FACTORS AFFECTING ADOPTION AND DIFFUSION OF DISTANCE EDUCATION AMONG

190 Pages·2013·1.01 MB·English

FACTORS AFFECTING ADOPTION AND DIFFUSION OF DISTANCE
EDUCATION AMONG HEALTH EDUCATION FACULTY

By

James W. Ball

B.S., University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2002
M.S., University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2007

A Dissertation
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Doctor of Philosophy in Education degree with a concentration in Health Education

Department of Health Education and Recreation
in the Graduate School
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
May 2013
Copyright by James W. Ball
All Rights Reserved
DISSERTATION APPROVAL

FACTORS AFFECTING ADOPTION AND DIFFUSION OF DISTANCE
EDUCATION AMONG HEALTH EDUCATION FACULTY

By
James W. Ball

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in the field of Health Education

Approved by:

Dr. Roberta Ogletree PhD, Chair

Dr. Joyce Fetro

Dr. Kathleen Welshimer PhD

Dr. Kim Miller PhD

Dr. Elaine Jurkowski PhD

Dr. Paul Asunda PhD

Graduate School
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
May 2013
AN ABSTRACT FOR THE DISSERTATION OF
JAMES W. BALL, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in HEALTH EDUCATION,
presented on March 19th, 2013 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
TITLE: FACTORS AFFECTING ADOPTION AND DIFFUSION OF DISTANCE
EDUCATION AMONG HEALTH EDUCATION FACULTY

MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Roberta Ogletree

Background: In the past decade, distance education enrollment has become more common in
colleges and universities, increasing from 1.6 million students in 1998 to an estimated 6.7
million in 2012. The purpose of this study was to identify which constructs in Rogers’ (2003)
diffusion of innovation theory are more likely to contribute to adoption and diffusion of distance
education in health education. Health education instructors and faculty can use the information
obtained from the results of this study if they want to implement distance education.
Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational survey design was used
in this study. An instrument designed to measure constructs and factors affecting the adoption
and diffusion of distance education in health education were developed for the study. Health
educators employed by health education departments listed in the AAHE (2011) Directory
(N=498) were contacted by email and asked to participate in this study. The survey was
distributed through SurveyMonkey™ survey software that was activated December 2012 -
January 2013.
Results and Conclusions: A total of 245 health education faculty completed the instrument, but
21 participants were omitted because they did not complete at least 95% of the survey
instrument. A total of 224 survey instruments were retained and included in the analysis,
providing a 44.9% response rate. Based on the Pearsons correlation and multiple linear
regression it can be concluded that the likelihood of distance education adoption by health
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education faculty is highly dependent on the communication channels and characteristics of the
innovation (distance education) constructs of the diffusion of innovation theory. There was a
large majority of participants in the early majority adopter category and this is because of two
reasons. The first reason is that participants had not decided whether to accept or reject distance
education. The other reason is that distance education is a relatively new innovation and it has
not fully diffused through the health education profession. Experience with distance education
was not shown to increase the likelihood of distance education adoption because the majority of
participants have not yet decided whether to accept or reject distance education. The social
system construct was the least predictive of distance education adoption. If distance education
has not yet fully diffused through the health education profession then it is hard for the social
system to impact the likelihood of distance education adoption.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... i
List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... v
List of Figures .................................................................................................................... vi
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1
Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1
Background of the Problem............................................................................................. 1
Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................... 3
Need of the Study ............................................................................................................ 5
Purpose of the Study ....................................................................................................... 7
Significance to Health Education .................................................................................... 7
Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 8
Research Design .............................................................................................................. 9
Study Participants ............................................................................................................ 9
Data Collection .............................................................................................................. 10
Data Analyses ................................................................................................................ 10
Assumptions .................................................................................................................. 11
Limitations .................................................................................................................... 12
Delimitations ................................................................................................................. 12
Definition of Terms ....................................................................................................... 13
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 15
Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................. 17
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 17
The Evolution of Distance Education ........................................................................... 17
The Current State of Distance Education ...................................................................... 20
Advantages of Distance Education in Education and Health ........................................ 24
Disadvantages of Distance Education in Education and Health .................................. 36
Effective Implementation Practices in Distance Education .......................................... 39
Diffusion of Innovation ................................................................................................. 41
Diffusion of Innovation in Education and Health ........................................................ 49
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 50
CHAPTER 3 METHODS ................................................................................................. 52
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 52
Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................................... 52
Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 53
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Instrument Development ............................................................................................... 54
Research Design ............................................................................................................ 58
Study Participants .......................................................................................................... 59
Data Collection .............................................................................................................. 61
Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 62
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 69
Chapter 4 Results .............................................................................................................. 70
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 70
Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................................... 70
Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 70
Sample Demographics................................................................................................... 71
Analysis of Research Questions ................................................................................... 75
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 98
Chapter 5 Summary, Conclusions, Discussion, and Recommendations ........................ 100
Introduction ................................................................................................................. 100
Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................... 100
Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 100
Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 102
Discussion .................................................................................................................. 103
Recommendations for Future Reference ..................................................................... 114
Recommendations for Future of Health Education Profession ................................... 116
Summary .................................................................................................................... 119
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 120
APPENDICES
Appendix A - Five Pillars of Quality Distance Education .......................................... 144
Appendix B - Professional Background of Expert Panel Members ............................ 146
Appendix C - Expert Panel Member Comments ......................................................... 148
Appendix D - Instrument for Pilot Study and Likert Scale ......................................... 164
Appendix E - Instrument in Survey Monkey for Main Study ..................................... 168
Appendix F - Instrument for Main Study and Constructs ........................................... 173
Appendix G - Email Solcitation to Participants for Study .......................................... 178
Appendix H - Cover Letter on Survey Monkey for Study .......................................... 179

