Browsing by Author "Wiese, Sandra"

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    The perceived roles and competencies for distance educators employed by a private higher education institution
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-12) Wiese, Sandra; Tshuma, Nompilo; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Education Policy Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Education educators need to fulfil new roles and competencies as traditional teaching techniques cannot simply be transferred to the distance education environment. Educators need assistance in clarifying their new roles in order to address the challenges brought about by the differences between traditional learning environments and distance education. Numerous studies have been conducted on roles and competencies in distance education in the USA, Canada, Australia and India. In the South African context, such studies have been situated within the context of one public mega open distance learning university, namely the University of South Africa. To date, research regarding the roles of educators in private higher education institutions is limited. Therefore, the focus of this study was an attempt to fill the gap in the literature regarding the roles and competencies of private distance educators. The results will form the basis for the future development of a framework for academic staff development in private distance higher education. The study employed a survey design using a quantitative web-based questionnaire to gather data on the perceived roles and competencies of distance educators employed by a private higher education institution. The respondents were firstly required to indicate their perceived importance of the eight roles according to the Online Instructor Roles and Competencies which was developed by Martin et al. 2021, and, secondly, their perceived competency in each role. The study indicated that private distance education educators perceived all eight role categories as important and viewed their role competency in the following descending order: subject matter expert, course designer and developer, assessor/evaluator, advisor/mentor, course facilitator, technology expert, course manager, and lifelong learner. The respondents found the roles of advisor/mentor and course facilitator the most challenging. Respondents perceived the role of advisor or mentor as challenging mainly because advisors and mentors struggled to encourage students to engage with the resources and announcements on the Learning Management System. The findings in the study will be utilised to develop an induction programme covering the eight academic roles and addressing the challenges faced by distance educators who work online.