Motivators and Inhibitors for University Faculty in Distance and e-learning

This article reports on four United States studies of how rewards systems, extrinsic and intrinsic, could play an important role in providing incentives for university faculty to teach (or remain teaching) electronic and distance education courses. The first three studies conducted prior to 2003 reported faculty were inherently motivated to teach e-learning and distance education. The fourth study in 2003 reported key findings that differed from the earlier studies. Using a principal components analysis, the researchers found nine indicators of motivation to participate or not participate in electronic or distance education. The implications from the fourth study indicated that, while faculty members were inherently committed to helping students, faculty members wanted their basic physiological needs met by university administration through extrinsic motivators, such as salary increases and course releases. The success of electronic, web-based, courses (e-courses) depends not only upon the schools and universities, but also on the faculty and adjunct instructors who teach these courses. Yet few studies have addressed what motivates or deters the faculty who create and teach e-courses beyond the acknowledgment of their overarching intrinsic motivation to help others achieve an education. Two studies conducted prior to 2002 and two conducted after 2002 were assessed in order to look at which factors were identified by faculty members as influencing their participation or nonparticipation in electronic learning (e-learning) and distance education (DE) courses (Beggs, 2000; Betts, 1998; Gannon-Cook, 2003; Schifter, 2000). These studies used the same (in three instances) or similar (in one study) self-report instrument to measure the intrinsic and extrinsic faculty motivators and demotivators in four university settings. The British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 40 No 1 2009 149–163 doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2008.00845.x © 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2008 Becta. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. findings of these surveys indicate that faculty motivation and DE participation are closely aligned. Faculty are intrinsically motivated to help students, but extrinsically motivated to meet their physiological needs through incentives, such as salary increases, course releases and technology support derived from teaching e-learning and DE courses. So, while studies prior to 2003 indicate intrinsic motivation as sufficient to enlist faculty participation in DE, studies conducted since 2003 indicate that extrinsic motivators play an increasing role in DE faculty participation. Literature review Because of the growth in DE and e-learning courses, there has been a growing clamour for more DE from both the academic and public communities. Studies point to faculty as a key component in the growth and unprecedented success of DE (American Council on Education, 2003; Brewer, Potter, Jannasch-Pennell & DiGangi, 2004; Colbeck, Cabrera & Marine, 2002; Crumpacker, 2001; Giannoni & Teson, 2003; Husmann and Miller, 2001; McKenzie, Mims, Bennett & Waugh, 2000; National Center for Education Statistics, 2002; Parker, 2003; Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, 2004; United States Distance Learning Association, 2001; Web-based Education Commission to the President and the Congress of the United States, 2000). As demand for more DE continues, the study of what can motivate faculty to teach DE courses becomes more crucial. An analysis of DE studies conducted in the USA and published between 1996 and 2005 provides inferences of why faculty participate (or not) in distance education.