Going the Distance: Towards a new professionalism for full-time distance education faculty at the University of the Philippines

Hoy traemos este artículo de The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Vol 8, No 3 (2007), ISSN: 1492-3831

Patricia B. Arinto
University of the Philippines, Open University

Abstract

Several constraints influence the formation of a professional identity by full-time distance education faculty at the University of the Philippines. One of these is the marginalisation of distance education (DE) in the academy as a consequence of DE’s identification with low status disciplines, as well as with developments in higher education that are undermining traditional academic identities. There are also constraints arising from the social organisation of distance education itself. The paper offers a (re)conceptualisation of academic professionalism for distance education faculty that is more responsive to the challenges that they face, and more empowering for themselves and the academic and other communities of which they are a part.

Keywords: Distance education faculty; academic professionalism; faculty development

Introduction

How do faculty of distance education (DE) institutions form a professional identity as members of the academic community when their very status as academics is in question and certain conventions of academic life are absent from the DE setting in which they operate? What models of academic professionalism can they look to, and perhaps emulate, when traditional academics norms and values are under challenge and are far from stable? (leer más…)

Fuente: [The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning]