Competencies for distance education professionals

The purpose of this study was to identify the roles and competencies of distance education professionals within the United States and Canada. A population of 103 distance education experts was identified, and their perceptions regarding this information were sought in a modified two-round Delphi process. The results of the study include a competency model for distance education. It illustrates the final top ten competencies and eleven roles which were identified by the study. In addition, a supplemental table outlining outputs and competencies by individual role was developed. The top ten competencies portray the dual importance of both communication and technical skills in distance education. These ten competencies are: (1) Interpersonal Communication, (2) Planning Skills, (3) Collaboration/Teamwork Skills, (4) English Proficiency, (5) Writing Skills, (6) Organizational Skills, (7) Feedback Skills, (8) Knowledge of Distance Education Field, (9) Basic Technology Knowledge, and (10) Technology Access Knowledge. The resulting competency model will be useful in serving as a research foundation for development training and certification programs for distance education professionals. She is also Editor of the International Review section of this journal.     

Future and changing roles of staff in distance education: a study to identify training and professional development needs

Abstract

The roles of distance education teaching staff are changing, necessitating role clarity and the development of appropriate competency frameworks. This article investigates the perceptions of the teaching and research staff at the University of South Africa, regarding the current and future roles of distance educators, their own competencies in each role and training that they require in order to address competencies required in these future roles. This research forms part of a larger project that focuses on capacity and continuous professional development processes that are necessary to train staff to be prepared for these changing roles. A quantitative web-based survey was sent to all academic (teaching and research) staff at the University of South Africa. Key results indicate that competencies in the roles of technology and instructional design have emerged as crucial for distance educators, and that future training programmes need to be developed to support these areas.     

Prioritization of online instructor roles: implications for competency‐based teacher education programs

Online instructors need to take on a multi‐dimensional role and to be an effective online educator they are required to possess a varied and wider range of competencies. Preparing teachers for online education involves preparing them for a wide variety of roles and developing related competencies. However, the extent of emphasis required to be placed on each of these roles or competencies during a teacher training program may vary according to its culture and the context. The investigation reported in this article obtained expert opinions with regard to the priority and criticality of eight online instructor roles identified in earlier research on online education. Pedagogical roles received the highest priority by the respondents, followed by professional, evaluator, social facilitator, technologist, advisor, administrator, and researcher roles. These results have implications for teacher education and further research pertaining to the context in India.     

远程高等教育教师能力评价体系:基于改良的德尔菲指标权重法

运用改良的德尔菲(Delphi)指标权重法对远程高等教育的教师能力进行研究,确认20项重要的教师能力,并对每一项教师能力进行了分析,以期为远程高等教育实践提供一定的指导。     

Roles and competencies of academic counsellors in distance education

Academic counsellors or tutors are engaged as a link between learners and distance teaching institutions. They perform various roles such as facilitating learning of subject matter content, assessing assignments, providing motivation and encouragement, and supervising research/term papers/project work. Each of these roles requires specific competencies to enable them to perform satisfactorily. This paper identifies the roles performed by academic counsellors at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the competencies required for each role. It also provides a generic list of competencies required to perform as an academic counsellor. Based on self‐rating of the competency of a group of academic counsellors, the paper recommends the training of academic counsellors and the development of distance teaching materials for use in competence‐building.     

远程教育从业人员的职业发展阶段和典型工作任务分析

高质量的远程教育,需要一支高质量的专业队伍。然而目前我国现代远程教育的从业人员,大多数都缺少对这个领域的了解,知识和方法准备不足,严重影响了远程教育教学过程的实施和质量的提升。因此,对从业人员进行专业或在职培训已经成为这个领域越来越迫切的问题。但是什么样的培训内容和方法能够满足远程教育从业人员的需求呢？首先需要对从业人员进行工作或职业资格分析,了解其角色和能力需求。基于工作分析的思路,运用典型工作任务分析和实践专家研讨会法对我国远程教育机构有经验的从业人员进行调查和访谈发现：我国远程教育从业人员主要包含课程设计人员、学生支持人员、教师、技术人员四类关键角色,其职业发展经历入职、独立工作、项目主管、部门主管四个典型阶段。远程教育机构可以通过通用的培训课程和针对不同关键角色的培训课程,在职业发展的不同阶段,选择有针对性、适时、合理的培训课程对从业人员进行培训。同时,远程教育机构还应当采用“任务驱动式”或“基于项目学习”的教学模式开展从业人员培训,将每一个典型工作任务转化为一门任务课程或项目课程,为学习者创建真实的任务情境,从而实现真正的能力培养而不是传统的知识灌输。     

成人学习者对远程教育教师的要求及素质认同——来自上海电视大学的调查报告

远程教育教师的素质与远程教育的教学质量有着密切联系,关乎远程教育的可持续发展。目前国内外对远程教育教师素质的研究都是基于远程开放教育的教学特点展开的。本文综合已有研究成果,从学习者的视角就“电大学生心目中的好教师”这一主题开展大样本调查,主要包括基本职业素养、专业知识水平、教学方法和策略、教学评价与反馈,以及资源开发与技术应用五个方面。结果显示,大部分学习者认为电大教师这五个方面的素质比较全面;在认同程度方面,成人学习者非常认同教师应具备的教学方法和策略,胜过对教师高学历学位的认同,不同分校在这方面的认同程度又存在差异;对于教师“基本职业素质”的认同程度在统计意义上的差异并不显著,其他方面都显示有差异;学习者对教师的教学技术应用方面存在不同程度的认同;学习者对教学生动性、实用性的期望值较高,并且渴望教师的充分理解以及与教师的沟通交流。     

The distance learner competencies: a three-phased empirical approach

This study identifies a set of competencies displayed in the successful distance learner. It employed a three-phased approach. Phase I, conducted to develop an initial list of competencies, comprised Behavioral Event Interviews with nine successful distance learners. In Phase II, these competencies were reviewed, elaborated and categorized by seven distance education experts by means of semi-structured interviews. A list of 15 competencies in 5 clusters was then developed and in Phase III, these competencies and clusters were verified quantitatively by surveying 197 successful distance learners. The results reveal that all of these 15 competencies are critically important to, and commonly displayed by, successful distance learners and that of these, management skills is the most important. The findings and their implications are examined and the paper concludes with suggestions for further research into learner competencies.     

Computers in Distance Education: gender differences in self‐perceived computer competencies

This article reports on the gender differences in self‐perceived computer competencies among distance education learners at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Four aspects of competencies that are related to computer usage and its applications were studied; these were competencies in the usage of general computer software, usage of networking software, handling of computer hardware and performing computer maintenance. The results showed that there are no significant differences between the genders in terms of the competencies in the usage of general computer software as well as networking software. These are directly linked to the educational purposes needed to support and facilitate learning in distance education. However, gender differences are observed regarding competencies in their handling of most aspects of computer hardware as well as performing computer maintenance.     

Students’ perceptions on the recognition of holistic competency achievement: A systematic mixed studies review

Holistic competency development is rarely certified in practice, and the assessment of holistic competencies remains an under-researched topic in the education literature. The primary aim of this systematic mixed studies review is to explore students’ perceptions on the recognition of holistic competencies. The review found very few studies that specifically focused on or directly addressed student perceptions in this area. Based on the analysis of 31 studies identified from existing literature, three themes were generated: evidence of overall achievement, assessment of holistic competencies in learning tasks, and challenges. The findings show that there is a lack of attention to holistic competency recognition and is a major gap in the current empirical literature. The current review highlights the need for a systematic process of documenting, reporting, and certifying holistic competency in higher education that takes into consideration the broader level of overall recognition and the assessment of competencies.     

Key competencies and characteristics for innovative teaching among secondary school teachers: a mixed-methods research

This research aims to understand the key competencies and characteristics for innovative teaching as perceived by Chinese secondary teachers. A mixed-methods research was used to investigate secondary teachers’ views. First, a qualitative study was conducted with interviews of teachers to understand the perceived key competencies and characteristics for innovative teaching among Chinese secondary teachers. Seventeen characteristics were identified underlying four key competencies that were perceived critical for innovative teaching. Secondly, an instrument was developed in order to validate the identified key competencies and characteristics and to measure teachers’ perceived importance of the key competencies and characteristics for innovative teaching. A total of 325 secondary teachers participated in the survey. The results show that the four-factor model of key competencies for innovative teaching was validated and the importance level of the perceived characteristics was also identified. This research has theoretical and practical significance with regard to the development of competence-based teacher education programs.     

Differences in competencies between doctoral students on‐campus and at a distance

Abstract

This article describes differences between on‐campus and distance learners by knowledge, skills, and abilities. On‐campus doctoral students at Texas A&M University were compared with doctoral students enrolled in a distance education program offered jointly with Texas Tech University. Student perceptions of their competency levels were gathered using a mixed mailed/Internet questionnaire. On‐campus and distance education students had different levels of competence. Competency models can serve faculty and administrators as an assessment tool for strategic decision making and development of courses and curricula. This study provides a model for benchmarking competencies and provides baseline data for making such changes.     

