The Acceptability of Online Education\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nA considerable number of research papers have been published to assess the quality of online learning, but the results are mixed. Some research is funded by institutions with an interest in distance learning, and some research is problematic because of the methods used to collect data. For example, the findings from publications that focus on the comparison of two groups of students (i.e., online and traditional) have been noted as being misleading, and their conclusions have raised more questions than they have answered (Phipps & Merisotis, 1999). Few studies have examined the question of acceptability by working directly with hiring decision-makers, or gatekeepers.<\/p>\n
A series of studies was conducted to examine the issue of acceptability of online courses and degrees by asking gatekeepers to choose between candidates whose qualifications differed only in terms of whether they earned their credits\u00a0 completely in residence, partially online, or wholly online (Adams, 2008a,b; Adams, 2009; Adams & DeFleur, 2005, 2006; Adams, DeFleur, & Heald, 2007; DeFleur & Adams, 2004; Padilla-Rodr\u00edguez & Adams, 2011).<\/p>\n
Five of the research studies were similar in design; each presented hiring managers with two hiring situations. In both hiring situations respondents were asked to choose between an applicant with college degree credits earned in a traditional, face-to-face program and a second applicant. The alternative applicants in these studies held degrees that qualified them for the job equally, but their coursework had been completed either half online (and half in a face-to-face setting) or completely online. The hiring managers, then, were asked to select one of two applicants in each situation. In the first situation, an average of 96% of gatekeepers preferred applicants with credits that were earned completely in residence as compared to those whose credits were earned completely online. In the second situation, an average of 70% preferred applicants with credits earned completely in residence as compared to those who had earned one half their credits online (Adams, 2009).<\/p>\n
The issue of whether online coursework is accepted as equivalent to traditional methods raises questions about the process of higher education and whether\u2014in spite of the benefits that new technologies may offer\u2014some aspects of higher education are indeed better as they currently exist. For example, a number of studies suggest that teachers who earn a degree online or complete a significant amount of online coursework during their academic studies are not judged as having qualifications equal to those who earn their degrees in a traditional setting (Flowers & Baltzar, 2006; Huss, 2007a,b).<\/p>\n
Specifically, Huss (2007a) examined the question of acceptability of online degrees as perceived by elementary (N<\/em> = 101), middle (N<\/em> = 75), and high school (N<\/em> = 150) principals. He found that 59% would be very concerned<\/em> if a candidate who obtained a degree wholly or almost wholly online sought employment at their school (39% would be somewhat concerned<\/em> and 2% not at all concerned<\/em>). The vast majority (95%) thought that the online degree did not carry as much credibility as a traditional degree. Furthermore, 99% of those surveyed indicated that if given a choice between two top candidates whose only difference was obtaining their degree online or at an onsite, traditional college or university, they would choose the candidate from the traditional college or university.<\/p>\nThe purpose of the current research is to examine the acceptability of online degrees in the teaching profession. High school principals were asked to evaluate, in their role as a hiring managers, the acceptability of online coursework as part of an applicant\u2019s professional credentials in a hiring situation. Again, this study\u2019s intent is not to compare educational outcomes or offer more evidence regarding the educational merits of distance learning. The current research focused on the question of whether a teaching certificate, earned by completing all or part of the required coursework in an online program, would affect the employability of an applicant.<\/p>\n
Method<\/strong><\/p>\nA national survey that included hiring situations was sent to high school principals throughout the United States in order to assess perceived credibility of an online teaching degree versus a traditional teaching degree.<\/p>\n
Sample<\/strong><\/p>\nThe researchers gathered names of high school principals by visiting the department of education website for each of the 50 United States. High school principals were targeted because they typically make final decisions in hiring situations. While identifying contact information for potential public, private, and alternative school participants was relatively easy, each state formatted their lists differently. In order to meet inclusion requirements for the current study, the list had to include an email address for the high school, the name of the school, and the name of the principal. Prospective participants were contacted and sent instructions via email. Many email transmissions were returned because they were rejected by antispam software or the email addresses were incorrect. A total of 6,306 email transmissions were sent. The request for participation was sent to the complete list of email addresses on three different occasions.<\/p>\n
A total of 1,852 email transmissions were verified as received.Of those, 341 viewed more than one page of the survey without participating; 700 potential respondents clicked the email link and closed the survey without navigating past the first page, and 98 requested to be unsubscribed from the contact list. When the surveys were tallied, 713 respondents completed the questionnaire, resulting in a response rate of 38.5%.<\/p>\n
