Abstracts
Abstract
This study explored the dominant discourses on online distance education (ODE) that emerged in South Korean society before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors conducted a topic modeling analysis of 8,865 news articles published by 24 South Korean media outlets between 2019 and 2021. Using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) algorithm and social network analysis software (NetMiner), the top five topics and the top ten words associated with each topic were identified from each period. The authors observed significant changes not only in the number of news articles but also in the depth of the conversations published each year. The results have revealed several key points. First, ODE, previously considered marginal and abnormal, gained in normality across all educational levels in Korean society. Second, ODE discourses have been shaped by the unique cultural, historical, and technological infrastructure in South Korea. Third, a clear division between social-justice-oriented and business-oriented ODE discourses reflect a persistent inequality in Korean society. Finally, ODE discourses matured in 2021, with more critical and realistic perspectives on both the positives and negatives of ODE. The useful implications of such insights for post-pandemic ODE research and practice are further discussed.
Keywords:
- distance education,
- online education,
- COVID-19,
- topic modeling,
- news Big Data,
- South Korea
Appendices
Bibliography
- Adams, R. (2021, September). Tuition fees from UK students fail to cover costs of undergraduate courses at UCL. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/sep/11/tuition-fees-uk-students-fail-to-cover-costs-undergraduate-courses-ucl
- Al-Balas, M., Al-Balas, H. I., Jaber, H. M., Obeidat, K., Al-Balas, H., Aborajooh, E. A., Al-Taher, R., & Al-Balas, B. (2020). Distance learning in clinical medical education amid COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan: Current situation, challenges, and perspectives. BMC Medical Education, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02257-4
- Al-Mawee, W., Kwayu, K. M., & Gharaibeh, T. (2021). Student’s perspective on distance learning during COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of Western Michigan University, United States. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 2, 100080. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2021.100080
- Aristovnik, A., Keržič, D., Ravšelj, D., Tomaževič, N., & Umek, L. (2020). Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on life of higher education students: A global perspective. Sustainability, 12(20), 8438. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208438
- Azionya, C. M., & Nhedzi, A. (2021). The digital divide and higher education challenge with emergency online learning: Analysis of tweets in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 22(4), 164–182. https://doi.org/10.17718/tojde.1002822
- Azubuike, O. B., Adegboye, O., & Quadri, H. (2021). Who gets to learn in a pandemic? Exploring the digital divide in remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 2, 100022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2020.100022
- Baum, S., & McPherson, M. (2019). The human factor: The promise & limits of online education. Daedalus, 148(4), 235–254. https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_01769
- Bhuwandeep & Das, P. (2020). Emergency trends of emergency remote education in COVID-19: A thematic literature review. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research, 2, 5–10. https://doi.org/10.37534/bp.jhssr.2020.v2.nS.id1069.p5
- Bligh, B., & Lee, K. (2022). Technology and educational 'pivoting' in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic: Introduction to the special issue. Studies in Technology Enhanced Learning. https://doi.org/10.21428/8c225f6e.fd92e590
- Bower, B. L., & Hardy, K. P. (2004). From correspondence to cyberspace: Changes and challenges in distance education. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2004(128), 5–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.169
- Bozkurt, A., Jung, I., Xiao, J., Vladimirschi, V., Schuwer, R., Egorov, G., ... & Paskevicius, M. (2020). A global outlook to the interruption of education due to COVID-19 pandemic: Navigating in a time of uncertainty and crisis. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 1-126.
- Bozkurt, A., & Sharma, R. C. (2020). Emergency remote teaching in a time of global crisis due to CoronaVirus pandemic. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3778083
- Bozkurt, A., Marín, I. V., Lee, K., & Cefa Sari, B. (2022). The state of the art in blended learning research in a time of the Covid-19 pandemic Coronavirus diaries in the educational realm. The Tenth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF10) 2022. https://doi.org/10.56059/pcf10.6418
- Brassington, L. (2022). The future of digital learning resources: Students’ expectations versus reality. Higher Education Policy Institute.
