The Impact of Face to Face Education and Distance Education on Student Performance : A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

The progressions of any society depend on the educational capacity of that society, and the efficiency of any educational system may be estimated by measuring the grades to which the graduates of that system achieve their educational goals. Among these, distant learning system and face-to-face education are considered as two main approaches in the higher education system of our world. Consequently, the present study applies quasi-experimental (semi-experimental) method and using two experimental groups (distant learning students) and (face-to-face students) as the control group, it tends to determine the commonalities and differences between the two systems in terms of educational efficiency.

Distant learning is a kind of educational process in which all or most of the education is done through the instructor to the learner regardless of time and place. In other words, all or part of the communication between the teacher and the learner is done through artificial media, whether electronic or printed. For that reason, information and communication technologies such as the Internet and multimedia and trans-media systems are used in this educational method.

Distant learning has become an educational system by taking advantage of the very rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT) and due to its special features and philosophy of existence. The research results show that the learning level of learners in the distant learning system compared to learners in the face-to-face system is not lower, provided that the principles of learning, educational design and considering the student-centred nature of planning and benefit from adequate resources and appropriate media.