Distance Learning: Some Fundamental Questions for Public Affairs Education

Abstract

This article raises fundamental questions that should be asked about the implications of distance education for public affairs teaching and practice. The questions discussed relate to educational objectives, students and their needs, adult learning theory, human and organizational limiting factors, implications for faculty, and the challenges of accreditation. The authors draw on evidence from the literature, a large focus group, and field observation on their own campus to address these issues. They conclude that student socialization presents the most important questions of all. New electronic technologies are now forcing our field to reexamine closely the processes through which we socialize future generations of public servants.

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Notes on contributors

Ralph S. Brower

Ralph S. Brower is an assistant professor in the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy, Florida State University. His research has focused on political behaviors in the middle and lower levels of public organizations. Recently he has been studying nonprofit infrastructure capacity and the dynamics of information technology diffusion between the government and nonprofit sectors.

W. Earle Klay

William Earle Klay is professor and director of the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy, Florida State University. He is a futurist whose interests include the implications of technology for the future of society and government. Some of his most recent research focuses on the social contexts within which employees learn to use new technology.