Literature Review
Barriers in the Adoption of Distance Education in Community Colleges
Jeffrey Getchell
ITDE 7006
Foundations of Instructional Technology
Nova Southeastern University
December 12, 2005
Introduction
The average worker in the United States can expect to change careers three to five times before retirement. Because of this it is no surprise that higher education, particularly schools offering two-year AA degrees and certificates are growing at a rate equal to their four-year and graduate counterparts. However, adult learners have difficulty in attending campus-based programs due to work, family and other commitments. Unlike the typical 18-22 year old student entering college straight out of high school, the adult learner has other obligations that make a campus-based education impossible. This is one of the reasons that the demand for distance learning programs has increased at such a significant rate over the past several years and the primary reason that institutions of higher learning are increasing the number of courses and programs being offered at a distance. A 2005 report from the Sloan Consortium detailing trends in online education in the United States found that sixty-three percent of undergraduate institutions offering traditional seat-based courses are also offering Web-based courses (Allen, I.E., and Seaman, J., 2005). The report also found that fifty-six percent of schools believed online delivery of critical importance in long-term strategic planning. The largest increase came from two-year community colleges, with seventy-two percent agreeing that the online classroom has become part of the institution’s long-term strategic planning, up from fifty-eight percent in 2003. This emphasis on the online classroom has had double-digit percentage increases over the past several years. Demand for distance learning courses has also mirrored the demographic changes that have appeared over the last several years.
With this ever-growing demand for Web-based courses and programs comes a subsequent demand for qualified faculty to teach effectively in an online environment. However, faculty are not as eager or as quick to adopt online technologies due to several factors. The purpose of this literature review is to examine research as it pertains to the barriers to the adoption of instructional technology as it relates to the Web-based classroom.
Methodology
The literature examined in this review derives exclusively from Web-based sources. Some, such as WilsonWeb and ProQuest Direct Dissertations and Theses, are accessible only by faculty and current students of a higher education institution and are password-protected sources. Other sources, such as ERIC, are recognized sources of academic information open to the public but requiring site registration and a password for entry. Other information came from either government reports or from recognized organizations such as The Sloan Consortium. Lastly, some literature came directly from Web sites but that were referenced in one or more scholarly journals or dissertations. Literature sources were analyzed based on a number of factors including origin of the article and whether the article was cited within a scholarly article or dissertation.
Analysis and Discussion
With over 1.9 million students studying online in the fall of 2003 and with that number expected to grow to over 2.6 million by the fall of 2004 (Allen, I.E. & Seaman, J. 2004), it is logical to assume that the number of faculty needed to teach these students will grow as well. But are faculty ready to accept the instructional technologies and pedagogical changes necessary to teach in such an environment? Christo-Baker (2004) found that in general, faculty were neither for or against the adoption of distance education methods. However, gender played a role in the adoption of distance education technologies with females more apt to adopt technologies when some sort of incentives were involved. Perceived technology skills also had a significant relationship when personal incentives were involved. The greater the level of prior experience with distance education the less likely that faculty would perceive a barrier existed to using distance education technologies. Lastly, faculty did not feel that distance education technologies were an effective medium for delivering of instruction and the ultimate achievement of instructional objectives. Adams (2002) found a correlation between attendance at faculty development activities and the integration levels of faculty. The same study found correlations between age, gender and teaching experience when compared with faculty concern, the level of integration and faculty development attendance. Faculty more prone to adopt distance technologies included females, younger faculty, and faculty with less teaching experience. Brzycki and Dudt (2005) determined that faculty incessantly bombarded by innovation can be exhausting. The growth of instructional technologies over the past several years has led to a number of successive innovations, some of which were fads that soon faded from view. Because of this, they found that flexibility is a must to maintain interest and the proper amount of support in a project. They also found that several forms of support will make it easier to overcome barriers, both perceived and real. Do not schedule faculty workshops during classes, but rather schedule them during breaks or between semesters.
Mwaura (2003) found several primary factors influencing faculty decisions on the adoption or rejection of Web-based instruction (WBI). These factors included faculty development on the development and implementation of WBI, the complexity of the WBI implementation, the compatibility of WBI with the teaching values of the faculty, the amount of time and effort required to develop and implement WBI, the relative advantages of using WBI, and the lack of any sort of incentives when adopting WBI. The findings called for institutions to encourage collaboration among faculty when developing WBI, providing support focusing on the instructional needs of the faculty, knowing the technological skills of the faculty for proper pacing of training, providing for incentives such as course release time or monetary incentives, and encouraging faculty to embrace WBI into their philosophy and pedagogy of teaching. Instructional issues were found to be significant factors in the adoption of technology by faculty (Beggs, 2000). Almost 90 percent of faculty surveyed mentioned the need for an improvement in student learning outcomes as a critical factor in the adoption of technology. Such technologies needed to have an undeniable advantage over traditional classroom techniques, increasing student interest in the topic, and easy access to technology equipment and the training to use such equipment.
