The “Mainstreaming” of Online Teaching and Conflicted Faculty Perceptions

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic heavily accelerated the adoption of online education. Technology adoption literature indicates that individuals are motivated to adopt technology as a result of various factors including social influence, performance expectations, effort expectations, and the conditions that facilitate their use. These factors are mediated by the degree of voluntariness of technology adoption and risks and rewards associated with adopting online learning. Given the pandemic experience, faculty members were forced to adopt online teaching, removing the voluntary nature of technology adoption. This study surveys a national sample of faculty to understand faculty perceptions of online teaching and reports on perceived changes in perceptions resulting from the pandemic and future intentions to teach online. In contrast to prior literature, findings indicate that faculty tend to have positive perceptions of knowledge outcomes associated with online teaching, and although there are areas for improvement, most faculty members intend to teach online again post-pandemic.