Of the 713 respondents who completed the survey, 69.6% (n<\/em> = 496) were men and 30.4% (n<\/em> = 217) were women. A number of questionnaires were discarded because they were incomplete, leaving 686 principals (n <\/em>= 481, 70.1% , men; n <\/em>= 205, 29.9%, women) in the final sample. The respondents were asked to select an age range that represents the group to which they belong.\u00a0 A majority of the respondents (73.5%) indicated that they were 45 years or older. Less than three fourths of the respondents (71.3%) had been in their positions more than 5 years. Other important characteristics of the respondents included that 70.7% (n <\/em>= 485) were employed in public schools. Many of the participating schools were situated in rural (n <\/em>= 286, 42.0%) and suburban (n <\/em>= 256, 37.6%) areas.\u00a0 Only 20.4% (n <\/em>= 139) of respondents worked in urban schools.<\/p>\nSurvey<\/strong><\/p>\nThe questionnaire was designed to assess how employers view the academic accomplishments of teaching position applicants. Respondents were asked to select the most qualified applicant in two hiring situations. Forced-choice questions and open-ended responses were used to clarify applicant choices. Demographics were used to assess whether any connection existed between audience characteristics and applicant choices. Finally, respondents had the opportunity to write additional comments regarding their thoughts about online degrees and courses.<\/p>\n
The focus of the questionnaire was to assess how hiring managers respond to a situation where applicants have earned their teaching certificate by attending classes in a traditional manner, partially online, or completely online. Three types of applicants, then, were presented in two different hiring situations (traditional education vs. wholly online education and traditional education vs. partial online education; Figure 1), and respondents were instructed to pick the more desirable applicant in each situation<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\n\nHiring Situation 1 consisted of \nApplicant A,<\/strong>\u00a0described as a graduate of a\u00a0traditional-residential<\/em>\u00a0degree program and \nApplicant B,<\/strong>\u00a0described as a graduate of an\u00a0online\u00a0<\/em>degree program.<\/p>\nHiring Situation 2 consisted of \nApplicant A<\/strong>, described as a graduate of a\u00a0traditional-residential<\/em>\u00a0degree program and \nApplicant C<\/strong>, described as a graduate of a program that included an equal mix of\u00a0online<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0traditional-residential<\/em>\u00a0classroom studies.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nFigure 1.<\/strong>\u00a0Description of the applicants in two hiring situations included in the questionnaire<\/em>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Applicant qualifications were identical except<\/em> for the academic environment in which their degrees were earned. Both hiring situations described the applicants as having the same prior work experience, a successful student teaching experience, good letters of recommendation, and positive results from personal interviews.<\/p>\nRespondent characteristics such as age and number of years in administration were tested for correlation with the applicant selections made by the principals. Written comments were analyzed using a combination of textual analysis to quantify the appearance of keywords and constant comparison method to develop thematic categories. The comments provided valuable insights as to the nature of the perceived quality of online coursework and the perceived capabilities of the applicants who earned their teaching degree using some combination of online coursework.<\/p>\n Results<\/strong><\/p>\nIn both hiring situations, the applicant with a traditional degree was found to be the overwhelming choice.\u00a0 In Situation 1 (traditional Applicant A vs. online-only Applicant B), 637 respondents (93.3%) indicated that they would recommend hiring the applicant with a traditional degree. In hiring Situation 2, 69.5% of respondents (n<\/em> = 477) selected Applicant A over Applicant C. Finally, a mere 6.7% (n<\/em> = 46) of the respondents preferred the applicant whose degree had been earned completely online (Figure 1).<\/p>\n Figure 2. <\/strong>Percentage of respondents who indicated they would be most likely to recommend hiring the target applicant.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As noted, forced-choice questions and space for written comments were used to clarify applicant selections. The principals were asked whether they agreed, disagreed, or were undecided about such issues as the importance of the type of institution where a degree is earned, whether core education classes can be effectively taught online, and the importance of teaching experiences and recommendations. Table 1 summarizes the checkbox responses to these issues.<\/p>\n Table 1<\/strong> \nSummary of Responses to Qualifying Statements<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nStatement<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nAgree<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nDisagree<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nUndecided<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nThe type of educational institution (online university, residential university<\/em>) from which the applicant obtained his or her degree would be of no importance.<\/td>\n\n14% \n( n<\/em>\u00a0= 95)<\/div>\n<\/td>\n\n75% \n( n<\/em>\u00a0= 516)<\/div>\n<\/td>\n\n11% \n( n<\/em>\u00a0= 75)<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nCore teacher education classes (i.e., methods, curriculum, and educational philosophy) can be effectively taught over the Internet to students enrolled in online courses.<\/td>\n | \n35% \n( n<\/em>\u00a0= 240)<\/div>\n<\/td>\n\n48% \n( n<\/em>\u00a0= 328)<\/div>\n<\/td>\n\n17% \n( n<\/em>\u00a0= 118)<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nIt is not important how many credits are earned over the Internet in online courses, a successful student teaching experience and good recommendations are more important in our hiring decisions.<\/td>\n | \n51% \n( n<\/em>\u00a0= 353)<\/div>\n<\/td>\n\n34% \n( n<\/em>\u00a0= 231)<\/div>\n<\/td>\n\n15% \n( n<\/em>\u00a0= 101)<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nChi-Square Analyses<\/strong><\/p>\nChi square tests were used to assess whether certain respondent characteristics had any relationship to applicant selection. Results indicated that applicant selection differed significantly based on certain respondent characteristics. For example, male principals were significantly different from female principals in their applicant selection in both Situation 1, \u03a7<\/em>2 = 4.577, df<\/em> = 1,\u00a0 p<\/em> = .032, and Situation 2, \u03a7<\/em>2= 6.946, df<\/em> = 1,\u00a0 p<\/em> = .008, with female principals more likely to choose an applicant with a degree earned in a non-traditional setting.