Transcending “Distance” in Distance Education

Online education teaching and learning practice is advancing as it expands education in a way that exceeds the boundaries of time and place. Alongside this, investments are being increasingly made by institutions with the aim of enhancing students’ sense of immersion into the learning experience. However, despite best efforts, the distance between the student and the institution during distance education including online education cannot be totally removed. This chapter will explore “distance” and its psychological manifestations in education delivered in the online mode. It will be demonstrated that online teaching and learning practice can be shaped and structured such that an optimal amount of distance between a student and his/her institution can be achieved and, where needed, transcended, to reduce feelings of isolation and increase accountability for learning, both of which can be compromised in this mode of study (Metcalfe & Haugen, 2018). Recommendations are made for the contextualisation of learning and the reduction of the perceived distance between students and each other, students and their teachers, and students and their institutions.