Research and Trends for Educators, Staff and Administrators in Distance Education - Content Analysis of Distance Education Journals (2008-2018)

Q: Which period and how many articles were analyzed in the study?

The study covers 2008 to 2018. It scanned 3504 articles from ten peer-reviewed journals and analyzed 461 articles using content analysis.

Q: What major research gaps did the analysis identify?

The analysis found few studies focused on educators, staff, and administrators in the last decade, with limited focus on administrators’ experiences.

Q: What research methods and sample sizes were most commonly used?

Qualitative methods were primarily used, with interviews as a preferred data collection method. Samples were generally small, often below 50.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran

This study examines research trends and gaps concerning educators, staff, and administrators in distance education articles from 2008 to 2018. Ten peer-reviewed journals were selected and 3504 articles were scanned; 461 were analyzed using document review and content analysis across criteria such as keywords, role names, research variables, design, and sample size. Results indicate limited attention to administrators’ experiences, predominant focus on teacher roles and professional development, mainly qualitative methods, and generally small samples. Findings suggest emerging research areas and directions for future distance education strategies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

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What is already known about this topic

What this paper adds

Introduction

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Research and Trends for Educators, Staff and Administrators in Distance Education: Content Analysis of Distance Education Journals (2008-2018) Baris Cukurbasi, Mustafa Fidan, Murat Debbag Abstract: This study examines the research trends and gaps of educators, staff, and administrators in distance education articles from 2008 to 2018. Ten peer-reviewed journals were selected from the Scimago Journal & Country Rank portal, and 3504 articles in the journals were scanned. Four hundred sixty-one of them were analyzed using document review methodology through content analysis concerning various criteria (keywords, role names, research variables, design, sample size, etc. ) . The analysis revealed the following: (i) few studies have focused on educators, staff, and administrators in the last decade, and there has been little focus on the experiences of administrators (ii) they have mainly focused on the role of the teacher, professional development, quality, and professional qualifications (iii) regional interest shows, that the USA, China, and the U. K. are the leading countries (iv) The qualitative research method was primarily used and interview, as a data collection method was most preferred qualitative data mainly, was analyzed using content analysis (vi) The research samples are generally small (< 50) . The findings based on the increasing research trends related to educators, staff, and administrators lead to the emergence of potential research areas and the design of distance education strategies. The study also provides directions for future research. Keywords: Distance education, educator, distance education staff, distance education administrator, research trend. Highlights What is already known about this topic: • There were not enough studies in the distance education process with other stakeholders than students. • No comprehensive analysis was found that examined the studies on educators, staff, and administrators in distance education. • In the literature, several studies focus specifically on faculty, staff, and administrative groups in distance education. What this paper adds: • To identify the research trends and gaps in distance education from 2008 to 2018. • Focused on educator, staff, and administrator. • Few studies related to educator, staff, and administrator in the last decade. • Mostly focused on professional development and qualifications and instructor roles. The implications of the presented paper for practice and/or policy are as follows: • Considering the distance education activities that have increased exponentially due to the pandemic COVID -19 and the workload of educators, staff, and administrators involved in distance education further research before the pandemic could make distance education activities more efficient during the pandemic era. • Mainly suggest that different sample groups and different variables should be studied. • Experimental, causal-comparative, and modeling studies must be included in future studies. Introduction Although the history of distance education dates back to the 1960s and 1970s, crucial changes in human resources, organization of knowledge, new instructional theories, and techniques have occurred since that time (Moore & Kearsley, 2012) . In particular, the rapid development of educational technologies after the 1980s and the student-centered approach to education that emerged after the 1990s led to aredefinition of the positions and pedagogical roles of distance educators and educators in the system (Gomez-Rey et al. , 2018; Roberts, 2018) . Distance education practices, which were conducted mainly via paper and pencil, mail, radio, and television in the 20th century, have changed exponentially with the advent of the Internet, satellite, and media distribution channels in the 21st century. As 2020 approaches, the roles and responsibilities of educators, staff, and administrators in distance education have increased exponential

FAQs

Which period and how many articles were analyzed in the study?

The study covers 2008 to 2018. It scanned 3504 articles from ten peer-reviewed journals and analyzed 461 articles using content analysis.

What major research gaps did the analysis identify?

The analysis found few studies focused on educators, staff, and administrators in the last decade, with limited focus on administrators’ experiences.

What research methods and sample sizes were most commonly used?

Qualitative methods were primarily used, with interviews as a preferred data collection method. Samples were generally small, often below 50.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran