Distance Education

Reimagining Distance Education in the Age of Generative AI: Transactional Distance, Human–AI Interaction, and Online Pedagogy

Introduction and Rationale

Distance education is entering a new phase of transformation, accelerated by the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) (Rienties et al., 2025). As the distinctions between distance, online, and blended learning continue to blur, foundational concepts such as transactional distance, learner autonomy, and teacher–learner interaction are being reconfigured (Moore, 1993; Ayalon & Aharony, 2026). GenAI offers powerful affordances for personalisation, scalability, and real-time adaptation, yet also raises complex questions concerning pedagogical agency, ethical governance, and the evolving roles of human and machine actors in distributed learning environments (Debets et al., 2025; Jou & Hao, 2026).

Despite a growing body of literature on AI in education, there remains limited theoretically grounded, empirically rich research that critically interrogates how GenAI reshapes distance education’s core constructs and practices (Xia et al., 2026). This Special Issue addresses this gap by foregrounding rigorous scholarship that reimagines distance education in the GenAI era (Corry, 2026).

Aims and Scope

This special issue aims to advance scholarly and professional understanding of how GenAI transforms distance education theory, design, and practice. It seeks contributions that:

• Re-examine and extend foundational theories such as transactional distance and learner autonomy in GenAI-mediated contexts
• Investigate human-AI interaction and pedagogical agency in distributed learning contexts
• Explore ethical, governance, and policy frameworks for GenAI adoption in distance education
• Present empirical studies on the impact of GenAI on learners, educators, and institutions
• Propose innovative instructional designs, adaptive learning environments, and assessment models
• Critically reflecting on the boundaries, sustainability, and future trajectories of distance education in the GenAI era