Beijing Open University
China
Since the reform and opening up, China’s higher education has witnessed major changes, and the field of distance higher education is no exception. This paper captures the historical changes and identifies the trends in distance higher education in China.
Based on more than 30,000 academic papers published by journals of distance education in Chinese CNKI during the 40 years of reform and opening up, this historical literature is used to identify the development of distance higher education in China.
The results indicated that research on distance education in China has always focused on topics such as education, distance/networks, teaching mode, autonomous learning, a network curriculum and learning support services. There are problems in such macroscopic studies, with little experimental research, and a focus on “hotspots” rather than sustainable research areas. The implementation of the Modern Distance Education Project has become a watershed event between radio and television education and network education. The development of higher distance education in China has gone through two stages: China’s distance higher education based on radio and television (1979–1998) and modern distance higher education based on information and network technology (from 1999 onwards). Two changes were identified. The first was a shift from learning from the experience and practices of foreign distance education to localization, which focuses on the rules and principles based on domestic practices. The other change was the shift from viewing distance education as a means to improve theory, and the cultural and professional level of the cadres, workers and peasants, to a means to cultivate a large number of specialized talents to satisfy the needs of social and economic development.
Reflecting on the developments in China’s distance higher education over the past 40 years can help us to understand its progress and changes. Reflection can also enable better informed policy-making and future planning.