Investigating the Factors That Sustain College Teachers’ Attitude and Behavioral Intention toward Online Teaching

By inergency On Mar 9, 2024

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1. Introduction

Online teaching, with its potential to provide accessible, flexible, timely, and lifelong learning opportunities [1,2], is considered an essential approach for achieving sustainable learning and education [3,4]. Although online teaching initiatives such as online courses, e-learning programs, and massive open online courses (MOOCs) have witnessed a steady increase in the higher education sector since 2000 [5,6,7], the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020 induced a rapid transition from face-to-face lessons to online teaching at colleges and universities globally [8,9,10]. While some researchers labeled online teaching during COVID-19 as emergency remote teaching because it was temporary and lacked careful planning [11,12], others argued that the online teaching experience would have a lasting effect on both teachers and students and that it would continue in the post-pandemic era in the forms of blended, flipped, or virtual classrooms [13,14,15].

However, despite the various proven advantages of online teaching, such as enhanced accessibility, flexibility, convenience, and efficiency, its sustained adoption and routine implementation in higher education institutions remain challenging. As predicted by scholars such as Daniel [16] and Hargreaves [17], the cessation of the pandemic has already led many universities to revert to their offline teaching norms [18]. This reverse transition can cause many issues for sustainable learning and education. (1) It hinders the sustainable development of students’ key competencies, such as lifelong learning and digital literacy; (2) it results in significant wastage of accumulated online resources and technological tools; (3) it forfeits the unique benefits of online teaching for delivering more equitable, flexible, and personalized education; and (4) it leaves universities vulnerable to similar crises or emergencies in the future. Therefore, it is highly necessary to sustain online teaching in the post-pandemic era.

The continued application of online teaching in higher education relies heavily on teachers’ favorable attitude toward online teaching and strong behavioral intention. Teachers’ attitude toward online teaching reflects their overall disposition toward online teaching, including their openness to computer-mediated communication and digital technologies [19]. A positive attitude toward online teaching is often associated with increased motivation and achievement goals in designing effective online courses [8,20]. Behavioral intention, in contrast, concerns teachers’ willingness to engage in online teaching and directly impacts the frequency of actual practice [21,22]. Teachers with a strong online teaching intention tend to report higher levels of work engagement and satisfaction [23,24]. Because university faculties’ attitude toward online teaching and behavioral intention for online teaching directly affects the motivation, effort, and success of online teaching, this is crucial for the sustainable development of online education; even in the post-pandemic era, where online learning is no longer a requirement, college teachers with a positive attitude and behavioral intention will continue to attempt online teaching activities during the teaching process, thus transforming online learning or blended learning into the new norm in higher education. Therefore, online teaching attitude and behavioral intention research merits our special attention.

Nevertheless, the existing research on online higher education has largely focused on students’ acceptance and experiences of online learning, with inadequate attention having been paid to the teachers’ perspectives. Large-sample research studies that have investigated the influencing factors of college teachers’ attitude toward online teaching and behavioral intention for online teaching remain scarce. Furthermore, most studies have only examined college teachers’ attitude or behavioral intention, without making a strict distinction between these two aspects when identifying their influencing factors. There has been a lack of comparative analysis examining the variations in these influencing factors, hindering a sophisticated understanding of this complex phenomenon. To address this research gap, we conducted a cross-sectional study on 1102 college teachers in Central China who had engaged in a semester-long online teaching project, and we utilized hierarchical linear regression analysis to investigate the factors that sustain their attitude and behavioral intention for online teaching. In particular, the following questions guided our investigation:

What are the possible factors that significantly predict college teachers’ attitude toward online teaching, and to what extent?
What are the possible factors that significantly predict college teachers’ behavioral intention to teach online, and to what extent?
How do the factors predicting college teachers’ online teaching attitude differ from those predicting college teachers’ behavioral intention?

3. Method

3.1. Research Context and Participants

The COVID-19 outbreak, which commenced in December 2019, resulted in widespread lockdowns across China, confining individuals to their homes. In response, the “Suspending Classes Without Stopping Learning” policy introduced by the Ministry of Education of China [56] catalyzed the extensive adoption of online teaching for the 2020 spring semester. Between June and July 2020, most college teachers gradually concluded their online teaching for the semester, providing a window of opportunity for this study to conduct a survey on their online teaching experiences during this period.

