It gives me great pleasure and pride to be 
writing an introduction for the first issue of the 
Journal of Distance Learning. The pleasure is 
personal. It comes from seeing a project with 
which I have been involved for several years 
coming to fruition. The pride derives from being 
involved in an organisation, the Distance 
E d u c t i o n  Association of New Zealand 
(DE A N Z), which continues to grow and 
develop and is prepared to support initiatives 
which involve some degree of risk. 

F r o m  i t s  inception in 1984, DEANZ, in 
accordance with its constitutional aims and 
objectives, has used a publication as a vehicle 
to disseminate information about distance 
education. The DEANZ Newsletter, Bulletin and 
Flier have served this purpose well in the past. 

The n e e d  for a profe ssional journal of 
international calibre was identified by the 
D E A N Z  Executive in 1991. Wi despread 
discussion and consultation then took place and 
a remit proposing that the Bulletin be developed 
into a professional journal was finally ratified 
by the DEANZ membership at the 1993 Annual 
General Meeting. The Journal of Distance 
Learning has been in developq�.ent since then. 

That DEANZ is able to publish a professional 
journal speaks volumes for the association. Our 
energy, vigour and enthusiasm is apparent in 
many ways. For example, the increasingly high 
quality of the papers being presented at our 
annual conferences was one of the indicators 
that we would be able to sustain a journal. In 
addition, our members continue to be invited 
to present papers at international conferences, 
write for various publications and consult in 
developing countries. 

A Journal also requires a dedicated, hard 
working and tenacious editor. This person must 
not only have g o o d  networks within the 
education community, but also be capable of 

Editorial 

extracting copY. from often very busy and 
sometimes reluctant authors. DEANZ is 
fortunate in having such a person in Dr Terry 
Hearn, Head of the Distance Teaching Unit at. 
the University of Otago. He is supported by an 
Editorial Board which is representative of 
DEANZ various constituencies. 

As I said at the beginning, the journal is 
something of a risky business. While the 
association is providing initial finance, it must 
become self-supporting. It will only become 
viable if y01�, our members, submit quality 
articles for publication that assure us of an 
interested and committed readership. 

The journal provides us with a wonderful forum 
for debate, a source of knowledge, inspiration 
and stimulation, a clearing house f o r  
information about distance education and open 
learning and an entree into the world of our 
colleagues. It will help to keep us energised and 
linked with the open and distance learning 
communities both nationally a n d  
internationally. If y o u  h a v e  done s o m e  
interesting research, developed a n  innovative 
teaching approach or want to explore some 
theoretical construct, write about it and submit 
an article to the Journal of Distance Learning 
for possible publication. Encourage your 
colleagues to write as well. Someone needs to 
write up the history of DEANZ. Now there's an 
idea! 

I hope that the journal has a long and eventful 
life in which it explores important issues, 
informs our practise and serves the changing 
needs of our various constituencies. 

Andrea Mcilroy 
President, DEANZ 

In Open Praxis (1, 1994, 6-9), Keith Harry noted 
that there is onl}',a handful of refereed journals 
in distance education, among them the American 

Journal of Distance Learning, Vall, No. 1, 1995 (c) Distance Education Association of New Zealand 

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. Journal of Distance Education (Australia), the 
Indian Journal of Open Learning, the Journal of 
Distance Learning (Canada), and Open' Learning 
(United Kingdom) .  The Journal of Distance 
Learning, published by the Distance Education 
Association of New Zealand, thus joins a small 
group of journals devoted to exploring both the 
theory and practice of distance education and 
distance learning, and marks an important new 
stage in the development of the distance 
education community and profession in New 
Zealand . 

The establishment of the Journal of Distance 
Learning also springs from a conviction that 
distance learning in New Zealand has 
developed a n d  continues t o  develop in 
distinctive and interesting ways, and what we 

should share that experience with the wider 
international distance education community. 
Several of the articles in this first issue describe 
ways in which approaches to distance learning 
in New Zealand are being shaped by this 
country's cultural traditions and aspirations and 
by its geography. 

The distance education community in New 
Zealand is small, but diverse: we should 
celebrate that diversity and try to ensure the 
Journal of Distance Learning reflects that diversity, 
encourages communication, and fosters a sense 
of shared professional identity and purpose . 

Terry Hearn 
Editor, Journal of Distance Learning 

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Journal of Distance Learning, Vol 1, No. 1, 1995 (c) Distance Education Association of New Zealand 

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