Do instructor beliefs and attitudes matter? Understanding associations between beliefs, attitudes and practices

Abstract

A mixed-method approach was used to examine the relationship between university instructors’ practices in blended courses and their epistemological and pedagogical beliefs, and their attitudes towards technology. The study drew from a socio-constructive perspective and applied Fishbein and Ajzen’s belief and attitude theory to a conceptual framework. Data were collected using an online survey of 71 instructors, semi-structured individual interviews with 24 instructors and one to four classroom observations of 15 instructors. The interviews were audio-recorded, and the classroom observations were collected via hand-written notes. Data were analysed via NVivo 12 and SPSS. Findings highlight strong associations between instructors’ beliefs around knowledge, hard work and student self-regulation skills, and to instructional strategies and involvement of students. The study also reviewed instructors’ use of different technologies in blended courses; the findings show a significant relationship between their comfort with technology, attitudes and practices around experiential learning. This study, thus, offers guidance to academic leaders, instructors, developers and policymakers and has several implications for research and instructor development workshops.