Faculty Perceptions of Online Teaching at a Mid-Sized Liberal Arts University in the Pacific Northwest: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

Faculty resistance to online teaching is a problem that can affect institutions looking to increase online learning options for students. Prior research has identified a number of encouraging and discouraging factors that may affect faculty motivation to teach online. Given limited institutional resources, it would be difficult for an institution to address all of the factors identified in prior research. Furthermore, faculty at liberal arts colleges have not been studied as a specific population of interest in prior research. Therefore, to increase acceptance and participation in online teaching at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), this study employed a convergent, parallel mixed-methods research design to investigate faculty perceptions of online teaching among faculty not currently teaching online. The Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior (DTPB) provided a theoretical lens to examine the influence of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on an individual's willingness to engage in an innovative practice, i.e. online teaching. Latent qualitative content analysis examined faculty perceptions of online teaching and identified six themes in the dataset. Using descriptive statistics, an examination of 21 quantitative factors identified 17 factors reported by more than 50% of respondents to influence their decision to teach or not teach online. Merged analysis found strong agreement between the two datasets, with only minor areas of divergence. Study participants perceived online learning as attractive to students but they wanted any online courses carefully regulated, in part because online learning was seen as contrary to their teaching values. Participants were influenced by personal preferences but also the v desire for robust faculty resources, and more effective technology and infrastructure.

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“…The study presents the positive and negative sides of online learning from the perspectives of the interviewed instructors. Meanwhile, Shreaves (2019) conducted a study on faculty perceptions of online teaching at the Pacific Lutheran University to highlight the factors that encourage and discourage online education application. The main goal of the study is to encourage and motivate the employment of online learning in Pacific Lutheran University.…”

Faculty Perception toward Online Education in a State College in the Philippines during the Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) Pandemic

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“…Many encouraging and discouraging elements that may affect faculty desire to teach online have been identified in earlier studies (Shreaves, 2019). It's important to comprehend how teachers feel about online learning as to adequately address their concerns.…”