Volume 31, Issue 1 (3-2024)
RJMS 2024, 31(1): 1-11 |
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Research code: 01
Ethics code: IR.IAU.SARI.REC.1403.270
Clinical trials code: 01
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Hejazian F, Jabbari N, Enayati T. Providing a Qualitative Model of Effective Virtual Education based on the Attitude of Employees toward Virtual Education. RJMS 2024; 31 (1) :1-11
URL: http://rjms.iums.ac.ir/article-1-8723-en.html
URL: http://rjms.iums.ac.ir/article-1-8723-en.html
Associate professor, Department of Educational sciences, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan Branch, Gorgan, Iran. , neginjabbary@gmail.com
Abstract: (326 Views)
Background & Aims: Virtual education does not just refer to taking a specific course via computer. This type of education refers to new ways of integrating resources, interacting, increasing performance, and structured learning activities, and is a means of distance learning. Virtual learning is an educational method that provides the opportunity for the teacher and the learner to bridge the existing educational gap with appropriate technological means while being distant in terms of time and space. One of the challenging debates among the proponents and organizers of virtual courses is the issue of examining and determining the effectiveness of this educational method. Numerous studies conducted to model and measure the effectiveness of virtual learning itself bear witness to this claim. The issue of effectiveness is directly related to the concept of goal setting and achieving it. In learning, the main focus is on the learner. Virtual education, as a contributing force for social and economic progress, is rapidly becoming an accepted and necessary component of the education systems of both developed and developing countries and has even gained special importance in developing countries. This growth is due to the acceptance of the fact that traditional methods of education must be reinforced by new methods, if the fundamental right of all human beings to learn is to be realized. The globalization of virtual education creates many opportunities for developing countries to achieve the goals of their education systems. The importance of virtual education leads to savings in time and costs for learners. In addition, many benefits have been listed for virtual education. Despite the listed benefits of virtual education, it is necessary to determine to what extent these courses have led to effectiveness. When measuring the effectiveness of a virtual learning system, it is essential to consider the perspective of learners (its users). Therefore, one way to determine how effective an educational system is is to consider the perspective of users and their level of satisfaction. Considering the above, this study aims to present a qualitative model of effective virtual education based on the attitude of virtual education employees.
Methods: The research method is qualitative and uses the content analysis method. The statistical population of the qualitative section includes professors and experts in the field of virtual education, and the sampling method in this study was snowball sampling, in such a way that data collection continued until the saturation point was reached, which was 18 people. The method and tool for collecting information in the qualitative section is semi-structured interviews. In the present study, qualitative methods were used to analyze the data and achieve the aforementioned objectives. Content analysis was used to identify categories and the fuzzy Delphi method was used to determine categories.
Results: To collect data in the qualitative section, 18 professors and experts in the field of virtual education were interviewed. The results showed that 15 (83%) of the interviewees were male and 3 (17%) of the interviewees were female. 5 (28%) of the interviewees had a master's degree and 13 (72%) of the interviewees had a doctoral degree or higher. 2 (11%) of the interviewees had 5-10 years of experience, 5 (28%) of the interviewees had 10-20 years of work experience, and 11 (61%) of the interviewees had more than 20 years of work experience. Qualitative data analysis in this study was conducted using qualitative content analysis. The six stages of content analysis are explained below. For the researcher to become familiar with the depth and breadth of the data, it is necessary to immerse oneself in it to some extent. Immersion in data usually involves “repeatedly reading the data” and actively reading the data (i.e., searching for meanings and patterns). In this stage, the researcher attempts to identify research indicators from the interview transcripts. The second stage begins when the researcher has read and become familiar with the data. This stage involves creating initial codes from the data. Importantly, all data summaries are coded and arranged within each code. In this stage, indicators relevant to the research objective are extracted. The content search stage then involves categorizing the different codes into potential content and arranging all coded data summaries into specific content. The results showed that 40 initial concepts were extracted. The indicators extracted from the interview texts, after the initial theming, are re-screened and the additional indicators or those without lexical value are eliminated to present the research model. The results of the research showed that the final criteria were 8 main categories and 40 subcategories. The main categories surveyed are; attitude towards virtual education, management of virtual education, infrastructure of virtual education, culture of virtual education, performance of virtual education, support of virtual education, vision of virtual education, and strategic thinking of virtual education.
