Learners' opinions toward structuring a graduate program in distance education

Increase in education needs, technologic developments and subsequently the opportunities for applying these technologies in education accelerated the prevalence of distance education. Besides, the need for qualified staff in distance education field also increases. Training learners to be experts, which have the necessary knowledge and the skills for distance education field, will be possible through founding the graduate programs in the field. In structuring such a program, individuals which take place in graduate programs in distance education field as learners are one of the groups that can be consulted. Problem Statement: How are the learners' opinions toward structuring a graduate program in distance education? The Purpose of the Study: The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the learners' opinions toward structuring a graduate program in distance education. Method: This is a qualitative study; interviews were conducted with learners which have been attending a graduate program in distance education field. The scope, management, characteristics and implementation dimensions in the case of structuring such a program in the future were considered in the interviews. Consequently, learners' opinions about the courses and the contents that should be given, changing decisions related to courses, coordination among the stakeholders, future plans, properties and the quality of education, applications that can be used were analyzed. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved