Year: 2026
Type: book-review
Abstract: This welcome publication focusing on women's leadership and positioning in varied distance education (DE) roles and contexts opens with a very informative, strong, and well researched introduction.The chapters that follow offer insight into the august history of our field as recounted by many of my former colleagues, providing readers with "an authentic glimpse of … women's experiences with leadership" (p.15).I was especially happy to see a meaningful quote from DE pioneer and former colleague, Liz Burge, and her co-author Helen Lenskyj, wherein they suggested that "feminist principles of teaching and learner-centred instructional approaches are inherent to distance education contexts and … feminist approaches are learner centred" (p.2).Absent in these pages, however, are references to many other pioneering women distance educators, who, through their leadership and scholarship, contributed to the advancement of the field decades ago; I think of Linda Harasim, Jane Brindley, Judy Roberts, France Henri, and Barb Spronk.Lori Wallace's opening chapter's title, calling forth the "old buffalo," is both significant and wise.Titles are important, always, offering insight into what follows as well as creating interest.Ives, Walsh, and Heiser's authors' many dynamic and descriptive chapter
Author: Dianne Conrad
Institution: Athabasca University
Language: English
Topic: Online and Blended Learning
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7147622038
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