The impact of culture on instructional design and quality

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cultural differences, i.e. different contexts and backgrounds, on instructional designers' perspectives of quality in online environments. Using a questionnaire developed based on the Quality Matters rubric, we found designers in Canada focus slightly more on Learner Support strategies than designers in Spain. Despite differences in their contexts and some responsibilities, instructional designers in both countries consider the same features important and pay attention to them in their practices in order to develop good quality online courses. These features are institutional commitment, faculty support, student support, technology, course structure/instructional design, and assessment/evaluation and accessibility. Future research is required to improve the generalization of the results of the existing study while identifying other factors, such as budget and technology literacy that influence instructional designers' approaches in developing high-quality online learning materials.