Revisiting flexible learning: Definitions, implementation and potentials

Kam-cheong Li, Jingjing Hu and Beryl Yuen-yee Wong
The Open University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong SAR, China

For decades, flexibility has been a focus of attention and effort the field of education. Flexibility in learning, which emphasizes student choice, has been considered as one of the keys to enhancing education quality and satisfying highly diverse student needs. It is often associated with the terms ‘open learning’, ‘distance learning’, and ‘e-learning’. With the increasing application of information and communication technologies in the field of education, flexible learning has been especially closely associated with e-learning, and sometimes is considered to be the essence of the term. Since the ambiguity of the term could be counterproductive in discussions of flexible learning, a systematic review of relevant literature is very much needed to put the meaning of the term into perspective. This paper provides a critical review of literature relevant to flexible learning. The development of the use of ‘flexible learning’ and the implementation of the term are summarized. In this paper, the term ‘flexible learning’ is redefined with a clarification of its relationship with the relevant terms and a proposed system of its dimensions. Suggestions for future research are also provided.