A total of 1127 college teachers participated in this survey, 1063 being from colleges and universities located in Hubei. This study focused on university teachers in Hubei for three main reasons. First, Hubei Province was the earliest region to report the COVID-19 outbreak and was the most severely affected. Universities in Hubei experienced the longest duration of lockdowns; hence, the online teaching period was also the longest. Therefore, these teachers’ experiences and perceptions of online teaching would be the most representative. Second, Hubei’s economic status is at a mid-level nationally, with a diverse and comprehensive range of regional universities, making the survey data more representative. Third, since our research team is based at a university in Hubei, focusing on teachers from local universities allowed for convenient sampling, which not only simplified the research process, but also promised a higher response rate.

3.2. Research Design

This study employed a cross-sectional design to explore the possible factors that predict college teachers’ online teaching attitude and behavioral intention. A cross-sectional study is a form of observational research that mainly focuses on collecting and analyzing data from a large population at a specific time point or in a short period of time [57,58]. Due to the ability to collect data from a large population simultaneously, cross-sectional studies can investigate the relationships between different variables in various contexts. In this study, the predictor variables include previous online teaching experience, online teaching load, subjective norms for online teaching, facilitating condition, teachers’ technology self-efficacy, readiness, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness.

3.3. Instruments

The online teaching experience (OTE) questionnaire used in this survey comprises 60 questions and is divided into two parts. The first section contains seven questions focusing on the following demographic variables that may potentially influence college teachers’ online teaching experience: gender, age, previous online teaching, location of home-based teaching, educational background, academic titles, and the online teaching load of college teachers.

The second section of the OTE questionnaire comprises 53 five-point Likert scale questions, measuring the teachers’ online teaching experience across nine scales as follows: (1) subjective norms (SNs) for online teaching (three items), which were adapted from a questionnaire assessing teachers’ subjective perception norms for creative software [59], (2) Teachers’ technology self-efficacy (TTSE) (seven items), which was based on the questionnaire measuring the technology knowledge dimension in the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework [60]. (3) The facilitating condition (FC) (seven items), which was adapted from a teacher technology questionnaire assessing overall support and technical support within the school [61]. (4) Perceived ease of use (PEU) (six items), which was adapted from Davis’ measure of perceived ease of use for computer technology [62]. Perceived ease of use is a pivotal concept within the TAM [63]. (5) Perceived usefulness (PU) (five items), which was adapted from Davis’s measure of perceived usefulness for computer technology [60]. This construct is likewise considered a pivotal concept within the TAM [63]. (6) Attitude toward online teaching (ATT) (eight items), which was adapted from the cognitive and affective trait scale for assessing attitude [33]. (7) Behavioral intention (BI) for online teaching (five items), which was determined from the questionnaire for measuring behavioral intention for e-learning [64]. (8) Readiness (RD) for online teaching (four items), which was adapted from the teacher technology questionnaire on teachers’ readiness to integrate technology [61]. (9) Belief in online teaching (eight items), which was based on a teacher technology questionnaire assessing the impact on classroom instruction and impact on students [61]. The complete questionnaire items are listed in Appendix A.

The OTE questionnaire was distributed through an online platform to facilitate responses from the college teachers at all times and locations. We leveraged social media to promote the survey and expand the sample size. A total of 1127 teachers completed the OTE questionnaire, but we excluded those who answered the questionnaire too quickly and those who chose the same option for all items. Ultimately, 1102 valid data points were collected, resulting in a questionnaire validity rate of 97.8%.

