The Challenges Facing Faculty Members at a Saudi University Regarding E-learning Skills

Abstract

The emergency introduction of e-learning in universities amidst the social distancing health directives introduced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic sought to ensure continuity in learning but raised concerns over faculty members preparedness. While social, cognitive and teacher presence in the e-learning classroom are all essential to effective learning, previous research suggests that university faculty members experience organisational, technological and individual (self) challenges that impede learning effectiveness. The purpose of this convergent mixed methods design study is to determine faculty members’ e-learning skills challenges, explore the extent to which these faculty members were qualified to use and adapt e-learning effectively and establish what the university should provide to overcome these barriers. Data were drawn from a stratified random sample of 147 faculty members from a selected university in Saudi Arabia. The study utilised a mixed methods approach, while descriptive statistics are used to summarise participants’ responses and identify e-learning challenges. To establish whether the variances in these challenges can be explained by gender, academic rank, job status, type of discipline and years of experience; this study uses the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) general linear model procedure univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA). Coding the responses to the open-ended questions allowed themes to be identified, which were then used to ascertain additional challenges and potential solutions. The findings indicate that the faculty members experienced self-challenges, as well as organisational and technological skills challenges; however, there were no statistically significant differences in these challenges based on gender, academic rank, type of discipline, years of experience or job status. Potential solutions include time management, communication skills and technical and digital skills training to facilitate more effective communication between instructors and learners. This dissertation offers suggestions and recommendations, including training and professional development, to improve e-learning and overcome challenges such as social and cognitive issues and teacher presence. Addressing e-learning skills challenges among faculty members could help to reduce the vulnerable aspects of this approach and facilitate more successful e-learning implementation in higher education institutions at national, regional and international levels.