University Instructors And Students’ Attitudes Toward Distance Education: The Case Of Qatar.

Abstract

To assess the attitudes of university instructors and undergraduate students toward distance education and to examine the relationship between their attitudes toward distance learning and their sociodemographic data, a mixed-method cross sectional study on a sample of 63 instructors and 203 students was conducted. Qatar University instructors and undergraduate students were surveyed using an online self-administered questionnaire consisted of the attitudes toward distance teaching scale and sociodemographic data. Another online semi-structured interview was used to collect qualitative data from both instructors and students.As aresult, the Mean (SD) of the Average Attitude Score for instructors and students were 3.47 (0.53) and 3.42 (0.79) respectively. There were statistically significant difference in the Average Attitude Score means for the students’ major and age and the instructors’ subject. The average percentage of agreement for instructors and students were 59.22 % (16.7%) and 55.76% (15.7%) respectively. Access to online platforms, internet connectivity, access to electronic devices, and professional training highly affected whether instructors held positive or negative attitudes. Students highlighted the importance of maintaining communication with instructors, using appropriate teaching strategies, providing electronic devices, securing internet services and applications, training students and instructors on digital applications, and ensuring the integrity of tests. Overall, Qatar University instructors and undergraduate students showed neutral to positive attitudes toward distance education. Also, they pointed out several factors that impacted their attitudes toward distance education