Degree Name
EdD (Doctor of Education)
Program
Educational Leadership
Date of Award
5-2014
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Dr. James Lampley
Committee Members
Dr. Bethany Flora, Dr. Donald Good, Dr. Susan French-Graybeal
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate faculty and administrator perceptions of online learning compared to traditional face-to-face instruction by exploring the factors that impact online instruction. Strategies that can lead to effective online learning environments were explored. Faculty and administrators working with online education at 6 traditional, regionally accredited, degree granting higher education institutions were included in the study.
The number of participants consisted of 169 from the public university, 98 from the private institutions, and 33 from the community college. The survey used a Likert-type scale, and had 4 dimensions (student engagement, student-student interactions, faculty engagement, and academic dishonesty) to measure faculty and administrator perceptions of online education. It contained 17 statements and 9 demographic questions.
Statistical analyses of the data revealed: (1) No significant difference in the perceptions of faculty and administrators as measured by mean scores on the 4 dimensions of the survey by type of higher education institution, (2) No significant difference in the perceptions on the 4 dimensions of the survey between administrators and faculty, (3) No significant relationship in participants’ years of service and mean scores on the 4 dimensions of the survey, (4) No significant difference in the perceptions on the student-student interactions dimension between faculty who teach primarily online and those who teach primarily face-to-face, and a significant difference in the perceptions on the other 3 dimensions, (5) A significant difference in the perceptions of faculty towards academic dishonesty dimension depending on the percentage of online classes taught by the faculty (25% or less, about 50%, about 75%, and 100%). Group 1 (25% or less) had significantly lower mean score than the groups 2 (about 50%), 3 (about 75%), and 4 (100%), (6) A significant positive relationship in the perceptions on the academic dishonesty dimension based on the number of years teaching online courses, (7) No significant difference in participants’ mean scores on the 4 dimensions based on faculty members’ and administrators’ age, and (8) The perceptions of male faculty and administrators on student engagement tended to be significantly higher than the perceptions of female faculty and administrators.
Document Type
Dissertation - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Abraham, Sneha E., "Online Education: Perceptions of Faculty and Administrators at Three Different Types of Institutions of Higher Education" (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2340. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2340
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.