Online and open learning has recently been made prevalent in many regions in order to mitigate educational inequality and to enhance students' learning experiences and outcomes. Previous studies showed that students perform differently in the learning process, where cultural differences matter. However, little is known about how cultural…

The primary objective of this research is to ascertain the manner in which higher education institutions offering open and distance education incorporate the concept of openness into their vision, mission, core values, and tactics. This study employs a descriptive research design to ascertain the current state of affairs. The research methodology…

Purpose: In 2019, the goal of developing a world-class open university through different stages was put forward by the Open University of China (OUC), which indicated that internationalization for Chinese open universities came to the agenda. However, international activities of open universities are different from those in conventional…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the legal issues of simultaneous Internet transmission of broadcasting programs of the Open University of Japan (OUJ) and to take legal measures to promote the mutual utilization of open university courses in Japan, the UK, China and Korea. Design/methodology/approach: The author examines the…

In 2023, China leads the world in the number of Open Online Courses (OOC, over 64500) and learners (over 1.88 billion). In this article, we provide a brief review of the development of OOCs in China and outline the current situation of Chinese OOC focusing on learning platforms, course size and structure, and micro-credential courses. We also…

As an innovative evaluation tool, peer assessment is essential in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). In both formative and summative peer assessments in MOOCs, providing reliable feedback is crucial in enhancing learning outcomes. Peer assessment has been highlighted as a reliable tool in both traditional classrooms and small-scale online…

Over the past few years, we have witnessed immense advancements of technology which challenge conventional teaching methodologies. This paper analyses an open and distance learning university from two culturally distinct continents --Africa and Asia-- through an international staff exchange program that was attended over a two-week period. This…

Cognisant of the wide range of cooperation between China and Africa and the existing strong Sino-African relationship, this article explores the international cooperation between Africa and China in the higher education domain, especially in the field of Open Distance Learning (ODL). The study employed data triangulation relying on both secondary…

Purpose: The purpose of this report is to demonstrate open and distance education (ODE) can support poverty alleviation. Taking the practices of the Open University of China (the OUC) as an example, this paper aims to reveal how open universities make contributions to local residents in rural and remote areas. Design/methodology/approach: Focusing…

This study aims to reveal the main trends and findings of the studies examining the use of learning analytics in distance education. For this purpose, journal articles indexed in the SSCI index in the Web of Science database were reviewed, and a total of 400 journal articles were analysed within the scope of this study. The systematic review…

Open and distance education has been playing an important role in China's development of higher education and lifelong learning. In 2012, the Chinese government approved six large-scale radio and television universities (RTVUs) to become open universities (OUs), including the Open University of China (OUC), Beijing Open University (BJOU), Shanghai…

A complication of teacher education policy in Japan is rooted in a gap between an image of teachers, which is held by society as a whole, and includes various character traits and the reality of Japanese university education. On the other hand, the expansion of an "open system" and lack of nationwide standard are making individual…

This research examines selected online comments from open courses available on Chinese websites. These courses were created by universities in the West as an effort to build open educational resources (OER) and were recently translated into Chinese and were relocated to some popular Chinese websites. This research aimed to understand why the…

This paper explores and presents new data on how to improve open access in distance education through using prior learning assessments. Broadly there are three types of prior learning assessment (PLAR): Type-1 for prospective students to be allowed to register for a course; Type-2 for current students to avoid duplicating work-load to gain…

India and China are two fast growing economies of the world and need large skill based manpower to sustain the economic growth. The existing formal higher educational system in these countries will not be able to meet the demand of the economy. The paper will try (i) to compare the development of economy and distance education in India and China…