Instructional Strategies of Distance Education Instructors in China

Victor C. X. Wang, California State University, Long Beach
Peter Kreysa, California State University, Long Beach

Abstract

This study investigated the teaching strategies of distance education instructors at the major universities in Beijing and Shanghai, China in the summer of 2005. The study utilized Conti’s 1983 and 2004 Principles of Adult Learning Scale (PALS) and researcher-designed open-ended questions to determine the teaching strategies of Chinese distance education instructors. Data were collected from 40 distance education instructors at the major universities to determine the extent to which the Western democratic form of distance education was employed. The study’s results show that although Chinese distance education instructors teach their courses in the Western educational manner, to some extent; they nevertheless oppose the Western collaborative mode of instruction and, instead, feature the teacher-directed form of instruction.