- Coughlan, S. (2021, June). Students: ‘Uni definitely not good value this year. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-57586742
- Cursino, M., & Coughlan, S. (2021, September). Online classes “would not justify high university fees.” BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-58587568
- Fain, P. (2019, January 15). Takedown of online education. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/01/16/online-learning-fails-deliver-finds-report-aimed-discouraging
- Garrison, D. R., & Anderson, T. (1999). Avoiding the industrialisation of research universities: Big and little distance education. The American Journal of Distance Education, 13(2), 48–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923649909527024
- Hew, K. F., Lan, M., Tang, Y., Jia, C., & Lo, C. K. (2019). Where is the “theory” within the field of educational technology research? British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(3), 956–971. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12770
- Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, B., Trust, T., & Bond, A. (2020, March 27). The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-online-learning
- Johnston, J. P. (2020). Creating better definitions of distance education. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 23(2), 1–6.
- Johnstone, S. M., & Tilson, S. (1997). Implications of a virtual university for community colleges. New Directions for Community Colleges, 99, 63-72. https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.9907
- Junus, K., Santoso, H. B., Putra, P. O. H., Gandhi, A., & Siswantining, T. (2021). Lecturer readiness for online classes during the pandemic: A survey research. Education Sciences, 11(3), 139. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11030139
- Lederman, D. (2020). Will shift to remote teaching be boon or bane for online learning. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2020/03/18/most-teaching-going-remote-will-help-or-hurt-online-learning
- Lee, K. (2017). Rethinking the accessibility of online higher education: A historical review. The Internet and Higher Education, 33, 15-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2017.01.001
- Lee, K. (2018). Discursive effects of a paradigm shift rhetoric in online higher education: Implications on networked learning research and practice. In N.B. Dohn, S. Cranmer, J.A. Sime, M. de Laat, & T. Ryberg (Eds.), Networked Learning: Reflections and Challenges. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74857-3_4
- Lee, K. (2021). Openness and innovation in online higher education: A historical review of the two discourses. Open Learning, 36(2), 112-132. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680513.2020.1713737
- Lee, K., Fanguy, M., Lu, X. S., & Bligh, B. (2021a). Student learning during COVID-19: It was not as bad as we feared. Distance Education, 42(1), 1-8. http://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2020.1869529
- Lee, K., Fanguy, M., Bligh, B., & Lu, S. (2021b). Adoption of online teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A systematic analysis of changes in university teaching activity. Educational Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2021.1978401
- Lee, K., Kim, T-J., Bozkurt, A., Zawacki-Richter, O., Sari, B. C., & Marin, V. I. (2022). Discourses of distance education and COVID-19 in South Korean news between 2019 and 2021: A topic modeling analysis. In Proceedings of The Tenth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF10). September 14–-16, 2022. Calgary, Canada. https://doi.org/10.56059/pcf10.8809
- Lewis, L. (2002). The hybridisation of conventional higher education: UK perspective. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v2i2.58
- Lewis, R. (1997). Open learning in higher education. Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 12, 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/0268051970120302
- Müller, A. M., Goh, C., Lim, L. Z., & Gao, X. (2021). COVID-19 emergency elearning and beyond: Experiences and perspectives of university educators. Education Sciences, 11(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11010019
- Nichols, M. (2022). Transforming conventional education through ODDE. In O. Zawacki-Richter & I. Jung (Eds.), Handbook of open, distance and digital education. Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0351-9_35-1
- Owen, J. (2022, September). Attitudes to online learning increasingly positive: Wiley survey. Education Technology. https://edtechnology.co.uk/e-learning/attitudes-to-online-learning-increasingly-positive-wiley-survey/
- Palvia, S., Aeron, P., Gupta, P., Mahapatra, D., Parida, R., Rosner, R., & Sindhi, S. (2018). Online education: Worldwide status, challenges, trends, and implications. Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 21(4), 233–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/1097198X.2018.1542262
- Pregowska, A., Masztalerz, K., Garlińska, M., & Osial, M. (2021). A worldwide journey through distance education—From the post office to virtual, augmented and mixed realities, and education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Education Sciences, 11(3), 118. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11030118
- Radovan, M., & Makovec, D. (2022). This is not (the new) normal. Students’ attitudes towards studying during the COVID-19 pandemic and the determinants of academic overload. Electronic Journal of E-Learning, 20(3), 257-269. https://doi.org/10.34190/ejel.20.3.2366
- Rapanta, C., Botturi, L., Goodyear, P., Guàrdia, L., & Koole, M. (2020). Online university teaching during and after the COVID-19 Crisis: Refocusing teacher presence and learning activity. Postdigital Science and Education, 2, 923–945. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00155-y
- Rashid, S., & Yadav, S. S. (2020). Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on higher education and research. Indian Journal of Human Development, 14(2), 340–343. https://doi.org/10.1177/0973703020946
- Russell, T. (1999). The no significant difference phenomenon. Office of Instructional Telecommunications, North Carolina State University.
