Article Review on "Online Faculty Research How Satisfied"

Article Review 4 pages (1266 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Institutional Support Brings Faculty Satisfaction in Online Education

It is well-known that faculty satisfaction not only contributes to the "quality of work performed," it also means that fewer faculty members will decide to leave the university, and hence, turnover is lessened dramatically when professors are satisfied with their positions. The study presented in the peer-reviewed journal Educational Technology & Society referenced research conducted by Elizabeth Pollicino in 1996. Her research concluded that "…to the extent that faculty perceive institutional support for their professional activities they will likely derive satisfaction from their work and manifest loyalty to their employing institution" (McLawhon, et al., 2012). It is logical to assume that job satisfaction leads professors to be more motivated to perform their teaching responsibilities; but also, job satisfaction when teaching online courses also is of "extreme importance regarding student persistence and retention" (McLawhon, 344).

Faculty Satisfaction - Communication Beyond the Lecture Room

A research paper published by the Journal of Sustainable Development (Dzamtoska-Zdravkovska, et al., 2013) points out what most scholars in the field of education are aware of: good communication is a "…prerequisite for any successful operation" and when good communication exists between students and instructors the students have a better grasp of the subject that is being taught (p. 7). Hence, the authors contend that when the three basic requirements for communication are met, whether in online situations or face-to-face situations, the desired outcome will be met (in this case, learning is the desired outcome). The three requirements include: a) there must be motivation on the part of the professor and students to communicate "competently"; b) persons must be knowledgeable about "the situation in which you are communicating" and about the quality of communication that is needed; and c) there must be acquired skills involved in the sending and receiving of messages" (Dzamtoska-Zdravkovska, p. 8).

So, given that need for good communication, how can it be established if the professor is not in the room, and students are engaged in distance learning? In this case the journalism students at the Law Faculty of the University "Goce Delchev" were given a specific, hands-on assignment to create a newspaper ("Students Echo"), which the professor developed as a student project, and it assisted greatly in terms of the student-faculty communication during distance learning. In other words, rather than just give the students a research and writing assignment, the professor created a "situational dependent" dynamic (the building of a newspaper) in which their need to constantly communicate with the professor (and interact with each other in a new context) was greatly enhanced.

The students communicated with the professor through email, Facebook, and other social media, and the end result was that the professor felt great satisfaction because as a result of the interaction and communication the journalism students actually published a newspaper, because the professor's skills and knowledge were effectively utilized. The bottom line in this instance is this: the professor experiences great job satisfaction when students are having success vis-a-vis an actual, real-world product like a newspaper; hence it could be said that online professors that are student-centric are more likely to experience job satisfaction.

In conclusion, it is clear from the literature presented that faculty teaching online courses are more motivated, more satisfied, and more committed to their tasks when they are well supported by the institution that hired them. Also, successful online instruction is gauged to be effective and sustainable when students are motivated, persistent, and when the student's retention level is positive.

Works Cited

Bolliger, D.U., and Waslik, O. (2009). Factors influencing faculty satisfaction with online teaching and learning in higher education. Distance Education, 30(1), 103-116.

Dzamtoska-Zdravkovska, S., and Serafimova, M. (2013) Communication Beyond the Lecture

Room as a Challenge for Education in the Modern Era.… READ MORE

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