WHAT IS THE ROLE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION?

Open Praxis  is launching a call for research and “good practices” papers to be published in 2008 concerning distance education and the right to education (in particular reference to article 26 of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights):

• What is the role of distance education in the implementation of the right to education?
• How is distance education involved when education is seen as a right?
• What is its position in educational policy, as a factor of quality and an instrument for liberty?

This theme can be approached from multiple points of view, pedagogical, sociological, economical, political, legal, etc. as developed in the the more detailed description of the project:

Open Praxis is ICDE’s electronic journal for members only. Open Praxis is now launching this call for papers in collaboration with five other scientific journals with international influence and leadership, among others, in Europe, North America, and Asia:

• Asian Journal of Distance Education : http://www.asianjde.org/
• Distances et savoirs: www.cned.fr/ds, http://ds.revuesonline.com
• EURODL : http://www.eurodl.org/
• Journal of Asynchronous Learning Network:  http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/jaln/
• IRRODL: http://www.irrodl.org/
• Open Praxis :  http://www.openpraxis.com/

Final texts selected by each participating journal (according to the usual scientific process of anonymous expertise) will be published in their original language on a common website, with open access; articles will also be published by each journals separately, and in the printed versions of those journals (if they have one), either in their original language or translated.

Authors will benefit from a wide international dissemination, and their work will make up a common international reference regarding distance education and the universal question of the right to education.

Schedule:

- October 2006: call for papers 
- January 31st, 2007: deadline for submitting summaries of propositions for articles (500 to 1000 maximum words);
- April 1st, 2007: Notification to authors of selected propositions;
- December 1st, 2007: deadline for submitting the first version of full text;
- January 1st, 2008: Final versions of texts;
- Spring 2008: All selected texts published on common website of participating journals.

Information concerning texts format:

Articles will have to conform to usual scientific requirements: research hypothesis, methodology, references, contextualisation, results and prospects.

Scientific committee : Terry Anderson (ORRODL), John Bourne (JALN), Reidar Roll, Ana Perona, Svein O. Haaland (Open Praxis), Ramesh C SHARMA (AsianJDE), Alan Tait (EURODL) and Martine Vidal, Monique Grandbastien, Pierre Moeglin (D&S).

Members of ICDE have access to our electronic journal, Open Praxis, where the articles on this subject will be published. If you are not already a member, but would like to join our organization you are welcome to apply for membership online.

19 October 2006