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Guest editorial: Leadershipin distance educationMichael F. Beaudoin aa Professor of Education in the Master of Sciencein Education Distance Learning Program ,University of New England , 716 Stevens Avenue,Portland, ME, 04103 E-mail:Published online: 24 Sep 2009.

To cite this article: Michael F. Beaudoin (1998) Guest editorial: Leadership indistance education, American Journal of Distance Education, 12:2, 1-4, DOI:10.1080/08923649809526989

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08923649809526989

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THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF DISTANCE EDUCATIONVol. 12 No. 2 1998

Guest EditorialLeadership in Distance Education

Leadership in distance education is somewhat akin to democracy inIndia when Mahatma Ghandi was asked what he thought of it, and hereplied, "We should try it sometime." This is not to suggest that there isno effective leadership in distance education; certainly we know itexists, but we have not done a very effective job of defining it. Organiza-tional behaviorists have taken great pains in the recent literature todistinguish between management and leadership, and a large new bodyof literature has emerged on the elusive phenomenon of leadership. War-ren Bennis and Burt Nanus (1985), in their study of strategies for takingcharge, discuss transformative leadership—a particular approach thatrequires reshaping organizational practices to adapt to environmentalchanges and that overcomes resistance to change by creating visions ofthe future to evoke confidence in and mastery of new organizationalpractices.

Bennis and Nanus (1985) define transformative leadership as thecapacity to translate intentionality into reality and sustain it. This is espe-cially germane when applied to the distance education arena becauseeducational institutions encounter problems and complexities that oftenrequire the reshaping of organizational practices reinforced byentrenched faculty or administrators. Tranformational leaders must notonly recognize new ways of doing things but must also convince othersto move in new directions. In order to overcome resistance to change,they must be capable of envisioning, articulating, and advocating visionsthat foster new organizational practices that affect providers (e.g., facul-ty) and consumers (e.g., students), as well as other stakeholders (e.g.,trustees).

If they perceive themselves as leaders, as distinct from managers, ifthey deal with new paradigms of thought and action, rather than what ispolitically correct, and if they engage in bold new policies and practices,while others prefer to remain cautious incrementalists, then we begin todiscern qualities of educational leadership that can result in fundamentalorganizational change, including provocative new ideas regarding teach-ing and learning. This style of leadership shapes new understandings,transforms intentionality into action, and, thus, creates what Bennis andNanus (1985) call a "commonwealth of learning," an apt phrase for par-ticipants of distance education.

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THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

It is this special form of leadership within the changing environmentof distance education that we seek to define and analyze in this issue. Tothis end, several scholars, practitioners, and administrators of distanceeducation were asked to share their insights about how leadership isappropriately and effectively manifested in this challenging context.There are some who may ask, "Who are past and current leaders in dis-tance education, and have they given us anything of lastingimportance?" Others may even wonder if leadership in distance educa-tion is really important, or if this phenomenon has assumed a directionsans true leadership. Hopefully, the authors have addressed some ofthese provocative questions.

Curiously, despite the remarkable increase in attention to distanceeducation initiatives—especially within the past decade—we have yet tosee much literature that attempts to provide useful insight into the; elu-sive attribute of leadership and the consequences of its critical presenceor conspicuous absence. We have chronicled many distance educationprojects, studied the influence of certain technologies on teaching andlearning at a distance, described delivery systems, and critiqued cunicu-lum content and format, but we are only now beginning to address, withgreater awareness and insight, matters related to the more esotericaspects of policy and planning, as well as the politics that facilitate orimpede such efforts. It is encouraging to note that the American Centerfor the Study of Distance Education's research symposia and researchmonographs have included work related to policy and managementissues and that more authors/practitioners have begun to address thislacuna.

It may be that during the early pioneering generations of distance edu-cation the leadership was so engaged in convincing the opposition of thelegitimacy of its enterprise that little attention was given to the dynamicsof leadership and how it has ultimately contributed to the establishmentof a body of practice that has shaped the field to the present day. Gradu-ally, some effort was made to identify, articulate, and promulgate a set of"best practices" in distance education, but these principles did notacknowledge and address the dimension of leadership in any explicitway. Despite exemplary distance education models and impressive pro-grams with burgeoning enrollments, we still are witnessing too manytrial and error efforts and chronicling too many failures, without arrivingat new insights about what effect leadership has had on the success orfailure of these phenomena.

