Faculty and online education as a mechanism of power

This study uses a critical perspective to examine how online education is used in brick-and-mortar institutions as a mechanism through which power is exercised by and against professors who teach online. Based on a larger study of 25 professors and administrators at four institutions, this work focu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDistance education Vol. 36; no. 1; pp. 26 - 40
Main Authors Peach, Harold G., Bieber, Jeffery P.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Melbourne Routledge 02.01.2015
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Academic staff attitudes
Administrator Attitudes
College Faculty
Distance learning
Foucault (M)
Higher education
Incentives
Interviews
Online Courses
Online education
Online instruction
Online teaching
Organisational climate
organizational control
Personal autonomy
Phenomenology
power relations
Power Structure
Professional Autonomy
Professional Identity
Professional Recognition
Professors
Scheduling
Semi Structured Interviews
Teacher Attitudes
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Summary:This study uses a critical perspective to examine how online education is used in brick-and-mortar institutions as a mechanism through which power is exercised by and against professors who teach online. Based on a larger study of 25 professors and administrators at four institutions, this work focuses on the experiences of 12 professors. Foucault's conceptualization of power framed our interpretation of interviews conducted with these professors. Our findings suggest online education enhanced faculty autonomy and visibility, but that it was also used to control faculty members, and for some professors, it was used to alter their professional identities.
Bibliography:Refereed article. Includes bibliographical references.
Distance Education; v.36 n.1 p.26-40; May 2015
ISSN:0158-7919
1475-0198
DOI:10.1080/01587919.2015.1019971