<\/p>\nPrincipals\u2019 responses differed significantly by school type (i.e., public vs. private) in both Situation 1, \u03a7<\/em>2\u00a0 = 15.617, df<\/em> = 1, p<\/em> < .001, and Situation 2, \u03a7<\/em>2\u00a0 = 5.121, df<\/em> = 1,\u00a0 p<\/em> = .024. Interestingly, principals who work in private schools were more likely to recommend Applicant C than were their public school counterparts. One of the more interesting findings made in this section of analysis is that neither the respondents\u2019 age nor the number of years they had worked as principals were significantly associated with applicant selection in either hiring situation. Similar findings have been made in other research studies (Adams et al., 2007), which appear to discount the notion that younger administrators find online degrees more acceptable in hiring situations than do their older, more seasoned counterparts.<\/p>\nFollowing the applicant selections, principals were asked a series of questions regarding their opinion on different aspects of online coursework. The forced-choice questions were significantly associated with the hiring situations in all analyses. For instance, in both hiring situations respondents who indicated that the type of educational institution where applicants obtained their degree was not important were nevertheless more likely to recommend Applicant A over Applicant B (Table 2) in Situation 1, \u03a7<\/em>2 = 69.676, df<\/em> = 2,\u00a0 p<\/em> < .001, and Applicant A over Applicant C in Situation 2, \u03a7<\/em>2 = 48.622, df<\/em> = 2,\u00a0 p<\/em> < .001.<\/p>\nTable 2<\/strong> \nChi Square Analysis of Applicant Selection by Whether Respondent Agreed With No Importance of Educational Institution<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nApplicant Degree Characteristics<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nNo Importance of Educational Institution<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\nAgree<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nDisagree<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nUndecided<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nHiring Situation 1: Likely to Recommend [a]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nApplicant A: Degree completed with all traditional coursework<\/td>\n | \n73.1%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n96.3%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n97.3%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nApplicant B: Degree completed with all online coursework<\/td>\n | \n26.9%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n3.7%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n2.7%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nHiring Situation 2: Likely to Recommend [b]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nApplicant A: Degree completed with all traditional coursework<\/td>\n | \n42.1%><\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n76.2%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n58.7%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nApplicant C:\u00a0 Degree completed with 50% online and 50% traditional coursework<\/td>\n | \n57.9%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n23.8%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n41.3%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n[a]\u00a0n<\/em>\u00a0= 683,\u00a0\u03a7<\/em>2<\/sup>\u00a0= 69.676,\u00a0df<\/em>\u00a0= 2,\u00a0p<\/em>\u00a0= .001 \n[b]\u00a0n<\/em>\u00a0= 686,\u00a0\u03a7<\/em>2<\/sup>\u00a0=48.622,\u00a0df<\/em>\u00a0= 2,\u00a0p<\/em>\u00a0= .001 \nNote.<\/em>\u00a0Category totals differ from raw totals because several respondents did not indicate their choice or did not select an applicant.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n <\/p>\n A similar comparison was made with checkbox answers to other questions. For example, principals who believed core teacher education classes (i.e., methods, curriculum, and educational philosophy) can be effectively taught over the Internet to students enrolled in online courses were more likely to recommend Applicant B or C than Applicant A.<\/p>\n Finally, respondents who believed that a successful student teaching experience and good recommendations are more important than the number of credit hours earned online were more likely to recommend Applicant B over Applicant A in Situation 1, \u03a7<\/em>2\u00a0 = 9.179, df <\/em>= 2,\u00a0 p<\/em> = .010, and Applicant C over Applicant A in Situation 2, \u03a7<\/em>2 = 30.679, df<\/em> = 2,\u00a0 p<\/em> < .001, (Table 3).<\/p>\nTable 3<\/strong> \nChi Square Analysis of Applicant Selection by Whether Respondent Agreed With Importance of Experience and Recommendations<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n\n\n\nApplicant Degree Characteristics<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nImportance of Experience and Recommendations<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\nAgree<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nDisagree<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n\nUndecided<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nHiring Situation 1: Likely to Recommend[a]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nApplicant A: Degree completed with all traditional coursework<\/td>\n | \n90.6%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n97.0%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n94.1%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nApplicant B: Degree completed with all online coursework<\/td>\n | \n9.4%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n3.0%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n5.9%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nHiring Situation 2: Likely to Recommend[b]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nApplicant A: Degree completed with all traditional coursework<\/td>\n | \n60.1%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n80.1%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n78.2%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nApplicant C:\u00a0 Degree completed with 50% online and 50% traditional coursework<\/td>\n | \n39.9%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n19.9%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n \n 21.8%<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |