Distance Education as a Supporting Mechanism for University Student Formation

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the role of distance education as a pedagogical mechanism supporting university student formation by assessing its contribution to the development of cognitive and social skills and determining its impact on enhancing academic training in light of the digital transformations occurring in higher education. The study is based on a central research problem: To what extent does distance education, within the framework of the interaction between structure and agency as proposed by Anthony Giddens, contribute to supporting university student formation?

The study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach as it is the most appropriate for understanding and analyzing the phenomenon and its dimensions. A questionnaire was used as the main data collection tool and was administered to a sample of 207 students selected through stratified random sampling from a population of 442 students in the Department of Sociology and Demography at Kasdi Merbah University Ouargla.

The results revealed that distance education is generally positively perceived by students, particularly regarding its role in enhancing cognitive skills and academic formation by facilitating access to knowledge and promoting self-directed learning. In contrast, its impact on social skills was found to be weaker and relatively neutral, reflecting limited direct social interaction within the digital learning environment.

The study also concluded that the effectiveness of distance education in university student formation is not solely dependent on technological infrastructure, but is also shaped by social and pedagogical factors related to students’ abilities and learning conditions. From a sociological perspective, these findings were interpreted in light of Anthony Giddens’ Structuration Theory, which emphasizes the dialectical interaction between digital structures and students’ social agency in producing and reproducing the educational process.

Accordingly, the study confirms that distance education represents a modern educational system that contributes to reshaping university formation, while highlighting the need to develop academic support mechanisms and strengthen students’ digital competencies to enhance its effectiveness in the future