ERIC Number: EJ1394265
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Dec
Pages: 38
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2211-1662
EISSN: EISSN-2211-1670
Available Date: N/A
The Role of Support Units in Digital Transformation: How Institutional Entrepreneurs Build Capacity for Online Learning in Higher Education
Langseth, Inger; Jacobsen, Dan Yngve; Haugsbakken, Halvdan
Technology, Knowledge and Learning, v28 n4 p1745-1782 Dec 2023
This study used New Institutional Theory to explore how entrepreneurial activities in support units contribute to digital transformation in higher education in Norway. We describe how entrepreneurs initiated and operationalized support for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), micro-credentials and fully online courses in pockets of innovation within existing institutional arrangements. An ambition was to understand why capacity building for digital transformation in a country described by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as digitally mature is lagging behind other countries. We obtained our data from qualitative interviews with faculties and staff involved in fully online course production. The informants were chosen through strategic sampling from support units and faculties, where they filled different roles in the production of such online courses. Our findings describe entrepreneurial activities that strongly contributed to the emerging social field of digital transformation. Located in pockets of innovation, the entrepreneurs provided open digital platforms, a pedagogy for online course design and support for faculties who engaged in online course production. Yet, the findings also confirm previous research pointing out how the lack of supportive leadership may impede successful digital transformation in higher education institutions. The study concludes with a model for digital maturity which may be useful to researchers and stakeholders. The model can also support entrepreneurial processes in online environments.
Descriptors: Educational Change, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Capacity Building, Electronic Learning, Foreign Countries, MOOCs, College Faculty, Educational Innovation, Higher Education
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link-springer-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Norway
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A