ABSTRACT
Who are the audiences for basic education at a distance? This is a central question, given the ‘learner-centred’ approach which educators in this field tend to claim. Yet the answer is far from straightforward, because the term ‘audience’ has several possible meanings. One possible meaning is ‘potential audiences’, that is, the entire range of people – or, more accurately, groups of people – who might be able to benefit from education at this level. Another possibility is ‘actual audiences’, referring to those people who actually take up the opportunities for basic education which are on offer.
