Quality Teaching in Online Higher Education: The Perspectives of 250 Online Tutors on Technology and Pedagogy

Abstract

Over the past few decades, education systems, especially in higher educa-tion, have been redefined. Such reforms inevitably require reconsideration of operational notions and definitions of quality, along with a number of relat-ed concepts. This reconsideration aligns with the core of higher education re-forms: improving efficacy and compatibility with emerging social demands while adapting to competitiveness and accountability trends. As primary players in the teaching and learning process, online tutors have a protagonis-tic role and, therefore, must be equipped with a suitable set of competencies and attributes in addition to content knowledge. This quantitative research aims to analyze the perceptions of 250 online tutors working in European higher education institutions, distributed in 5 knowledge areas: Business, Education, Humanities, Sciences and Health. This descriptive and explorato-ry nonexperimental study reveals the technological and pedagogical skills and competencies that online tutors consider fundamental for effective online teaching and proposes professional development actions to ensure quality online teaching