Degree Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
1987
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Education
Abstract
Which of the literature-identified factors most influence faculty willingness to teach via telecommunications? For this study, attitudinal descriptive elements were lifted from the literature and reformulated into items on a questionnaire. Six categories of items resulted: (1) awareness of distance teaching, (2) the use of technology for instruction, (3) logistical aspects of distance instruction, (4) quality in distance teaching, (5) instructor control over the teaching-learning process, and (6) institutional support for distance instruction. The questionnaire was mailed to a sample of 53 Iowa State University faculty members who had taught at a distance via satellite, audioteleconferencing, videotape or pre-produced telecourses, and 52 faculty who had never taught at a distance. Instructors' ratings of the distance-teaching-related factors were statistically compared to their indication of their own willingness to distance teach;It was hypothesized that instructors primarily resist distance teaching because they see teaching via instructional technology as lessening their control over the teaching-learning process. It was further hypothesized that institutional support would constitute the strongest catalyst for participation in distance teaching;Multiple regression analyses did identify the issue of instructor control over the teaching-learning process as the greatest predictor of willingness to distance teach. The more faculty perceived distance teaching as lessening their control, the less willing they were to participate in it. Control was the only influential category for inexperienced faculty. For faculty who had taught at a distance, however, the use of technology for instruction emerged as a secondary influence. There were no significant differences in the way faculty willing to distance teach and faculty unwilling to distance teach perceived institutional support for distance instruction. Institutional support was not rated highly by the respondents. Cross-tabulations suggested that opinions on distance teaching issues may vary according to the telecommunications delivery mode used by the faculty member.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.31274/rtd-180813-11942
Publisher
Digital Repository @ Iowa State University, http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/
Copyright Owner
Kathleen Anne Stinehart
Copyright Date
1987
Language
en
Proquest ID
AAI8721935
File Format
application/pdf
File Size
131 pages
Recommended Citation
Stinehart, Kathleen Anne, "Factors affecting faculty attitudes towards distance teaching " (1987). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 8594.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/8594
