Running head: MOTIVATION IN ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Investigating Motivational Factor In Online Professional Development Environment

Among Faculty At King Khalid University

Naif Jabli

ETR797

Summer, 2016
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MOTIVATION IN ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER TOW

Literature Review
Many of the sources this researcher has gathered point to the importance of weighing the

perceptions of both online faculty and learners in regard to the outcomes of an online program

(Hitlz, Kim, & Shea, 2007; Keller, 1987; Schunk, 1995; Weightman, 2008). Faculty forms the link

between the students and the institutions. Motivational factors can decrease the output of the

faculty, which trickles down to the education output of the pupils. Although this paper focuses

primarily on faculty motivation, it cannot be forgotten that the students and pupils are the direct

benefactors, which is why it would be impossible to dismiss their needs entirely while developing

an online professional development course for faculty. Different countries are at different places

on the continuum of online technology. Many schools in Saudi Arabia, in particular, have begun to

implement online technology, albeit after it became popularized in the United States.

According to Abdul-Cader and Anthony (2014), one problem that Saudi Arabia faces is

cultivating the motivation of the faculty. This motivation seems to exist in the traditional

classroom but is lacking in the online environment. This is because faculty feel that they have less

agency in the online classes, which is why Abdul-Cader and Anthony stressed the importance of

having the faculty be present when determining the design of programs through professional

development. Abdul-Cader and Anthony (2014) used two surveys and a query to analyze the

qualitative attitudes of instructors to reach the conclusion that decision-making, or lack-thereof,

and agency affected the experience of faculty. Aldahmash, Alshamrani, Alqudah, and Mansour

(2013) also noticed a similar factor. They discovered that the issue of agency had the ability to

motivate or demotivate faculty, depending on how much agency they possessed in regard to the

design of the program. Their research involved a 40 item quantitative questionnaire delivered to

2,767 people.
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Pressure from institutions has a negative effect on online faculty in Saudi Arabia when that

Pressure is not supplemented with moral support and recognition from the institutions.

Aldahmash, et al. (2013) also stress the importance of continuing professional development (CPD)

because certain subjects in school obviously require qualified instructors. This is similar to Abdul-

Cader and Anthonys (2014) assertion that motivated and trained staff will enhance the reputation

of the institution and provide greater avenues for investment in a country like Saudi Arabia where

education investment is high. Institutions are competing with others, and those with the best

faculty will achieve the best educational outcomes for their students and obtain that funding.

Schools whose faculty lack online professional development may be at risk to be blocked from

those economic benefits. Likewise, Aldahmash et al. (2013) state that the profiles of instructors

can be raised through training, which ultimately helps the school. However, faculty are

demotivated if they feel that the online professional development courses have been developed

without their input into the process. Online professional development continues to become popular

across the world, beyond the borders of Saudi Arabia. What needs to be remembered is that when

faculty engages in such development, they essentially perform the role of a pseudo-student, which

means that they face motivational problems similar to students.

According to Cao, Cepero, Vu, and Vu (2014), self-motivation, self-regulation, and self-

directed learning are the key components to enjoying success in an online program, including

online professional development courses for faculty. Cao et al. conducted research on 512

instructors who took an online professional development course and were then surveyed. Their

activity logs were also monitored, with the theory that activism showed the level of motivational

engagement that existed for those who were in the program. Cao et al. (2014) also found that some

developers strategically try to design their online professional development programs to be as

close as possible to the physical classroom experience. This is important for institutions in Saudi
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Arabia to take into consideration as they struggle with transferring the motivation found in the

classroom to the online environment. In the end, the performance of the overall school should

increase through online professional development.

Artino (2008) focused more on the educational experience of the pupils. The pupils are a

product of the ability of faculty to facilitate knowledge, which creates a symbiotic relationship

between students and staff. The teachers play the role of a middleman between the student body

and the institution of the school. The output of the students can affect the performance and funding

of the institution itself, which is why online professional development programs for faculty cannot

ignore the importance of providing the best education to the student themselves. Artino (2008)

gave a questionnaire to 646 students after taking online training. Artino (2008) asserts that

students in online courses have added responsibility well beyond the level of the responsibility

found in the physical classroom. However, instructional quality also played a role in educational

outcomes alongside of self-efficacy. Therefore, when students struggle in online courses, faculty

have to evaluate where they have fallen short instead of shifting all of the blame on the students.