Conclusion: In general, it can be stated that the remarkable developments in the field of knowledge have led to the development of virtual education and to develop virtual education, planners must have sufficient knowledge and attitude towards recognizing the factors affecting its development. Virtual education is not a new concept and has been proposed since the 15th century, although of course, it has had different concepts in different centuries. This work is accompanied by the acceptance of risk and possible consequences and leads to the introduction of a new product, process, or service. Today, human resources are considered an unlimited resource and the center of any kind of effectiveness. Research has shown that there is a positive correlation between economic growth and the number of effectiveness in a country. Virtual education is considered a solution to many economic and social problems, including employment, production quality, and innovation. This activity usually starts with creativity and opportunity recognition and requires a team to exploit the opportunity. To create motivation in the team, one must inject one's vision into the team's mind, and the existence of a virtual education vision is a kind of mental intermediary for transforming creativity into innovation and moving from recognition to exploitation of opportunities. Recently, virtual education has attracted appropriate attention in research and is considered a predictive variable of organizations. On the other hand, strategic thinking is a way to solve strategic problems in which a rational and convergent approach is combined with creative and divergent thinking processes. Apart from any definition of strategic thinking, it is impossible to think about it in any theoretical field without paying attention to the inherent characteristics of that field.
Methods: The research method is qualitative and uses the content analysis method. The statistical population of the qualitative section includes professors and experts in the field of virtual education, and the sampling method in this study was snowball sampling, in such a way that data collection continued until the saturation point was reached, which was 18 people. The method and tool for collecting information in the qualitative section is semi-structured interviews. In the present study, qualitative methods were used to analyze the data and achieve the aforementioned objectives. Content analysis was used to identify categories and the fuzzy Delphi method was used to determine categories.
Results: To collect data in the qualitative section, 18 professors and experts in the field of virtual education were interviewed. The results showed that 15 (83%) of the interviewees were male and 3 (17%) of the interviewees were female. 5 (28%) of the interviewees had a master's degree and 13 (72%) of the interviewees had a doctoral degree or higher. 2 (11%) of the interviewees had 5-10 years of experience, 5 (28%) of the interviewees had 10-20 years of work experience, and 11 (61%) of the interviewees had more than 20 years of work experience. Qualitative data analysis in this study was conducted using qualitative content analysis. The six stages of content analysis are explained below. For the researcher to become familiar with the depth and breadth of the data, it is necessary to immerse oneself in it to some extent. Immersion in data usually involves “repeatedly reading the data” and actively reading the data (i.e., searching for meanings and patterns). In this stage, the researcher attempts to identify research indicators from the interview transcripts. The second stage begins when the researcher has read and become familiar with the data. This stage involves creating initial codes from the data. Importantly, all data summaries are coded and arranged within each code. In this stage, indicators relevant to the research objective are extracted. The content search stage then involves categorizing the different codes into potential content and arranging all coded data summaries into specific content. The results showed that 40 initial concepts were extracted. The indicators extracted from the interview texts, after the initial theming, are re-screened and the additional indicators or those without lexical value are eliminated to present the research model. The results of the research showed that the final criteria were 8 main categories and 40 subcategories. The main categories surveyed are; attitude towards virtual education, management of virtual education, infrastructure of virtual education, culture of virtual education, performance of virtual education, support of virtual education, vision of virtual education, and strategic thinking of virtual education.
Conclusion: In general, it can be stated that the remarkable developments in the field of knowledge have led to the development of virtual education and to develop virtual education, planners must have sufficient knowledge and attitude towards recognizing the factors affecting its development. Virtual education is not a new concept and has been proposed since the 15th century, although of course, it has had different concepts in different centuries. This work is accompanied by the acceptance of risk and possible consequences and leads to the introduction of a new product, process, or service. Today, human resources are considered an unlimited resource and the center of any kind of effectiveness. Research has shown that there is a positive correlation between economic growth and the number of effectiveness in a country. Virtual education is considered a solution to many economic and social problems, including employment, production quality, and innovation. This activity usually starts with creativity and opportunity recognition and requires a team to exploit the opportunity. To create motivation in the team, one must inject one's vision into the team's mind, and the existence of a virtual education vision is a kind of mental intermediary for transforming creativity into innovation and moving from recognition to exploitation of opportunities. Recently, virtual education has attracted appropriate attention in research and is considered a predictive variable of organizations. On the other hand, strategic thinking is a way to solve strategic problems in which a rational and convergent approach is combined with creative and divergent thinking processes. Apart from any definition of strategic thinking, it is impossible to think about it in any theoretical field without paying attention to the inherent characteristics of that field.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Clinical Psychiatry
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