Differences in Faculty Self-Efficacy, Views, and Institutional Support Towards Teaching Competency-Based Education Online: A Non-Experimental, Causal Comparative Study.

The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative study is to examine differences in perceived self-efficacy, views, and perceived levels of institutional support among nursing, business administration, or teacher education faculty who teach online competency-based education (CBE). This study employed a causal-comparative design with a sample of 51(N= 51) CBE faculty who teach at colleges and universities in the United States. During the fall semester, the CBE Views and Self-Efficacy survey (CVSE) was distributed measuring perceived self-efficacy of CBE, views on CBE, and perceived levels of institutional support on a Likert-type scale with 42 items divided into four domains. Data analysis was conducted using a Kruskal-Wallis H test to examine the effect of faculty groups on the dependent variables. Results indicated a statistically significant difference between faculty and self-efficacy but not for views and institutional support. Additionally, the p-critical value between teacher education and nursing faculty indicated a difference that concurs with the current literature recommending continued faculty training. Although the extant literature provided information on designing curriculum, developing competencies and assessments, and the changing role of the faculty, a lack of quantitative research exists about perceived self-efficacy, views, and levels of institutional support provided to faculty who teach online CBE courses, specifically in high demand workforce occupations, such as allied healthcare, teacher education, and business administration. The importance of this study will allow institutional leaders to gauge teacher attitudes, make informed decisions about faculty development, and what institutional resources are needed to augment teachers’ knowledge, skills, and abilities toward CBE instruction, implementation, and integration