Faculty Philosophical Position towards Distance Education: Competency, Value, and Educational Technology Support.

Abstract

As higher education attempts to meet the growing demand for courses delivered at a distance, identification of potential barriers to faculty acceptance and adoption are needed. The purpose of the study was to describe faculty perceptions with respect to distance education competence, value, and information technology support by philosophical position towards distance education. Of the three constructs, only value was found to be significantly related to the philosophical position towards distance education. Teachers not philosophically opposed had a higher perceived value of distance education. Efficient communication of the increasing value of distance education is needed. This information can help administrators, faculty, and institutions remain competitive and make decisions on strategic plans regarding distance education. Introduction The expanding adoption of distance education has led researchers to explore faculty attitudes. Many studies have questioned the educational equivalency of distance courses when compared to the traditional classroom. According to Black (1992) Distance education is often viewed as second-best to classroom, face-to-face instruction (p3). According to Miller (2001) faculty philosophically believe that distance courses result in lower levels of cognition. This author, however, found that the level of cognition is equal in both traditional and distance courses. In order to ascertain equivalency a standard of measurement must be agreed upon for effective communication. According to Rogers (1995) communication is essential if innovation is to spread. Changing the philosophical nature of how courses are measured is key to communication.