Project

Deutsch

In her cumulative dissertation project, Irina Haury addresses the topic of inclusion in the context of distance higher education. Inclusion is considered here based on the broad understanding of UNESCO's ‘Education for All’ approach (1990) and placed in a global context.

In order to approach this field, the Global North and South are chosen as the maximum possible comparison. A central aspect of the project is to gain knowledge about students' perspectives on inclusive distance higher education. This student perspective, which has received little attention in research to date, will then be incorporated into the conceptualisation of inclusive distance higher education by linking literature-based knowledge on existing concepts with the needs and wishes of students and a time horizon up to 2050. A participatory approach is being used to capture the future prospects presented by the students.

First, key concepts from international research are extracted in the form of a literature review. This is followed by the contextualisation of both distance learning universities, whereby the institutions are examined for characteristics in institutional guidelines and policies, such as potential cultural imprints.

In a next step, students from two international distance universities develop their ideal future using a ‘participatory future approach’. The FernUniversität in Hagen and the University of South Africa (UNISA) were selected as case studies representative of the Global North and South. At both distance universities, the interventions are carried out independently with students; the aim is also to gain insights into accessible and inclusive research implementation.