Abstract
It is estimated that financial services comprise around 15% of the global economy. From the supply side, one key to meeting this demand is being able to educate and certify the people who provide these services. With the advent of the internet and related technologies, the ability to deliver financial services education synchronously to both online and on-campus attendees has become a viable alternative to pure face-to-face or pure online asynchronous education. Nonetheless, one question remains: can virtual technology deliver comparable quality of financial services educational experience as face-to-face teaching? It is this question our paper addresses using the theory of transactional distance. The theory of transactional distance postulates that for optimal learning, the cognitive gap between instructor(s) and learner(s) needs to be minimized. We explore how transactional distance in financial services education varies by attendance modality (in-class, online and mixed) in a synchronous, web-extended classroom. The implications for managers and researchers are explored.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander, M.M., J.E. Lynch, T. Rabinovich, and P.G. Knutel. 2014. Snapshot of a hybrid learning environment. Quarterly Review of Distance Education 15 (1): 9–21.
Allen, I. E., Seaman, J., Poulin, R., & Straut, T. T. 2016. Online report card: Tracking online education in the United States (Rep.). Babson Survey Research Group. Retrieved from http://onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/onlinereportcard.pdf.
Bischoff, W.R., S.W. Bisconer, B.M. Kooker, and L.C. Woods. 1996. Transactional distance and interactive television in the distance education of health professionals. American Journal of Distance Education 10 (3): 4–19.
Bouras, C. S. 2009. Instructor and learner presence effects on student perceptions of satisfaction and learning in the university online classroom. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Regent University, Virginia.
Bray, E., K. Aoki, and L. Dlugosh. 2008. Predictors of learning satisfaction in Japanese online distance learners. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. 9(3). Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/525/1153.
Chen, Y.J. 2001a. Transactional distance in world wide web learning environments. Innovations in Education & Teaching International 38 (4): 327–338.
Chen, Y.J. 2001b. Dimensions of transactional distance in the world wide web learning environment: a factor analysis. British Journal of Educational Technology 32 (4): 459–470.
Chen, Y.J., and F.K. Willits. 1998. Dimensions of educational transactions in a videoconferencing learning environment. American Journal of Distance Education 13 (1): 1–21.
Clouse, S. 2001. The assessment of student performance and satisfaction outcomes with synchronous and asynchronous interaction methods in student-centered distributed learning environment (Doctoral dissertation, University of Montana, 2001). Dissertation Abstracts International 62: 1384.
Dammers, R.J. 2009. Utilizing internet-based videoconferencing for instrumental music lessons. Applications of Research in Music Education 28 (1): 17–24.
Falloon, G. 2011. Making the connection: Moore’s theory of transactional distance and its relevance to the use of a virtual classroom in postgraduate online teacher education. Journal of Research on Technology in Education 43 (3): 187–209.
Garrison, D.R. 2000. Theoretical challenges for distance education in the 21st century: A shift from structural to transactional issues. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 1 (1): 1–17.
Hillman, D.C.A., D.J. Willis, and C.N. Gunawardena. 1994. Learner-interface interaction in distance education: An extension of contemporary models and strategies for practitioners. The American Journal of Distance Education 8 (2): 30–41.
Moore, M.G. 1980. Independent study. In Redefining the discipline of adult education, ed. R. Boyd, and J. Apps, 16–31. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Moore, M.G. 1989. Editorial: Three types of interaction. The American Journal of Distance Education 3 (2): 1–6.
Moore, M.G. 1990. Recent contributions to the theory of distance education. Open Learning 5 (3): 10–15.
Moore, M. G. 1991. Editorial: Distance education theory. The American Journal of Distance Education, 5(3): 1–6. http://www.ajde.com/Contents/vol5_3.htm#editorial.
Moore, M.G., and G. Kearsley. 2005. Distance education: A systems view. New York: Wadsworth.
Moore, M.G., and G. Kearsley. 2012. Distance education: A systems view of online learning, 3rd ed. New York: Wadsworth Engage Learning.
PWC. 2014 http://pwc.blogs.com/press_room/2014/10/pwc-research-financial-services-industry-faces-bigger-problem-than-lack-of-trust-apathy.html (retrieved, April, 24, 2016).
Ross. 2016. “What percentage of the global economy is comprised of the financial services sector?” Investopedia. http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/030515/what-percentage-global-economy-comprised-financial-services-sector.asp (retrieved, April, 24, 2016).
Saba, F., and R. Shearer. 1994. Verifying key theoretical concepts in a dynamic model of distance education. American Journal of Distance Education 8 (1): 36–59.
Stein, D.S., C.E. Wanstreet, J. Calvin, C. Overtoom, and J.E. Wheaton. 2005. Bridging the transactional distance gap in online learning environments. The American Journal of Distance Education 19 (2): 105–118.
Watts, L. 2010. The role of dialogue in distance education: A qualitative study. ETD collection for University of Nebraska—Lincoln. Paper AAI3398457. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI3398457.
Zhang, A. 2003. Transactional distance in web-based college learning environments: Toward measurement and theory construction. Ph.D./Ed.D. Diss, Virginia Commonwealth University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rabinovich, T., Berthon, P. & Fedorenko, I. Reducing the distance: financial services education in web-extended learning environments. J Financ Serv Mark 22, 126–131 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41264-017-0030-9
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41264-017-0030-9