Education at a Distance: Best Practices and Considerations for Leadership Educators

E-learning is an increasingly popular form of education for college students (Allen & Seaman, 2007). There are a number of best practices for teaching online courses (Lewis & Abdul-Hamid, 2006) which should be followed by leadership educators. In addition, for a wide variety of reasons, women comprise a significant portion of the distance education population. Because of their differing communication styles and needs (Tannen, 1989, 1991), women may have a harder time being perceived as valuable members of the virtual community. They may also find the experience less meaningful than their male counterparts (Harper, 2007). If leadership education is to be successful moving into the 21st century it must be welcoming to female students. Suggestions for improving online learning are provided, especially for female students. Distance Education Trends While distance education was a relatively novel concept only a decade ago, its popularity has spread to nearly all institutions of higher education, and its growth rate outstrips that of traditional “on-ground” classes with approximately 3.5 million people enrolling in at least one online course (Allen & Seaman, 2007). Surveys by the National Center for Education Statistics suggest that 90% of twoyear and 89% of four-year public degree-granting institutions offer distance learning as a part of their curriculum (U.S. Department of Education, 2003). Some argue that e-learning better prepares students for the 21 century world in which they will be working than the traditional on-ground education and that the very nature of education has shifted to one of enabling communication, information seeking and filtering, and collaboration with peers and instructors (McCombs & Vakili, 2005). Given this trend, it is essential for those who teach leadership to find ways to best deliver their curricula in an online format in order to continue to reach this evolving market. Journal of Leadership Education Volume 8, Issue 1 – Summer 2009 138 The increasing cost of living, of gas specifically, has made earning a degree from home an even more attractive option than it once was (Young, 2008). Additionally, the expanding use of technology has made it easier for people to take classes online. According to the Census Bureau (2005), as of 2003, nearly 62% of U.S. households have personal computers, and approximately 55% of U.S. households have internet access. As a result, e-learning is now a viable option for over one-half of all U.S. households, excluding those who have access to public computers at libraries and other locations. Even when correspondence courses were the only way to earn a degree from a distance, these programs were marketed predominately toward women (Kramarae, 2003). In today’s society distance education for women continues to be an attractive option, especially for those who are in the traditional role of taking care of children at home whether it is their full-time job or their task when they are not at a job outside the home. Given this constraint, while their male counterparts may more readily have the option of going to evening or weekend classes to complete degree programs offered by their local colleges and universities, many women who wish to further their education are turning to the option to go online to pursue their degrees. Aragon and Johnson (2008) found that women are more likely to complete online courses than are men, so making sure those courses are “female friendly” is essential to the value received by the majority of those who complete online courses.