When using the diffusion of innovations theory to examine faculty adoption attitudes, Waugh (2002) found that academic discipline and age yielded statistically significant results in the adoption of technology, but that faculty rank and gender were not significant variables. Husain (2001), when examining the effect of diffusion of innovation on faculty, found that lack of time is a perceived barrier for female faculty more so than male faculty. Faculty that received awards for development of courses were less likely to perceive inadequate technical access as a barrier than those not receiving awards. Faculty over 60 years of age were less likely to adopt classroom Internet technologies, perceiving such technologies as not fitting in with the courses they taught. Faculty without experience in using Internet technologies in the classroom had the greatest amount of anxiety in how to use such technologies as teaching tools and the belief that the Internet does not fit into the coursework. Mitra, Steffensmeier, and Lenzmeier (1999) found that faculty attitudes towards distance education technologies as the role of such technologies became more apparent. Such awareness indicates that faculty are recognizing the importance of such technologies in their disciplines. Carr (N.D.) talks of four adoption/diffusion theories originally presented by Everett Rogers. The Innovation Decision Process theory are when adopters progress through five separate stages in the diffusion process including knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation. The Individual Innovativeness theory says that risk takers will adopt an innovation earlier in the adoption/diffusion process. The Rate of Adoption theory says that diffusion will take place over time, with innovations progressing through a slow, gradual growth, followed by a rapid growth, then a leveling off and eventual decline. Last is the Perceived Attributes theory, with five attributes by which an innovation is judged including trialability, observability, relative advantage, complexity, and compatibility. Geoghegan observed that the likelihood of technology being successfully integrated into a curriculum can be greatly enhanced by addressing the needs of the early adopter-early majority faculty. These needs would include the need for recognition, process involvement, a vertical support structure, a well-defined purpose for adoption, ease of use and low risk for failure, and a strong institutional commitment.
French (2001) found that faculty experienced in teaching Web-based courses believed that such technologies and pedagogies allow rapid adoption. Experienced faculty also felt that the use of such technologies in a planned manner is important for encouraging faculty participation but that administration has failed to adopt such measures effectively. Also found was that experienced faculty believed that faculty participation increases at a faster rate when administration effectively develops strategic plans that incorporate Internet classroom strategies into the plans. French also found that faculty at community colleges are more encouraged to adopt Web-based technologies. Lastly, membership in a consortium is an effective means of encouraging faculty to participate in Web-based teaching technologies. Eisenberg (1998) found a reluctance to adopt distance education courses by faculty due to the amount of course development time and additional preparation time necessary. Traditional courses typically take less time to administer than Web-based counterparts. This extra time needed for development and delivery will many times necessitate relegating distance courses to adjunct or untenured faculty, or faculty with the least amount voice in the matter. Wilson, Ryder, McCahan and Sherry (1996) developed seven principles they found important for the successful implementation of instructional technologies. These principles include first-time success, on-going peer support, real task activities, ownership and identity on the Internet, and a variety of incentives. An innovation is more likely to be adopted if success is achieved upon initial use. Ample amounts of support are required throughout the adoption period to ensure proper integration and get users over any problem stages. Real task activities must be used to demonstrate how instructional technologies can assist in solving such problems. Ownership and identity help establish a sense of community on the Internet and assist in the assimilation into the environment. Lastly, incentives should be used to hasten and assist the adoption and diffusion processes and encourage an acceptance of technology. Mitra et.al. (1999) concluded that a stronger emphasis on faculty development in technology will improve the adoption of such technologies. Such training must go beyond simply providing handbooks and instruction manuals and actually provide specific trainings for the technologies being adopted. Such training and support aided both the pedagogical needs of the Web-based classroom and also research efforts.
It is critical for faculty and administration to be aware of the motivational factors involved in the adoption and successful implementation of Web-based technologies. Medlin (2001) found that faculty are significantly influenced by a number of social contacts such as friends, mentors, peers, and students. Contacts such as these may be the influence needed to adopt such technologies for the classroom. Organizational support of physical resources and institutional mandates were also statistically significant in the decision to adopt instructional technologies. Betts found a number of factors that influenced faculty participation in the Web-based classroom. Supportive deans will have a larger number of participating faculty than deans that do not support such initiatives. Faculty that have extensive experience in higher education and faculty outside the tenure process will have a greater tendency to adopt distance education technologies. Administrations that reduce barriers and actively stress the use of such technologies will also increase the rate of faculty adoption. Faculty, whether adopting distance education technologies or not, recognize the importance of such technologies in higher education. Lastly, faculty and deans understand the potential that distance education methods have and are willing to take part in seminars and other development activities that focus on Web-based technologies. Groves and Zemel (2000) found that the rate of technology adoption is directly related to the availability and acceptance of innovations by faculty and teaching assistants.