3.4. Data Analysis

The questionnaire utilized in this research underwent reliability and validity analyses through the utilization of IBM SPSS software (version 27) and AMOS software (version 26). Descriptive statistical analysis of the demographic variables, as well as correlation analysis of the measured independent variables, were conducted using IBM SPSS software (version 27). Moreover, hierarchical multiple-regression analysis was performed utilizing IBM SPSS (version 27), incorporating variables across the following four levels: individual experience, environmental support, self-perception, and technology acceptance. This is primarily due to the fact that these four levels encompass both internal and external factors that influence the teachers’ attitude and behavioral intention toward online learning. Furthermore, the interaction and mutual influence among these levels collectively constitute a complex system of teachers’ online learning behaviors. This comprehensive analysis sought to identify and prioritize the key predictors of the college teachers’ online teaching attitude and behavioral intention.

5. Discussion

Among the variables of environmental support, subjective norms emerged as a key variable with significant predictive power over the teachers’ attitude toward online teaching and behavioral intention for online teaching. This finding aligns with previous research conducted by Crawley [69], which demonstrated the influential role of subjective norms in shaping science teachers’ intention to adopt research-based teaching methods. Moreover, recent studies conducted by Hou et al. [70] have further emphasized the promotional effect of subjective norms on pre-service teachers’ attitude toward the utilization of technology-enabled learning. Subjective norms reflect the social acceptance and recognition of online teaching, indicating society’s attitude and perceptions toward online teaching [71], which, in turn, further affect teachers’ attitude toward online teaching and behavioral intention for online teaching. By understanding the significance of subjective norms, educators and policymakers can develop strategies to enhance the social support and acceptance of online teaching, ultimately fostering a positive and conducive environment for its implementation.

Both readiness and self-perceived belief significantly predicted teachers’ online teaching attitude and behavioral intention, consistent with previous studies [72]. This is because when teachers are thoroughly prepared for online instruction, they are more likely to recognize the value of online teaching [73], leading to a favorable attitude and a greater willingness to implement it. Additionally, teachers with strong self-belief are more likely to overcome various challenges and respond positively to online teaching difficulties, serving as role models for students and driving the sustainable development of online education. Perceived usefulness could also predict the teachers’ attitude toward online teaching and behavioral intention positively, aligning with the previous research findings. For instance, Teo et al. [71] found that perceived usefulness exerted a significant positive influence on the attitude of pre-service teachers toward computers. Similarly, Kim et al. [74] found that perceived usefulness had a direct impact on attitude, whereas perceived ease of use did not. Other researchers have delved into the impact of perceived usefulness on attitude, and several studies have also examined its influence on behavior intention. For instance, Rafique et al. [75] highlighted, in their study, that perceived usefulness was a significant factor in technology usage intention, also highlighting the predictive effect of perceived ease of use on usage intention.

However, in this study, perceived ease of use had only a slightly significant negative predictive effect on behavioral intention and no significant impact on the teachers’ attitude toward online teaching. One possible explanation is that teachers believe technology can enhance teaching effectiveness and efficiency, leading to a greater willingness to embrace and adapt to a new approach. As current online teaching platforms are generally user-friendly, teachers prioritize effectiveness over ease of use, which explains the limited impact of perceived ease of use on the teachers’ attitude toward online teaching and behavioral intention, as compared to the influence of perceived usefulness. Nowadays, the decision to continuously engaging in online teaching is not merely influenced by the user-friendliness of online platforms, but rather, is likely to be shaped by the teacher’s judgment of the value that technology can generate [76].

Contrary to the existing research [77], the present study revealed that previous online teaching experience did not significantly impact the teachers’ online teaching attitude and behavioral intention. However, at the level of self-perception, belief exerted a significant positive effect on the teachers’ attitude and behavioral intention for online teaching. It is reasonable to speculate that previous online teaching experience may not directly impact teachers’ attitude and behavioral intention to teach online, but rather exert influence indirectly through the changing cognition and belief shaped by past experiences [78].

As noted in the literature review, attitude can be manifested to some extent through behavior, but there is no necessary connection between the two. Therefore, it is not surprising that the impact of several variables on the teachers’ online teaching attitude and behavioral intention varies. In this study, the online teaching load could positively predict the teachers’ behavioral intention to teach online, but could not significantly predict the teachers’ attitude toward online teaching. We posit that the explanation for this disparity lies in the potentially heavy weekly workload of teachers, which may negatively impact their emotional attitude and opinion toward online teaching [79]. However, teachers can also accumulate practical experience through weekly online teaching activities. With the accumulation of experience, teachers’ understanding and mastery of online teaching continue to improve, which enables them to carry out online teaching more confidently and proficiently [80], thereby enhancing their online teaching behavior tendencies.

