Lebanese Instructors' Satisfaction with Online Teaching and Learning Amid COVID-19

Abstract

Since the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic in March 2020, higher education institutions (HEIs) across the globe have shifted – entirely or partly – to online teaching and learning; Lebanese HEIs were no exception. Such an unprecedented and “forced” transition to online teaching and learning has created a landscape for scholars and researchers to inquire into the efficiency and effectiveness of online teaching and learning, students’ satisfaction with this virtual educational experience, and instructors’ satisfaction with such an experience. This chapter presents a study about Lebanese instructors’ satisfaction with online teaching and learning during the pandemic. Instructors’ satisfaction was measured in terms of three satisfaction constructs of psychometrically validated “Online Instructor Satisfaction Measure” (OISM): instructor-to-student interaction (ISI); student-to-student interaction (SSI); and course design, development, and teaching (CDT). Data were collected through an online questionnaire from 102 Lebanese instructors across 7 Lebanese universities: 6 private universities and the national public Lebanese higher education institute (Lebanese University). This study found that there were no significant changes between the satisfaction levels in relation to each of the ISI, SSI, and CDT constructs between STEM education background instructors and their non-STEM education background counterparts. Despite their dissatisfaction with the level of interaction between them and their students (ISI), the participating Lebanese instructors were satisfied with the SSI, except for students’ collaborative and group work, and were also satisfied with the CDT, except for the preparation time required for delivering an online course.

Citation

Samarji, A. and Ghaddar, R. (2023), "Lebanese Instructors' Satisfaction with Online Teaching and Learning Amid COVID-19", Sengupta, E. (Ed.) Higher Education in Emergencies: International Case Studies (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 52), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 99-110. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120230000052007