Conclusions
The literature abounds with references to barriers, both perceived and real. The barriers mentioned most often included that of age, gender, and experience with technology. Faculty over the age of 60 tended to be less accepting of adopting Web-based technology than their younger counterparts. Women appeared to be more willing to adopt technology but only if some sort of incentive were offered to offset the amount of time required to develop and administer a Web-based course. Those faculty that had used technology successfully in the past were also more likely to adopt the Web-based classroom technologies over those with little to no experience.
Rogers Innovation of Technology theory (1997) also played a significant role in many of the studies mentioned. The Innovations of Technology theory states that people undergo a five-step decision-making process that includes 1)knowledge, when the person becomes aware of an innovation; 2) persuasion, when the person forms an impression, whether favorable or unfavorable towards the innovation; 3) decision, when the person engages in activities leading to adoption or rejection; 4) implementation, where the person puts the innovation to use; and 5) confirmation, where the person evaluates the results of the decision. Several studies described faculty as to their position within the process, and referred to faculty that positively adopt instructional technologies as being either early adopters or early majority.
The presence/absence and level of participation with faculty development activities also was a significant finding in several studies. Institutions that had a strong faculty development program had significantly greater number of faculty adopting technology than other institutions. In addition, faculty development programs needed to focus on both the technology and the pedagogy for faculty to feel comfortable in the adoption of such technologies. Support groups made up of peers, mentors, and students also aided the adoption process. Supportive administrations and administrations that included instructional technology initiatives within the strategic plans were looked upon more favorably by faculty and tended to increase the rate of instructional technology adoption by faculty.
What was lacking were studies that focused on the two-year community college environment and the adoption of instructional technologies within such an environment. Although some studies did focus their efforts on a microcosm of community colleges, none were found that focused on the attitudes and adoption behaviors of this significant population of faculty. Due to the large numbers of faculty teaching at such institutions and the level of technology adoption expected, this may indicate an opportunity for further study. Areas for possible future research within a community college setting include administrative barriers, barriers found within specific programs, faculty development opportunities, and the perceived chasm between faculty attitudes versus administrative attitudes.
References
Adams, N.B. (2002). Educational computing concerns of postsecondary faculty. Journal of Research on Technology in Education v. 34 no. 3 (Spring 2002). Retrieved December 6, 2005 from WilsonWeb database.
Allen, I.E. & Seaman, J. (2004). Entering the mainstream: The Quality and extent of online education. Report sponsored by the Sloan Consortium. Retrieved December 2, 2005 from
Allen, I.E. & Seaman, J. (2005). Growing by degrees: Online education in the United States, 2005. Report sponsored by the Sloan Consortium. Retrieved December 2, 2005 from Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the United States, 2005
Beggs, T. A. (2000). Influences and barriers to the adoption of instructional technology. In Proceedings of the Mid-South Instructional Technology conference. Retrieved December 6, 2005 from ERIC database.
Betts, K.S. (1998). An institutional overview: Factors influencing faculty participation in distance education in postsecondary education in the United States: A institutional study. Retrieved December 11, 2005, from
Brzycki, D., & Dudt, K. (2005). Overcoming barriers to technology use in teacher preparation programs. Journal of Technology and Teacher Educationv. 13 no. 4 (2005)p. 619-41. Retrieved December 8, 2005 from WilsonWeb database.
Carr, Jr., V.H. (N.D.). Technology adoption and diffusion. Retrieved December 7, 2005 from
Christo-Baker, E.A.H.B. (2004). College and university faculty attitudes, incentives and barriers toward distance education (Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 2004). ProQuest Direct Dissertation and Theses database (UMI No. 3146740)
Eisenberg, D. (1998). College faculty and distance education. Virtual University Journal, Volume 2, Issue 1, May 1998. Retrieved on December 4, 2005 from
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Geoghegan, W.H. (1994). Whatever happened to instructional technology? Paper presented at the 22nd Annual Conference of the International Business Schools Computing Association, Baltimore, Maryland July 17-20, 1994. Retrieved December 2, 2005 from
Groves, M. M., & Zemel, P.C. (2000) Instructional technology adoption in higher education: An action research case study. International Journal of Instructional Media, 27(1), 57-65. Retrieved December 8 from the WilsonWeb database.