Barbara providing the expertise. In 1988 two books were published in this field: Women in Distance Education: Issues and Prospects, edited by Dr. Gomathi Mani (ICDE Women's International Network) and Toward New Horizons for Women in Distance Education, edited by Dr. Karlene Faith (London: Routledge). Both these books (which were sponsored by the Women's International Network of the International Council for Distance Education) were of great significance, not only because of their intrinsic value, but also because of their role as among the first in a very important field. There is always a danger after the ground breaking is done that the initial impetus will be lost. We hope that the forthcoming special issue will help to avert this danger and contribute to the growing discussion involving gender as a category of analysis, which has characterized recent work in many disciplines.
Gender issues in distance education certainly have far more than an academic interest, however. Women form a high proportion of students and of academic, administrative, and support staff, and their particular needs must be examined to enable informed decisions to be made; for instance, so that course content can reflect women's perspectives, so that gender-related decisions in course selection can be weighed, and so that professional organizations and conferences can cover women's concerns and acknowledge more fully their existence.
All readers of the Journal are encouraged to submit papers on gender-related topics in distance education, and also to contribute shorter discussion items to the Dialogue section. Perhaps we can also include relevant material in our ForYour Information section, or review relevant books. Your suggestions will be welcomed.
To turn back to the present, the present issue offers a spectrum of valuable approaches to distance education. I want to comment on two items in particular, the article from the University of Zambia, and the ForYour Information item on the University of the West Indies - the two non-Canadian items from the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth of Learning (CoL) is already beginning to make its mark. Its existence - and its proximity - has certainly affected the lives of distance educators in Western Canada, one of whom at least is feeling strongly its educational advantages. The sharing of information and the discussion of common concerns which must be a vital part of the role of CoL have begun, and the Journal will certainly be the richer for it. CoL is one acronym that I am glad to have learned.
Finally I want to thank our contributors and our editorial board (including some special reviewers) who make the task of producing the Journal possible, and also stimulating, through the care and insight with which they present their arguments or assess the papers sent to them. Thanks are also due to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for its generous grant and to Simon Fraser University for financial support that is much appreciated.