In planning this issue on leadership, we organized the authors' contri-butions by identifying the context in which each particular presentation

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GUEST EDITORIAL

on leadership takes place. It was useful to recognize that differingapproaches are required in the many venues in which distance educationnow functions. Therefore, the articles selected pay particular attention tothe literature on leadership, revisit historical events, and examine leader-ship in institutions, accrediting bodies, the business environment,professional associations, and the international arena. Selected cases thatillustrate leadership practices have also been included.

James Hall and Janet Poley begin by introducing leadership issuesand styles in the context of a field that is evolving rapidly and expandingworldwide. Hall discusses the convergence of traditional campus-basededucation and distance education and the consequent blurring of distinc-tions between the two approaches. He examines this phenomenon withinthe context of accreditation and considers how the decisions made byleaders of evaluative activities influence the quality, control, and credi-bility of academic work pursued by students learning at a distance. Poleylooks at both institutional and international settings to offer insights intothe effectiveness of various leadership styles. She reviews pertinent liter-ature, analyzes selected case studies, and discusses leadership strategiessuch as networking to demonstrate how leadership environments appro-priate to accomplishing distance education goals can be created.

Amy Lezberg and Von Pittman offer insights into leadershipapproaches within organizational settings, focusing on the roles of pro-fessional associations and accrediting bodies. Lezberg provides a carefulreview of standards adopted by the leadership of regional accreditingassociations. She describes the appropriateness and effectiveness of cri-teria by which institutions are assessed in such areas as curriculumrequirements, expected competencies, adequacy of resources, necessarysupport services, faculty-student interactions, and other critical factors,as well as how these standards are applied. Pittman provides an histori-cal perspective on leadership in correspondence study as manifestedthrough the early initiatives of the National University Extension Associ-ation and the National Home Study Council. This piece examines theareas in which these two important and influential organizations compet-ed and converged in their respective efforts to establish standards in theprofession and assesses their effectiveness and impact.

Ellen Bunker's article provides another useful historical perspectiveof distance education leadership by highlighting the seminal ideas oncorrespondence study articulated by several early thinkers and doersclosely connected to the International Council for Distance Education.She discusses leaders, such as Knute O. Broady, who distinguishedthemselves by making significant early contributions to the field throughwords and deeds.

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THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

Tracy Marsh and Sr. Andrea Lee, followed by Thomas Smith, presentcases and examples to demonstrate where educational and businessinterests converge and diverge in designing and delivering distance edu-cation. Marsh and Lee recognize that, increasingly, new partnershipsexist between academic institutions and private sector companies. Whileexciting and innovative, these alliances still raise concerns regarding theprospect of compromising educational goals in the interest of financialgain. The authors present an example of one successful alliance thateffectively addresses these concerns and look more generally at trends inthe business of distance education. Smith observes that, along with theeducational objectives associated with distance learning initiatives, thereare usually social, political, and business goals also attached. He con-tends that this has contributed to distance education's becoming theobjective, which creates a means-ends confusion in much of distanceeducation today. He discusses the tools and techniques of distance edu-cation as a set of strategies and tactics that leaders might utilize to betterunderstand and implement distance education.

Finally, this portfolio on leadership concludes with an interview withRoy McTarnaghan, who was instrumental in the creation of a new stateuniversity in Florida with a distance education focus. He was inter-viewed in the Journal three years ago during the planning phase of thiseffort and is now re-visited to discuss the leadership variables that werecritical in influencing progress and addressing problems in the imple-mentation phase.

It is our hope that the work assembled and shared in this issue willcontribute to continued theoretical, practical, analytical, and evaluativewriting on the theme of leadership in distance education. The role ofleaders in their widening sphere of influence and engagement is too sig-nificant in defining and determining desired outcomes in distancelearning to treat with only peripheral interest. It deserves more under-standing and insight if we are to make further progress in the importantwork we are doing.

Michael F. Beaudoin

Reference

Bennis, W., and B. Nanus. 1985. Leaders, the strategies for takingcharge. New York: Harper & Row.

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