Evaluation of the Factors Impacting Educators' Readiness to Embrace Mandatory Competencies and Skills

Abstract

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) aim for applications with a steady and organized history of advancement, with online education being a prime example. However, various stakeholders are engaged in HEIs, with ample research focused on students' behavior, acquired skills, and satisfaction with it. This study examines the factors influencing their readiness to acquire necessary competencies and skills, taking into account the increased utilization of Metaverse technology apps during the COVID-19 crisis. A qualitative-inductive approach is used and based on in-depth interviews with a convenient sample of 15 HEI staff affiliated to a private Lebanese university in Beirut. Data are processed with NVivo-15 using thematic and content analyses to identify determinants that influence the adoption of competencies and skills necessary to successfully run e-learning in a Hybrid setting. Results show that faculty members’ competencies and skills could be influenced by four determinants namely Institutional Logistics, Training & Development, Governance, and Faculty Internal Factors that would form a final proposed research model with the highest ranked themes being the model source and the streamline continues to the Faculty Performance and Satisfaction. The aforementioned leads to propose improvement strategies that decision-makers at HEIs, researchers, and government officials could consider for e-learning success.

Keywords: Instructors, influential determinants, competencies, skills, e-learning, Lebanon