Research On The Interactive Relationship Between The Theory And Practice Of Quality Assurance In Distance Education In China

With the development of modern information technology,the application of distance education has become more and more popular.So far,the development of distance education has experienced three modes:correspondence education,radio and television education and network education.Being an important part of higher education in our country,the three modes all have played a great role in different periods of the development of China's higher education,especially the network education.And its function cannot be underestimated in Chinese realization of popularizing higher education and construction of a flexible and open lifelong education system.However,the quality problems have become one of the main factors that threaten the sustainable and healthy development of modern distance education.Education quality assurance is not a product nor a result,but a continuous process.In a broader sense,there are quality assurance activities of a certain form when an education comes into being.Quality assurance system of higher education is divided into internal quality assurance system and external quality assurance system.The internal system is the foundation,while the external one plays the role of monitoring and regulating.The development of distance education in China has experienced three different modes,and therefore the quality assurance activities have different patterns of manifestations and working mechanisms.Correspondence education of large-scale got some development mainly in 1980s and 1990s.The quality assurance practice of correspondence education in China includes the strict input,the output of the model,the standard of education policy guidance and education evaluation and supervision in terms of form.Discussions on the guarantee of the quality of correspondence theory are mainly concentrated on education ideology,construction of teaching materials,construction of faculty,self-study and face-to-face teaching and correspondence management etc.The development of radio and TV education in our country started at the end of 1970s and concluded in the end of 1990s.The specific measures for the quality assurance of radio and television education system are "Five Unifications"model of quality management,educational policy guidance,education evaluation and graduates' follow-up investigation.Studies on quality assurance system of radio and TV education theory are mainly about the quality assurance factors,including Theory of Three Elements,Theory of Four Elements,Theory of Six Elements,Theory of Eight Elements and the "Five Unifications" model of quality management.Network education model began in 1999 with the start of modern distance education project.The practical work on quality of network education in China can be seen in policy guidance,education assessment and supervision,annual inspection system and implementation of the network examination system,the construction of the internal quality assurance system in some colleges and universities.There are far more discussions on the theory of network education quality assurance than those done on the previous two stages,and they are mainly about concepts of quality of distance education,discussions about distance education quality assurance standards and elements and strategies of distance education quality assurance.In the development of the three modes,the theory and practice of distance education quality assurance not only promote each other but also separate one from each other.The development of theory and practice is a complex and interactive relationship rather than a simple linear one.To have a rational summary on theory and practice of China's distance education quality assurance,it is found that its main achievements lie in as follows:deepening its development by promoting the awareness of people;guidance,regulation and standardization of education policy on its practical development.Nevertheless,its defects require more attention and they are groundlessness of the practice as a result of its strong theoretical dependence,blindness of the practice as a result of its theoretical backwardness,the exogenous route of its practical development,failure to transform from theory to practice as a result of its practical weakness between subjects.The healthy development and positive interaction between the theory and practice of distance education quality assurance in China is conducive to the improvement of the quality of distance education in China.To promote China's distance education quality assurance theory and practice of interaction,the following requirements should be met:profound theoretical basis,the formation of a scientific and systematic theoretical construction of distance education quality assurance,construction of a practice-oriented,localization of distance education quality assurance theory,promotion of an endogenous route of distance education practice,promotion of the understanding and the dialogue between the subjects,establishment of an effective interaction between the quality of distance education theory and practice.Through the summary of the theory and practice of the quality assurance of distance education in our country,we can form the positive interaction between the quality assurance theory and practice of distance education is beneficial to the improvement of the quality of distance education.Based on the above analysis,this study establishes the mechanism of the theory and practice of the quality assurance of distance education.The system theory believes that system is everywhere.The quality of distance education theory and practice form an interactive system,in which education theory,education practice,education medium,the subject of education assurance theory and practice are all its essential elements.The function of this system is based on the inherent characteristics of each element in the system and its benign operation.In this system,the development of distance education quality assurance theory should be scientific,systematic,localization,independent and modern.The development of distance education quality assurance practice should be specialization,autonomy and independence.As the jointing of the distance education quality assurance theory and practice,education medium has different levels,it's the educational policy,rules and regulations,and the rules of behavior in the country,the group and the individual level.The subject of distance education quality assurance theory should improve the professional accomplishment,research the practice thoroughly,reform the research method.The subject of distance education quality assurance practice should strengthen the reflective consciousness and ability,strengthen the theoretical knowledge and thinking ability,strengthen the comprehensive application ability of theory,guided by scientific theories to form a unified concept,cognition and volition and action.Based on the development of all the elements,the quality subjects of distance education can have a mutual understanding and dialogue,achieve the two-way transformation between the quality of distance education theory and practice,and this interactive system must be run in the way of integrated,organic,structural and dynamic development.