VITA………………………….…………………………..…………………………….180

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LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
Table 1 Reliability of the Final Instrument as Measured by Cronbach Alphas ............... 59
Table 2 Sample Items from the Survey Instrument ......................................................... 60
Table 3 Data Analysis Summary ..................................................................................... 65
Table 4 Demographic Characteristics of Study Participants ........................................... 73
Table 5 Example of How Experience Variable was Calculated ...................................... 74
Table 6 Total Number of Participants in each Adopter Category ................................... 74
Table 7 Cronbach Alphas of Developed Instrument........................................................ 76
Table 8 Mean and Standard Deviation for All Items ....................................................... 77
Table 9 Frequencies and Percentages of Perception of Need Responses ........................ 81
Table 10 Frequencies and Percentages of Characteristics of Innovation Responses ....... 83
Table 11 Frequencies and Percentages of Social System Responses .............................. 86
Table 12 Frequencies and percentages of Communication Channels Responses ............ 87
Table 13 Frequencies and Percentages of Characteristics of Adopters Responses ........ 89
Table 14 Comparing Mean Total Construct Score for Gender ........................................ 90
Table 15 Comparing Mean Total Construct Score for Highest degree ........................... 90
Table 16 Comparing Mean Total Construct Score for Type of Institution...................... 90
Table 17 Comparing Mean Total Construct Score for Experience .................................. 90
Table 18 Total Construct Score for Age .......................................................................... 92
Table 19 Total Construct Score for Type of Institution ................................................... 92
Table 20 Perceptions of Need Construct Scores for Adopter Category .......................... 93
Table 21 Characteristics of Innovation Construct Scores for Adopter Category ............ 93
Table 22 Social System Construct Score and Adopters Category ................................... 94
Table 23 Communication Channels Construct Scores for Adopter Category ................. 95
Table 24 Characteristics of Adopter Construct Score for Adopter Category .................. 95
Table 25 Diffusion of Innovation and Experience Correlation ....................................... 97
Table 26 Diffusion of Innovation and Participant’s Total Score Correlation .................. 97
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Table 27 Summary of Linear Regression for Diffusion of Innovation Constructs.......... 99

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LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE PAGE
Figure 1 Model of the Innovation-Decision Process for this Study ................................. 44

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