- Seaman, J. E., Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2018). Grade increase: Tracking distance education in the United States. Babson Survey Research Group.
- Sewart, D., Keegan, D., & Holmberg, B. (1983). Distance education: International perspectives. Croom Helm.
- Singh, V., & Thurman, A. (2019). How many ways can we define online learning? A systematic literature review of definitions of online learning (1988–2018). American Journal of Distance Education, 33(4), 289–306. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923647.2019.1663082
- Smalley, A. (2021, March 22). Higher education responses to coronavirus (COVID-19). National Conference of State Legislatures. https://www.ncsl.org/education/higher-education-responses-to-coronavirus-covid-19
- Stapleford, K. & Lee, K. (in press). Online postgraduate education: Re-imagining openness, distance and interaction. Routledge.
- Stevanović, A., Božić, R., & Radović, S. (2021). Higher education students’ experiences and opinion about distance learning during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 37(6), 1682–1693. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12613
- Teräs, M., Suoranta, J., Teräs, H., & Curcher, M. (2020). Post-COVID-19 education and education technology ‘solutionism’: A seller’s market. Postdigital Science and Education, 2(3), 863–878. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00164-x
- Tilak, J.B.G., Kumar, A.G. (2022). Policy Changes in Global Higher Education: What Lessons Do We Learn from the COVID-19 Pandemic?. Higher Education Policy 35, 610–628. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-022-00266-0
- UK Government and Parliament (2020). Require universities to partially refund tuition fees for 20/21 due to COVID-19. Petitions. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/324762
- Wedemeyer, C. A. (1981). Learning at the back door: Reflections on non-traditional learning in the lifespan. University of Wisconsin Press.
- Wilkes, R. B., Simon, J. C., & Brooks, L. D. (2006). A comparison of faculty and undergraduate students’ perceptions of online courses and degree programs. Journal of Information Systems Education, 17(2), 131–140.
- Williamson, B., Eynon, R., & Potter, J. (2020). Pandemic politics, pedagogies and practices: Digital technologies and distance education during the coronavirus emergency. Learning, Media and Technology, 45(2), 107–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2020.1761641
- Woolcock, N. (2021, November). Universities claim shift to online education in pandemic has benefited students. The Times. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/universities-claim-shift-to-online-education-in-pandemic-has-benefited-students-s97m63m07
- Xiao, J. (2018). On the margins or at the center? Distance education in higher education. Distance Education, 39(2), 259–274. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2018.1429213
- Xiao, J. (2022). Introduction to history, theory, and research in ODDE: Towards an informed approach to ODDE. In O. Zawacki Richter & I. Jung (Eds.), Handbook of open, distance and digital education. Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0351-9_1-1
- Zawacki-Richter, O., & Anderson, T. (2014). Online distance education: Towards a research agenda. AU Press
- Zawacki-Richter, O., Marín, V. I., Bond, M., & Gouverneur, F. (2019). Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education–where are the educators? International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 16(1), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0171-0
- Zawacki-Richter, O., & Naidu, S. (2016). Mapping research trends from 35 years of publications in Distance Education. Distance Education, 37(3), 245–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2016.1185079