Bolinger and Wasilik (2009) note that despite the potential benefits of online education to

both faculty and students, there are many barriers. Student discipline is certainly one, but faculty

acceptance plays a major role. Faculties have to be adaptive to change. High costs also play a role

in faculty acceptance. Bolinger and Wasilik (2009) state that institutions should investigate the

attitudes of both faculty and students when assessing the success of their online educational

programs. Bolinger and Wasilik (2009) surveyed 102 teachers and came to the conclusion that

student, institutional, and instructor satisfaction all had an influence on the success of an online

program. The most important information that can be discerned from Bolinger and Wasiliks work

is that all levels of the educational field are interconnected from the institution to the instructor and

down to the student. All three groups perform different roles in the educational environment, but
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each needs the other to create and sustain a successful educational environment that benefits each

of the three groups simultaneously. Educational professionals in Saudi Arabia could take all of the

above research and understand that educational outcomes do not occur in a vacuum; students,

instructors, and institutions are all connected to one another and thrive or suffer together.

Theoretical Framework/Constructs

This student is interested in investigating the role of motivation in online professional

development utilizing the Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction (ARCS) motivation

model among faculty at King Khalid University (KKU) in Saudi Arabia. To address this issue,

this student will discuss four major themes: 1) a brief history of faculty professional development,

2) the importance of online professional development to higher education faculty, 3) the role of

motivational factors in the faculties online professional development, and 4) current issues

related to the faculties online professional development in Saudi Arabia higher education

institutions.

As mentioned in the previous section, Kellers (1987) theory is based on the expectancy

value theory. Keller took his influences from this theory and later developed the ARCS model of

Motivational Design. According to Keller (1987), the ARCS model has four core principles:

attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. The initials of these four words formed the

acronym for the ARCS model. Although all of the four principles are important, Keller places a

greater emphasis on attention and relevance. In fact, it can be argued that attention and relevance

form the backbone of the ARCS model, since confidence and satisfaction depend heavily on

attention and relevance. The review of the literature yielded that there are no studies utilizing the

ARCS motivational model within Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this student will apply ARCSs four

principles to measure faculty motivation toward online professional development at KKU in

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MOTIVATION IN ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Saudi Arabia.

The theoretical framework that will guide this research is the ARCS model. This model

was formulated by Keller (1987) and is based on the expectancy value theory originated by

Tolman (1932) and Lewin (1938). Their theory allows researchers to study why and how people

select specific goals and the way that they attempt to reach their goals. According to the

expectancy value theory, performance, effort, and self-esteem are impacted by the choice of task

and the setting of goals. Whether or not people believe they can perform a task and reach their

goals has an effect on their motivation. On the contrary, it can be argued that those who feel that

their task and goals are unattainable or unreasonable are subject to drifting off and becoming de-

motivated.

According to Scheibe (1970), the behavior of people is a byproduct of their desires, beliefs,

and values concerning themselves and the world around them. In other words, self-image and

perception are influenced by both internal and external factors. In education terms, this would be

motivation. From that perspective, faculty and professors in some part influence the outcome and

output of their pupils.

Students succeed best when they value the task and believe that it has some relevance to

their lives, especially in the context of their futures. Self-efficacy is affected or influenced by how

important the task is to the student. This appears to be obvious; people try harder when they care

more about whatever they are doing. However, faculty have to find subtle ways of making course

material and lectures appear relevant to their pupils. According to Wigfield (1994), individuals

determine which subjects and fields are important to them and also predetermine their efficacy

for specific tasks. Intrinsic motivation also tends to be based on whether or not students feel that a

subject gives them the opportunity for meaningful employment. For example, according to Burak
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MOTIVATION IN ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

(2014), subjects like music are popular to students. However, most are aware that careers in

music rarely lead to material success, which is why few will choose to study music, especially as

a major. Subjects that are more valued in the workplace are the ones that students gravitate

toward and feel more accomplished while studying. When faculty are motivated and determined,

they can make their classes relevant to students, especially allowing them to realize that there are

long-term benefits of whatever subjects are being taught beyond the classroom or online class.

According to expectancy theory, it is essential that facultys goals are clear and robust enough to

influence their pupils choices and efforts toward success. Attention, relevance, confidence, and

satisfaction are related to this theory since they all reflect the determination of faculty.

Summary

This paper presents a future research study that will investigate factors affecting faculty

motivation in online professional development at KKU. The research that has been done on this

subject helps to inform the topic by providing opportunities for gaining insight into the importance

of motivation in the online learning environment and also to obtain the opportunity to investigate

the current status of online professional development of Saudi faculties (Artino, 2008; Cao et al.,

2014). Also, the literature helped the researcher to identity the literature gap that derives from

Abdul-Cader and Anthony (2014) as well as helps to form questions for future research that could

fill in those gaps. The next part discusses the theoretical framework that guides this future study.
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