A dissertation completed at
The Center for Education, Widener University,
One University Place, Chester, PA 19013 		 
A STUDY OF DISTANCE LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION
MELROSE ROBINSON, Ed. D.
October 7, 1998

RETURN
edited 6/20/01

 


ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of distance education/learning technologies by the 4200 institutions of higher education in the United States and its territories. This study will provide information concerning attitudes toward the use of distance learning technologies, frequency with which these technologies are used, change in the roles of administrators due to their implementation, kinds of trainings made available in preparation for the use of these technologies, and budgetary constraints impacting their implementation.

A questionnaire was used to examine the interrelationships among attitude, distance learning technology use, training, frequency of use, agef gender, budgets, decision-making process, and institutional categories of distance learning administrators at the postsecondary level. A demographic section of the questionnaire assisted in developing a profile of the distance learning administrators, experience level, training, gender, age, and organizational level within the institution. These variables were correlated to the opinion responses about distance learning technology usage.

A frequency distribution of responses of selected items from the questionnaire were analyzed in relation to the demographic, budget, and training variables. Another variable analyzed the types of distance learning programs that were implemented at the various institutions. Tables were used to show a summary of the number and percentage of responses to each item within the various categories. Furthermore, a correlational study of responses to statements from the questionnaire and the general attitude, task and role characteristics, decision-making process, implementation, and training provided at the various classifications of post-secondary institutions were conducted. The statistical procedures used were the parametric Analysis of variance and Independent Samples ttest. Also used were the nonparametric Chi-Square, MannWhitney U-test, and Kruskal-Wallis.

Findings indicated that the attitude, perceptions, and opinions of administrators toward the implementation of distance education technologies is very positive. However, the relative importance of distance education within the organizational framework is suspect, since a majority of the institutions do not have a mission statement developed for distance education.

Ultimately, the results from this study are intended to help institutions of higher education to develop strategies for the successful implementation of distance education/learning technologies on their campuses.

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