Moreover, we observed a negative impact of the teachers’ technology self-efficacy on the teachers’ attitude toward online teaching, while its impact on behavioral intention was not significant. Although teachers’ increased technology self-efficacy generally indicates a higher level of technological expertise and confidence among teachers [81,82], teachers’ excessive technology self-efficacy may also cause them to develop unrealistically high expectations for online teaching and teaching effectiveness [83]. Teachers may perceive that current online teaching does not fully leverage the advantages of technology, leading to a mismatch between the expectations and actual outcomes, thereby generating negative emotions like disappointment during the teaching process. These factors may lead teachers to have a negative attitude toward online teaching. In the post-pandemic era, where online education is no longer emergency alternative, but rather an emerging instructional norm, it is crucial to strike a balance between cultivating technical proficiency and managing teachers’ expectations.

6. Conclusions

This study examined college teachers’ attitude toward online teaching and behavioral intention for online teaching following the completion of the spring semester in 2020. Hierarchical multiple-linear regression was utilized to explore the predictive capacity of various influencing factors on the teachers’ attitude toward online teaching and behavioral intention for online teaching at the following four different levels: individual experience, environmental support, self-perception, and technology acceptance. The aim was to find the key determinants that impact the sustainable development of online teaching for college teachers, with the goal of promoting its long-term growth. The findings show that certain variables, such as subjective norms, readiness, belief, and perceived usefulness, significantly predicted teachers’ attitude toward online teaching and behavioral intention for online teaching. However, some variables influenced only one aspect, while others, such as previous online teaching experience, had no impact on either outcome variable. Overall, environmental support emerged as the most influential factor, followed by self-perception. However, the impact of individual experience and technology acceptance appeared to be relatively limited.

We believe this study makes two unique contributions to the literature of online teaching. First, it proposed a four-level analytical framework (i.e., individual experience, environmental support, self-perception, and technology acceptance) that systematically covers various factors that possibly affect college teachers’ attitude and behavioral intention toward online teaching, fully considering the impact of internal factors (such as individual experience) and external factors (such as environmental support). This classification enables us to better understand the complex and interwoven nature of the factors influencing online teaching. Second, this study distinguished between college teachers’ attitude and behavioral intention toward online teaching, comparing the significant predictors of the two constructs. This discrimination offers deeper insights into the motivations and decision-making processes underlying teachers’ online teaching behavior, providing directions for future research on the sustainable development of online education.

6.1. Implications

Based on the research results, the following implications are proposed. For developers of online teaching platforms, it is important to pay more attention to the effectiveness of platform applications, rather than just the ease of use of the platform during development. For schools, it is important to provide teachers with ample technical support and emotional recognition owing to the challenges they face in online teaching. The provision of necessary resources and encouragement from the environment greatly contribute to the successful implementation of online teaching. For college teachers engaged in online teaching, first, they need to enhance their understanding of the value and significance of online teaching, and second, thorough preparation before each online teaching session is essential for ensuring seamless execution.

6.2. Limitations and Future Research

It is important to note several limitations of our study when interpreting the research results. First, the questionnaire measurement tool we used still has its limitations, and we have not yet found an effective way to ensure the accuracy of the teachers’ responses. Second, because our research mainly relied on quantitative data for statistical analysis, it lacked an exploration of qualitative factors that affect teachers’ attitude toward online teaching and behavioral intention for online teaching. Additionally, this study only conducted one test, so it could not fully reveal the long-term effects of online teaching and the continuous development of teachers. Therefore, we suggest that future research should adopt more interments. In addition to quantitative data, qualitative data-collection methods such as interviews can also be combined to conduct a more comprehensive analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. Moreover, future research should continuously track teachers’ online teaching practice and deeply explore the dynamic factors of teachers’ attitude toward online teaching and behavioral intention for online teaching to provide more targeted suggestions for the development of online teaching.

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