A Research Review of Nurse Teachers’ Competencies

The conceptions of what constitutes nursing competence and how such competence is taught and learned are changing, due to rapid changes in in the health sector. Nurse teachers’ competencies for providing high-quality, up-to-date nursing education, are developing accordingly. This paper reviews the existing research on nurse teachers’ competencies and addresses how this research identifies, describes, and conceptualizes these competencies. A rigorous search, retrieval and appraisal process identified 25 relevant studies for inclusion in the review. A thematic synthesis was applied to the findings of the studies and subsequent themes were synthesized. The thematic synthesis of the empirical evidence resulted in the five broad themes: academic, nursing, and pedagogical competencies; attitudes; management and digital technology. However, these separate elements appeared to be highly integrated. Hence, this paper indicates that nurse teachers’ competencies may be assessed using a holistic approach, which could bring together the disparate attributes required for successful professional performance in specific situations.     

Middle leadership roles in universities: Holy Grail or poisoned chalice

Middle leadership roles in higher education have been identified as important for institutional effectiveness yet fraught with tensions, and those in middle leadership roles often feel unprepared and unsupported. This study of the responsibilities, skills and competencies, and support required for heads of school in a New Zealand university, drew on a survey and interviews with heads and focus groups or interviews with a range of stakeholders. The research found that while heads found satisfaction in their role, they also faced challenges associated with people management, workload and impact on their research careers. There was widespread agreement among stakeholders about the capabilities needed for the role and an awareness of the barriers to effectiveness. Suggestions for making the role more appealing include reducing workload, providing learning and development programs, clarifying the balance of professional and personal competencies required, and encouraging the distribution of leadership.     

Validated Competencies for Distance Teaching

The International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (IBSTPI) provides a methodology for drafting and validating teaching competencies. This study applied the IBSTPI methodology to identify and validate distance education (DE) instructor competencies. The research team's review of DE literature in the past 10 years resulted in a list of 20 competencies. The list was reviewed by 18 distance learning professionals as subject matter experts (SMEs). The SMEs' feedback and comments along with the performance statements developed for the competencies were analyzed which resulted in 54 task statements describing the instructional activities of a DE instructor. These tasks were then rated by 148 instructors in terms of importance, frequency of performance, and the perception of relative time spent on each task. The task analysis resulted in a list of 17 most frequently performed tasks that we linked back to the corresponding original competencies. Analysis of these data pointed out the significant characteristics of teaching from a distance including interaction with learners and technological and logistical requirements. This article presents the methodology and findings of this study and discusses their implications for recruitment, selection, and training of DE instructors.     

Administrators' ratings of competencies needed to prepare preservice teachers for oral deaf education programs

Deaf education teacher preparation programs must prepare teachers to staff an increasing number of oral programs. A survey was conducted to determine which competencies administrators of deaf education programs rate as important for teachers in oral programs and to compare ratings of these competencies by oral school administrators to ratings made by administrators of comprehensive deaf and hard of hearing programs. Between the two groups of administrators, six areas of agreement about competencies were found. There were notable differences in the range of ratings between the two groups. These differences were attributed to the roles teachers assume in the two types of programs and the focus of instruction in each type of program.     

对远程开放教育学生自主学习能力的培养与开发

让学生学会如何学习,是素质教育研究的一个重要课题,也是完成开放教育和实现学生终身教育的关键所在。基于此,通过分析培养和开发远程开放教育学生自主学习能力的现实意义,探讨如何有效地培养学生自主学习能力,以期为转变传统教育观念、提高远程开放教育质量提供有效借鉴。     

Roles for Counselor Education Departments in Marriage and Family Counseling: Current Status and Projections

Preparation of counselors for marriage and family counseling roles is an increasingly important aspect of counselor education. This study sought to determine current level and projected involvement of a nationwide sample of counselor education departments in marriage and family counselor training and to assess the extent to which counselor educators in the sample agreed with 30 marriage and family counseling competencies.     

A Competency Model for Process Dynamics and Control and Its Use for Test Construction at University Level

This study examined students’ competencies in engineering education at the university level. First, we developed a competency model in one specific field of engineering: process dynamics and control. Then, the theoretical model was used as a frame to construct test items to measure students’ competencies comprehensively. In the empirical application, the reliability of the test was examined. The results confirmed the applicability of the theory-based test. Also, associations between students’ competencies and individual characteristics were explored. Students who showed higher competencies could be identified based on their individual characteristics, such as participation in self-assessments. Finally, we demonstrated how to apply the standards of theory-based testing to everyday routines at the university and also highlighted some challenging issues to be considered when implementing theory-based testing in practice. This approach could be valuable: Tests based on theoretically sound models allow for appropriate measurement of students’ competencies in higher education.