Institutional contexts and faculty traits that predict use of the Web by college faculty teaching in traditional classrooms.

Abstract

This study examines institutional and disciplinary contexts that predict use of the Web by college faculty teaching in traditional classroom settings, after controlling for demographics, job traits and faculty beliefs and behaviors. A cross-classified, hierarchical linear model is fit to data from the National Study of Postsecondary Faculty, 1999. The results suggest that there is an institutional-level digital divide whereby faculty at two-year colleges and teaching institutions use the Web for instruction significantly less than faculty at research institutions, suggesting implications for the types of students these institutions serve. The findings also show that institutional contexts are more telling than disciplinary contexts in predicting overall faculty use of the Web for instruction. At the faculty level, high teaching loads coupled with part-time job status are the primary barriers to faculty use of the Web for instruction. On average, full-time faculty use the Web more than part-time faculty, but the gap between the two groups is smallest for faculty with high teaching loads. The findings also suggest that, controlling for job traits, female faculty use the Web significantly less for instruction than do male faculty. This study also finds that faculty at four-year teaching institutions, those who teach distance education classes are more likely to bring their techno-savvy skills into traditional classroom settings than faculty at two-year and research institutions. Suggestions are offered to institutional leaders seeking to entice faculty toward adopting instructional technology.