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The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Education LEARNING AT THE BACK DOOR: CHARLES A. WEDEMEYER AND THE EVOLUTION OF OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION A Dissertation in Adult Education by William C. Diehl 2011 William C. Diehl Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2011 ii The dissertation of William C. Diehl was reviewed and approved* by the following: Michael G. Moore Distinguished Professor of Education Dissertation Advisor Co-Chair of Committee Gary W. Kuhne Associate Professor of Education Co-Professor-in-charge Graduate Programs in Adult Education Co-Chair of Committee Melody M. Thompson Associate Professor of Education Lawrence C. Ragan Assistant Affiliate Professor of Agricultural and Extension Education *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT Charles A. Wedemeyer (1911-1999) was one of the first to develop theory for, and to give direction to, the growing and newly professionalized field which has become known as open and distance education. Through his leadership at influential institutions such as The University of Wisconsin, The National University Extension Association, and the International Council for Open and Distance Education, he developed a global network of colleagues and collaborators. His views on open education, Independent Study and Independent Learning became renown worldwide. Wedemeyer put theory into practice through the creation of the ground-breaking experimental Articulated Instructional Media (AIM) program at the University of Wisconsin, and as the First Kellogg Fellow at Oxford University and consultant during the formative years at the Open University of the United Kingdom, he imparted the concepts of a revolutionary pedagogical approach based on system theory which combined various technologies and media in distance education. In the 1970s, these concepts were disseminated world-wide resulting in the establishment of scores of Open Universities which have provided opportunities for millions of students to garner an education. In his 1981 book Learning at the Back Door: Reflections on Non-Traditional Learning in the Lifespan, Charles A. Wedemeyer identified Open or Independent learning as "a single great new development in education" (p. 60) that would be a vehicle for a new era in higher education. During his career at the University of Wisconsin from the 1940s through the 1970s, Wedemeyer’s contributions to the foundations of distance education built upon the democratic education ideals of the Wisconsin Idea and led to today's international open education movement. While scholars have identified Wedemeyer as playing a significant role in the evolution of open and distance education, to date there has been minimal substantive support or analysis of Wedemeyer’s contributions. iv Through an examination of archival data at The University of Wisconsin, The University of South Africa, The U.S. Navy, and The Open University of the United Kingdom, this study provides a greater understanding of the evolution of open and distance education and how Wedemeyer’s contributions and innovative design of educational systems shaped the field. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. viii Chapter 1 Introduction to the Research.................................................................................... 1 Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 1 Background of the Problem ............................................................................................. 1 Clarification of terms ............................................................................................... 2 Themes. .................................................................................................................... 3 Open and distance education. ................................................................................... 3 Theory and scholarship. ........................................................................................... 5 Internationalism. ....................................................................................................... 7 Overlap in themes..................................................................................................... 7 Research Problem ............................................................................................................ 9 Research Questions .......................................................................................................... 11 Methods ............................................................................................................................ 11 Historical research. ................................................................................................... 11 Chapter Summary ............................................................................................................ 13 Chapter 2 Open and Distance Education ................................................................................. 14 Foundations of Open and Distance Education ................................................................. 14 Opening up education in the 19th century: Official reform and democratization lead to the Extension movement. ...................................................................... 15 The Chautauqua Institute and movement. ................................................................ 19 Progressivism and The Wisconsin Idea. ................................................................... 21 Wedemeyer’s Work in Open and Distance Education ..................................................... 23 Director of The University of Wisconsin Racine Center (1946-1954). ................... 29 Director of Correspondence Study - University of Wisconsin (1954-1964). ........... 31 Wedemeyer’s leadership in educational television at NUEA and at the University. ........................................................................................................ 35 The Articulated Instructional Media Program (AIM). ............................................. 40 The Open University of the United Kingdom (OUUK): Roots ....................................... 46 Chapter Summary ............................................................................................................ 56 Chapter 3 Theory and Scholarship ........................................................................................... 58 Trends in Wedemeyer’s Scholarship ............................................................................... 59 Wedemeyer and the Beginnings of Scholarship in Distance Education: The Brandenburg Memorial Essays ................................................................................ 63 Wedemeyer’s Relationship with Three Early Theorists .................................................. 68 Wedemeyer and Börje Holmberg. ............................................................................ 70 Wedemeyer and Otto Peters. .................................................................................... 79 Wedemeyer and Michael G. Moore. ........................................................................ 85 Summary of Wedemeyer’s relationship with three early theorists. ......................... 92 Wedemeyer Address on Research at the 1972 National University Extension Association (NUEA) Convention ............................................................................. 92 vi Learning at the Back Door ............................................................................................... 95 Independent Learning ...................................................................................................... 98 Chapter Summary ............................................................................................................ 100 Chapter 4 Internationalism ....................................................................................................... 101 Wedemeyer and the Venezuela Project ............................................................................ 101 First Kellogg Fellow at Oxford University ...................................................................... 108 University of South Africa (UNISA) Consultation Trip .................................................. 112 Overview of UNISA. ................................................................................................ 112 Wedemeyer’s UNISA consultation moves forward. ................................................ 114 Wedemeyer lectures at UNISA. ............................................................................... 118 Wedemeyer’s UNISA report. ................................................................................... 120 Wedemeyer Leads International Correspondence Association into the Modern Era: From ICCE to ICDE ................................................................................................. 127 ICCE and CEC. ........................................................................................................ 130 Eighth ICCE conference in Paris bolsters UNESCO relationship. .......................... 132 Wedemeyer as President during the ninth ICCE. ....................................................