Pacific leaders in open, online and distance learning

The Pacific is a vast region, with a diverse range of cultures and stretched geographical lands, which covers large territories and long distances. Open, online and distance learning (ODL) has always played a key role in providing access to education to remote and rural students and disadvantaged groups. In fact, it could be argued that without ODL, the levels of educational attainment in these regions would be much lower. However, there is work to be done, as some countries in the region still have infrastructure problems, such as Internet connectivity and availability, which directly impact access to online and distance learning. In this piece about Pacific leaders in ODL, I noticed that despite the fact that many leaders have or have had a formal professional base at their institutions, many have worked across different nations and in collaboration with several national and international organisations. Also, initially, ODL leaders were predominantly male, but it did not take long for their female counterparts to join in and be recognised. Encouraged by this journal's editorial board, I made sure that the ODL female leaders are well represented in this piece. This manuscript is divided in three sections; Australia, New Zealand and some small islands of the Pacific region. This is by no means an exhaustive list of ODL leaders in the region, but one that recognises the contributions of earlier theorists and some more current researchers and practitioners. Finally, it is also important to highlight that the large majority of the leaders recognised here are renowned academics, researchers, practitioners and leaders due to their success, leadership and contributions to ODL. Therefore, most of them have published extensively, been invited to present at conferences and other national and international events, and have worked as consultants for key ODL organisations and their partners, some during the course of their employment and/or after retiring. Their career and academic successes are very important, but here I would like to focus on some of their key contributions to ODL in the Pacific region.</p

Editorial

The fourteen papers in this issue of Makerere Journal of Higher Education (MAJOHE) have been written by 31 authors based at universities and research institutions in Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia.The papers touch on a diverse range of issues including, but certainly not limited to, reform of/ in higher education institutions and systems; privatisation of and access to higher education; management of higher education institutions; ICT in higher education; teacher education; and research. We are grateful to the authors of these papers for contributing to realisation of the journal’s (and indeed the East African School of Higher Education Studies and Development’s) goal to promote the study, understanding and development of higher education from an internationally comparative and multidisciplinary perspective.Worldwide, higher education institutions and systems continue to face (traditional and emerging) challenges but also to have ambitious prospects for reform. In this context, sharing is invariably beneficial and it is our hope that readers will use the experiences and insights shared herein in their efforts to contribute to realisation of the prospects of higher education as a field of practice, regulation and scholarship. We will be happy to receive writing on some of these contributions as submissions for future issues of the journal.As usual, our thanks are due to all the authors who submitted their work to MAJOHE (published or not); the anonymous reviewers who advised the editorial board on the quality of the submissions; and to African Journals Online for hosting the journal online.  Edito

Re-member: rehabilitation, reintegration and reconciliation of war-affected children

Reseña a cargo de uno de los co-editores,Prof. Dra. Cindy Mels.   Departamento de Psicología del Desarrollo y Educación Facultad de Psicología. Universidad Católica del Uruguay

Translational research principles applied to education: the mapping educational specialist knowhow (MESH) initiative

MESH is a part of a research project applying knowledge management principles which are well known in other sectors, public and private, to the education sector (Leask, 2011, 2012; Leask and Younie 2013, Leask and Preston 2012). The goal is to develop and test out the new ways of working now possible with digital technologies which can address long standing improvement challenges faced by education sectors in all countries