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Networked Learning pp 57–78Cite as

Discursive Effects of a Paradigm Shift Rhetoric in Online Higher Education: Implications on Networked Learning Research and Practice

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Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to critically examine some discursive effects of the ‘paradigm shift’ rhetoric that is commonly used in the advocacy of online higher education. The chapter will unpack how that particular rhetoric—which permeates generalist discourse about online higher education—impacts upon actual distance education practices in specific higher education settings, such as ‘open universities’, where distance education is the core institutional function and where the historical development of practice has been separated from that of ‘mainstream’ higher education. The chapter focuses on the transition from the earlier form of distance education, which was largely associated with and led by dedicated distance universities, to the current form of online higher education, which operates and is discussed more and more frequently in mainstream higher education contexts, such as traditional campus-based universities. The particular ‘paradigm shift’ rhetoric that emerged during that transition will be discussed, and its discursive effects on distance education practices in open universities will be analysed. The main argument is that the rhetoric, as a widespread academic discourse, has generated and continues to perpetuate a ‘gap’ between learning theories and instructional practices in the open university settings—where current distance education practices have arisen from a unique course of historical development but which are now subjected to ‘paradigm shift’ rhetoric being imposed from outside. The implications for networked learning research and practice will be discussed, and several suggestions will be made, whereby the networked learning community might develop a more balanced and critical discourse about online higher education.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Rhetoric: The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the exploitation of figures of speech and other compositional techniques—language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect but which is often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content (Oxford Dictionaries 2016).

  2. 2.

    That issue of popularity will be discussed in more detail later in the chapter.

  3. 3.

    For example, Clark (2001) discussed the advantages of online learning environments to provide more learner-centred learning experiences by stimulating learner collaboration and discussion, and Kekkonen-Moneta and Moneta (2002) presented their comparative case study result that suggests online education fosters higher-order learning compared to lecture.

  4. 4.

    In a relevant field of educational technology, such critique of the progressivism often appears as a form of counter-arguments or criticisms against ‘technological determinism or essentialism’ as well as blind ‘enthusiasm or boosterism’ towards new technologies (e.g. Jones 2015; Selwyn 2013). Although these critiques will not be directly discussed in this chapter in order to closely maintain my focus on the paradigm shift rhetoric, it is worth noting that these critiques provide meaningful insights for understanding the present problem in this chapter in a broader and deeper sense.

  5. 5.

    An empirical study on one open university in Canada concerning the same problem is presented in my doctoral dissertation (Lee 2015).

  6. 6.

    This document was produced for the ESRC research seminar series, entitled Understanding the Implications of Networked Learning for HE.

  7. 7.

    It is important to note that, in recent years, NL practices have been changing and expanding into diverse formal and informal educational settings and are no longer circumscribed to the context of HE (see Carvalho and Goodyear 2014; Ryberg and Sinclair 2016).

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  1. Educational Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK

    Kyungmee Lee

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  1. Department of Design and Communication, University of Southern Denmark, Kolding, Denmark

    Nina Bonderup Dohn

  2. Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom

    Susan Cranmer

  3. Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom

    Julie-Ann Sime

  4. Department of Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

    Maarten de Laat

  5. Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Thomas Ryberg

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Lee, K. (2018). Discursive Effects of a Paradigm Shift Rhetoric in Online Higher Education: Implications on Networked Learning Research and Practice. In: Bonderup Dohn, N., Cranmer, S., Sime, JA., de Laat, M., Ryberg, T. (eds) Networked Learning. Research in Networked Learning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74857-3_4

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