Professional development: assuring quality in e‐learning policy and practice

Abstract

PurposeThe paper reports on findings of research into the institutional and individual influences on engaging in professional development (PD), reflecting on how PD might be made available in ways which could support quality in e‐learning.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents findings of a research project exploring factors influencing engagement in e‐learning PD within New Zealand tertiary education institutions. The research comprised an online survey of 408 individuals in three polytechnics and two universities and 40 qualitative interviews ascertaining beliefs, experiences and practices of staff regarding e‐learning PD.FindingsThe survey and interviews suggest there are numerous factors which both help and hinder quality of engagement in e‐learning PD. Most PD engaged in by staff is informal. Engagement in formal PD is influenced by organisational structure, co‐ordination, poorly developed and/or implemented e‐learning policy, differences in managerial support, and individual beliefs and time allocation.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is conducted in a small number of tertiary institutions and may not be applicable to private or work‐based training organisations.Practical implicationsUnderstanding impacts and influences on individual uptake and experiences of PD provides insights into the sorts of institutional practices and policies likely to improve quality in e‐learning and in e‐learning PD.Originality/valueBy focussing on staff experiences, this paper provides important insights into practical considerations informing the development of e‐learning quality enhancement and assurance strategies.

Blended Learning: How Teachers Balance the Blend of Online and Classroom Components

“…Mansvelt, Suddaby, O'Hara, and Gilbert (2009) presented findings from an online survey of 408 teachers and 40 qualitative interviews ascertaining beliefs and experiences of staff regarding elearning professional development. They found that managerial support, individual beliefs, and time allocation influenced the attitude of faculty to attending training to improve their use of technology in teaching.…”

Research of Information Maintenance Technology of Machine Operator Training Quality Assessment as the Element of the System

“…Over the past decade, researchers have been actively proposing mathematical models for assessing the professional skills of workers in conjunction with employer ratings [9]. When studying the relationship between assessments of the quality of specialist training and professional competence in the political sphere [10], scientists come to the conclusion: "By creating standardized work instructions, it becomes easy to assess the process and make sure that work tasks are performed at the right level of quality" [11]. The use of self-assessments, expert assessments and standardized assessments in accordance with standardized requirements for assessing the quality of a specialist's training makes it possible to consider it in conjunction with the level of development of its professional competence under the influence of formative methods.…”

Bank efficiency measurement using alternative techniques of frontier analysis: evidence from India

“…Although many institutions have already incorporated e-learning into their institutional strategies rather than leaving it up to enthusiastic individuals (Hanson, 2009) or relying on uncoordinated approaches (Russell, 2008), there has been a general lack of success stories so far in the HE sector (Hedberg, 2006;Graham, 2007;Kirkwood, 2009;Russell, 2008). Most Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are 'still struggling to engage a signifi cant percentage of students and staff in e-learning' (Salmon, 2005), there is a 'great variability in terms of diffusion' (Nichols, 2008) and 'poorly developed and/or implemented e-learning policy' with most staff 'unable to defi ne how policy and practices were connected in relation to e-learning' (Mansvelt et al, 2009). This has contributed to the HEFCE Strategy for e-learning ( 2009) reiterating its policy-driven call (HEFCE Strategy for e-learning, 2005) for institutions to take a strategic approach to the use of technology.…”

“…Much of the published work covering the strategic aspects of ICT for L&T tends to focus mainly on issues of implementation, suggesting that e-learning is perhaps largely viewed as a solution looking for a 'problem'. However, before considering the undoubtedly diffi cult challenges of implementation as one of the main reasons for the lack of success stories so far in e-learning in Universities, it should fi rst be asked whether the strategies that Universities are actually implementing might be fundamentally fl awed at the design stage (Carroll and Mui, 2008;Russell, 2009), if indeed they really have a strategy at all (Graham, 2007;Hanson, 2009;Lisewski, 2004;Mansvelt et al, 2009, Nichols, 2008.…”

“…This immediately raises a number of resource-linked questions, especially concerning professional development. Whereas the tendency has been for some institutions to deal above all with improving faculty's technical skills (Mansvelt et al, 2009), the University of Leicester, for example, has opted for e-learning professional development that is 'pedagogically driven' and 'rooted in disciplinary practice' (Salmon et al, 2008) by using a 'course design intervention' approach with a focus on pedagogy and which reassures academics that they are keeping control over their discipline. From a strategy point of view, professional development that focuses on pedagogy and is discipline-based makes sense because it looks to create value through the quality of its L&T activities.…”