They think I should teach online! The influence of college faculty’s beliefs about colleagues and institution on online teaching

Abstract

As online education grows, it becomes increasingly important to understand the perceptions of online teaching faculty. The influence of colleagues and institution on faculty job satisfaction has been well documented. However, less is known about the influence of faculty beliefs about their colleagues and institutions on their online teaching. The purpose of this study was to understand how the beliefs of college of education faculty members about their colleagues and institutions influenced their online teaching. Participants were interviewed about these beliefs. Results were mixed with some participants indicating that their beliefs about colleagues and institution did in fact influence their online teaching in a variety of ways and with differing teaching outcomes. The implications of these results are discussed.