Attempts to deliver courses and programs across national boundaries have assumed that materials and delivery methods can be transferred from one place to another. But experience has shown that this is not necessarily so, even in subjects often assumed to be culturally neutral, such as technology and mathematics. Thus distance educators have been faced with a need to adapt materials for overseas use or to develop materials specific to receiving countries.

Issues that arise in cross-cultural delivery of distance education include:

• Different assumptions about the length and form of courses
• Use of language
• Use of inappropriate delivery mechanisms and support techniques
• Cultural specificity of materials.

Overlying these is the issue of cultural imperialism—the risk that materials originating elsewhere, particularly when they go from industrial to developing countries, will be seen as an attempt to impose a stronger, alien culture. This is not just an international issue: it also arises in such areas as aboriginal education.