Given the increased reliance on adjunct faculty and the increased demand for
online courses, the online adjunct faculty member is an important figure to know and
understand. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of research on this population, particularly in
terms of how their feelings of connection to their colleagues, administration, and their
institution affects their beliefs about their online teaching abilities. This non-experimental
correlational study investigated the relationship between sense of belonging and
instructor self-efficacy among online adjunct faculty in higher education. Additionally,
this study sought to determine if there is a predictive element between these two
variables.
This study utilized the Organizational Sense of Belonging (OSB) subscale and the
Sense of Efficacy for Online Teaching Scale (SEOTS) as well as demographic questions
in order to collect data on the study variables. Questionnaires were distributed to online
adjunct faculty members from six higher education institutions within the states of Florida, Virginia, and Nevada. A total of 122 online adjunct faculty members completed
the questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive analyses, ANOVA, Pearson’s
Correlation Coefficient, and regression analysis.
Results indicated that sense of belonging and instructor self-efficacy share a
significant linear relationship. Additionally, a stronger sense of belonging and a higher
instructional self-efficacy were found among participants who participate in universitysponsored
faculty development opportunities, who participate in non-academic university
events, and who communicate with other online adjunct faculty members through social
media. Furthermore, sense of belonging was found to be a significant predictor of selfefficacy,
both when controlling for significant variables and when not controlling for
variables. Further research is needed to determine causality between sense of belonging
and instructor self-efficacy. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_39811 |
| Contributors | Wojcik, Jillian (author), Weber, Roberta K. (Thesis advisor), Florida Atlantic University (Degree grantor), College of Education, Department of Curriculum, Culture, and Educational Inquiry |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 150 p., application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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