Distance Education in Canada, Ian Mugridge and David Kaufman (Eds.) Beckenham, Kent: Croom Helm, 1986

It is a pity the Americans have already appropriated . pluribus unum for their own purposes. The motto would serve the distance education enterprise well, and it is a theme that this book could well claim as its own. The "many," of course, are the tremendously diverse activities and concerns subsumed under the rubric of distance education. The "one" is the common concern of those involved in distance education for extending access to educational opportunity.

Taken in sum, this book is a marvelous reflection of the eclectic nature of distance education in general - and of distance education in Canada in particular. The editors have taken as their task the construction of a mosaic of activities and issues in distance education in Canada based on illustrative examples and case studies. Although the editors confess that they did not attempt "a comprehensive account of Canadian activities in distance education," the book is, nonetheless, wide-ranging. There are 24 contributions (not counting the Preface by John Daniel) classified into five categories: an "Overview," comprised of an introduction by the editors, a brief history of distance education in Canada, a policy analysis, and a look at the future; "Current Practice," which ranges from accounts of selected practices in Canadian distance education to the more generic issues of research and consortia; "Distance Education Institutions," which is a set of case studies on The Open Learning Institute, Athabasca University, Télé-université du Québec, and North Island College; "Distance Education Programmes," which covers universities, community colleges, public elementary and secondary schools, and private corres-pondence schools; and "Use of Technology," which describes various technologies and their use in distance education in Canada

Within categories, there are some interesting agglomerations of topics. For example, in Section 2, "Current Practice," the variety ranges from John Bottomley on "Production, Storage, and Distribution" of course materials, to Dan Coldeway on "Learner Characteristics and Success," to Abe Konrad and Jim Small on "Consortia in Canadian Distance Education." In Section 5, "Use of Technology," the oxymoronic pairing of "New Technologies in Distance Education" by Chuck Shobe and "Use of Audiocassettes" by Jim Leslie should not pass unnoticed (other contributions in the suite cover radio, television, audio teleconferencing, and computers.)

Many of the topics will seem like familiar refrains to anyone who has an interest in distance education. In some instances, the refrains are truly familiar (and in some cases not particularly Canadian). For example, it seems to be in the nature of research in the social sciences that results are typically inconclusive, more research is required, and something needs to be done to shore up the research agenda. As John Daniel notes in the Preface, our understanding of why some learners succeed and some do not does not seem likely to be any more profound by the year 2000 than it is now. In a slightly different vein, many of the "new" techno-logies have been "new" technologies for such a considerable length of time that one ought to wonder why this is so. Of course, what is "new" is really what is "news" in the sense that the items of interest are essentially who is doing what with the by-now familiar technologies. As will be apparent from the items of "news" in the various papers on the use of technology, progress in this area has been incremental and develop-mental rather than sweeping and revolutionary, but it is noteworthy, nonetheless.

Other refrains in the book will also be apparently familiar. For example, when I skimmed through the Table of Contents, I rather unkindly (and impetuously) wondered why we needed yet more case studies on the Open Learning Institute, the Télé-Université, Athabasca University, and North Island College. However, as the editors and some of the contributors note, the evolution of distance education has largely been a matter of working things through rather than following a grand design. Something of the nature of this "working through" and the practical wisdom that guides the process emerges from the case studies and from comparisons between the current and prior accounts of these distance education institutions. These chapters in particular (although other chapters support the point as well) indicate that - at least at this time - distance education in Canada is an enterprise essentially driven by practice and little influenced by theory. As John Ellis notes in an analysis of policy development in distance education, maybe the way things are is an indication of how they ought to be.

Why the editors chose to categorize the sections as they have and why they commissioned the particular papers they did will likely prompt comment from some readers, and perhaps even some contention. The editors' emphasis on selected issues and specific experiences necessarily results in some unevenness of both emphasis and coverage (a point the editors make themselves); it is a point around which it is always possible to comment. One consequence of such an eclectic approach is that there is some overlap of material across various chapters. However, the bits of redundancy are not seriously distracting; they are occasionally enlightening because you get different points of view on the same matter; and they are a help if you do not wish to read the book as a totality but simply want to attend to particular chapters. This book is the first substantial account of distance education in Canada and, as such, I believe it covers the scene sufficiently well to live up to its title and to meet the aspirations of the editors. As with any mosaic, though, it is difficult to apprehend the larger impression when one attends especially to the constituent parts - so heed the editors' advice and reserve judgement on this count until you have read the whole book. I also believe that the book will prove to be a milestone in the developmental progression that is distance education in Canada. As a reference source, I expect it to become something of a citation classic. Others working and studying in the area will find the volume a useful and helpful springboard for their own work, either because they may wish to supplement this accounting of distance education in Canada or because particular contributions need to be challenged.

The quality of the presentation and production of the book is very good. The editors, self-admittedly, have exercised a gentle and unobtrusive hand throughout. As they note, this approach allows the "personality" of each contribution to show through. Consequently, the individual contributions vary widely in quality with respect to both substance and style. The most serious problem seems to be that occasionally references are made to works not given in the reference list (this was a genuine discovery and not the result of nit-picking, reviewer behaviour). Because the book covers a tremendously diverse range of material, it should have a very broad appeal. Certainly, anyone at all familiar with distance education will find this volume an easy, interesting, and worthwhile read. I recommend it highly.