The publication addresses an important and current ALE area – distance, blended and hybrid education. As Dr Tanja Možina, one of the authors and editor of the publication, said at the AAEC, the publication is the first attempt to create standards and indicators for this area of education. Evaluation of distance ALE has shown that if these forms of education are not implemented in a high-quality manner and if the characteristics of different target groups of adults are not taken into account in their planning and implementation, we can contribute to an even more significant gap between those who participate and those who do not. The latter is also one of the starting points that led to the preparation of this publication.
In the introductory chapter, the authors of the publication Dr Tanja Možina, Sonja Klemenčič and Dr Marko Radovan, paid particular attention to the presentation and to shedding light on the conceptual framework that affects their thoughts on what is important when talking about the quality of this type of education. They presented the development of distance education, defined the fundamental concepts of the addressed issue, delved into the influences of learning theories and explained the expert starting points and principles of distance, blended and/or hybrid education. In doing so, they highlighted significant aspects of the quality of planning and implementing ALE, which is carried out as distance, blended or hybrid education.
The content of the collection is structured in a way that it defines:
- the quality areas of ALE (ten areas in total – the publication includes expert starting points for each of them),
- quality sub-areas,
- quality indicators (by selecting individual quality indicators that will be the subject of analysis, we deepen the quality assessment and focus on a more precisely defined object of analysis),
- quality standards that describe the defined or expected level of quality for a particular indicator, and
- quality criteria – they are used to evaluate whether the organisation that provides ALE fully or partially achieves the defined quality standard.
Each addressed quality area also includes expert recommendations for further quality development and thus facilitates the preparation for quality improvement and development of various aspects of distance adult education, blended and/or hybrid education.
The book complements the already existing collection of quality indicators for ALE (Quality Indicators in Adult Education, Results and Effects of Adult Education). The latter remains the foundation and guide for everyone who thinks about ways of evaluating and developing quality in ALE. However, the focus of the current collection of quality indicators is on quality aspects that concern distance, blended and/or hybrid adult education.
Many providers use the quality assessment and development approach we developed at the SIAE. Therefore, the new collection of quality indicators was also designed to be consistent with this approach. Indicators, standards and quality criteria were prepared with ALE in mind, but the proposed solutions are in many ways generic and applicable to all areas of education.
The stated orientations contribute to reflections on the further development of this area both at the level of the organisation and at the level of the educational programme, the individual provider of education and the management of the organisation, as well as the decision-makers/system. The staff in ALE is a crucial factor in learning and cooperation, which directs the development of the addressed area in a joint effort. The role of management in an ALE organisation is crucial in understanding the fundamental concepts, establishing strategic decisions and directions and providing the conditions and incentives for quality distance, blended or hybrid ALE.
The publication is available in Slovenian on the online Bookshelf of quality and the SIAE digital reading room.
Jasmina Orešnik Cunja (jasmina.oresnik.cunja@acs.si), SIAE
