The future of education in our society will most certainly bear witness to the increased use of technology for teaching and learning at all levels. More than half of all regionally accredited colleges and universities now offer courses or degree/certificate programs through distance education and learning models. Although most of these offerings are at the undergraduate level of education, it seems quite likely that in the foreseeable future similar models of teaching and learning will increase in graduate and post-baccalaureate professional education and training.
In psychology, among the more likely demands for such capability are those of adult learners with bachelor's or master's degrees and work experience who aspire to upgrade their professional qualifications and are less able to relocate geographically or otherwise enroll in a traditional residential campus program. Were graduate degree programs at the doctoral level to be available through distance education models, it would be essential that they be of appropriate quality.
To examine the issues that would need to be addressed for such an outcome to become a reality for professional education and training in psychology, the American Psychological Association (APA) appointed a task force in 2001, the final report of which is the present document. Membership of the task force was diverse in personal and professional background, with several members having experience in the development of telehealth models of psychological services delivery, a few experienced with distance education and training, and some having first-hand knowledge of the challenges faced in serving frontier, rural, and off-shore communities.
Following a brief introduction section, the report consists of two major sections: (1) principles of good practice in distance education based on developments over the past decade among higher education accrediting bodies, government agencies, private foundations, and resuling literature; and (2) a summary of the issues that need to be addressed in the application of these principles to doctoral education and training in professional areas of psychology to facilitate the development of distance education models of appropriate quality. Supporting these two sections is a references section resulting from bibliographical research by the task force and appendix sections that summarize in more detail the principles of good practice adopted by various accrediting bodies and vital issues of technology capacity, accessibility, and use.
While in detail the latter of these sections is most vulnerable to change, given that it pertains to state-of-the-art technology, the general principles and issues discussed in this report are likely to remain valid for some time in the foreseeable future.
Principles of good practice in distance education are organized into the following domains of focus: (1) access; (2) learning community; (3) faculty support; (4) student support; (5) curriculum and instruction; (6) evaluation and assessment; (7) institutional context and commitment; (8) facilities and finance; and (9) library and learning resources. These domains were derived from an analysis of the areas of focus common to higher education accreditation commissions. Within each domain, one or more principles of good practice are stated with discussion and literature citations in support of each. The appendix sections on good practice principles and technology issues are especially relevant to this section of the report.
The quality assessment and assurance section begins with a few guiding assumptions, addresses some of the difficulties in establishing quality assurance standards, and summarizes the major components of professional education and training in psychology that need to be addressed in any model of pedagogy, residential or distance. Among topics discussed are the following: (1) didactic curriculum; (2) context and professional socialization; (3) research competencies; (4) clinical competencies; and (5) ethics and professional conduct. The section concludes with brief discussion of implications for accreditation, designation, licensure and other regulatory issues from a national as well as a more global perspective.
