The efficiency in distance education: a resolved problem?

Abstract

Thanks to the concern for the quality of distance education, a large amount of scientific literature had been produced to help detect the strong and weak points of this type of methodology and this has contributed to its constant improvement. One line of research focuses on whether significant differences exist between face to face and distance learning. Using an empirical methodology of content analysis, we have explored research on student performance in both formats in order to detect major differences between the two. This meta-analysis shows that the effectiveness of the education does not depend on the technological resources available or the teachers or the students, although they are all decisive, but rather on the quality of pedagogical design. With rigorous designs, whether they be used in face to face scenarios or in distance education, the results are not significantly different.

Keywords

• educación a distancia
• educación presencial
• eficacia
• rendimiento
• calidad de la educación
• aislamiento