Quality perception within corporate e‐learning providers in Catalonia
| Pages | 375-391 |
| Date | 27 September 2011 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09684881111170087 |
| Published date | 27 September 2011 |
| Author | Albert Sangrà,Pedro Fernández‐Michels |
| Subject Matter | Education |
Quality perception within
corporate e-learning providers in
Catalonia
Albert Sangra
`
eLearn Center, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Pedro Ferna
´ndez-Michels
Language School, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Abstract
Purpose – The paper seeks to describe the Catalan corporate e-learning providers from the
perspective of quality perception, quality assessment and quality control.
Design/methodology/approach – A literature review reveals key aspects of the definition of
quality in e-learning. The results of the review constitute the basis for exploratory research into the
way quality is perceived and handled within the Catalan corporate e-learning sector.
Findings – It was found that the organisations studied attribute major importance to quality
dimensions related to any kind of teaching/learning, whereas other dimensions with clear relation to
e-learning receive lower priority. The study also reveals certain incoherence between the dimensions of
quality and the applied strategies of quality assessment and control.
Research limitations/implications – The presentation of pre-defined quality indicators could
have led to a distortion in the answers given to the questionnaire presented. It would be interesting to
compare and contrast the findings using interviews addressed to quality managers and focus groups
in organisations representative of the sector.
Originality/value – The paper integrates the discussion of theoretical approaches and models for
quality in e-learning with the description of important players in the field of e-learning that had not yet
been studied from the perspective of quality perception and quality control. It can be understood as an
exploratory step towards further studies in order to contribute to an improvement in the quality
policies applied in the corporate e-learning sector.
Keywords Corporate culture,Distance learning, Perception,Quality standards, Spain
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
This paper focuses on how the concept of quality in e-learning is understood and
handled within the corporate e-learning providers based in Catalonia, an autonomous
region in the northeast of Spain which has a population of 7.5 million inhabitants.
Catalonia has undertaken important steps to become a well developed information
society, reflected in numerous initiatives such as the foundation of the world’s first
totally online university, the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), in 1995, the creation
of several Information and communication Technologies (ICT)-related clusters and the
considerable growth of ICT based initiatives in the field of education and training, both
in the public and the private sector.
The literature review on corporate e-learning providers in Spain and in Catalonia
often reflects the fact that e-learning projects are, at least in their initial stages, clearly
business oriented, neglecting other factors that are strongly related to quality in
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0968-4883.htm
E-learning
providers in
Catalonia
375
Received February 2011
Revised June 2011
Accepted June 2011
Quality Assurance in Education
Vol. 19 No. 4, 2011
pp. 375-391
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0968-4883
DOI 10.1108/09684881111170087
e-learning, such as the technology, the content or the pedagogical approach (Martı
´nez
Aldanondo, 2004; Enebral, 2006; Enebral, 2007a). The papers and studies in this field
mainly belong to the corporate sector itself and do not strictly analyse the situation of
the private e-learning sector in terms of quality achieved in their training programmes
(Santillana Formacio
´n, 2005; Elogos, 2009).
With the aim of reaching a deeper understanding of the corporate e-learning sector
in Catalonia regarding it’s perception of quality, this paper will first consider some
theoretical background on the definition of quality in e-learning and the ways quality
can be measured, achieved and assured. This will involve a thorough review of
published literature regarding the concept of quality in e-learning resulting in a set of
commonly accepted quality dimensions. We understand quality dimensions as those
fields in which quality becomes visible and possibly measurable in cases where there
are standards or benchmarks that allow for comparison (Sangra
`, 2004; Inglis, 2005).
In a second step, the results of this literature review were used as the basis for an
online survey in order to identify the level of alignment between the dimensions and
parameters identified and the understanding of the concept of quality within the
providers approached.
Defining e-learning
In the context of this paper, a rather broad definition of the term e-learning has been
considered, foreseeing that a large number of the sample would have developed their
e-learning programmes coming from a totally traditional training context. It was
necessary to include such organisations that combine conventional face-to-face
teaching and learning with a more or less sporadic or scattered use of ICT.
A definition used by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational
Training (CEDEFOP, 2001) has been adopted, describing e-learning as “learning that is
supported by information and communication technologies” and “may encompass
multiple formats and hybrid methodologies, in particular, the use of software, Internet,
CD-ROM, online learning or any other electronic and interactive media”.
Despite the fact that some more inclusive definitions have emerged (Sangra
`et al.,
2009), this current one was selected in this case because it matched the aims of the
study better.
Quality in e-learning
The concept of quality is polyedric, or, as Harvey and Green (1993) stated, relative. In
spite of its importance, it remains a somewhat uncertain field, which is given eloquent
attributes like elusive, slippery or multi-dimensional (Abdous, 2009). According to
Doherty (2008), it is a matter of personal judgement. However we consider that a
thorough literature review on the subject can lead to an informed proposal of a widely
acceptable definition of the term.
Quality in e-learning should be mainly the quality of online teaching and learning.
In this sense, it should not differ a great deal from the concept of quality applied in
face-to face education. But at the same time we have to recognise that there are
numerous differences between e-learning and face-to face education that are obviously
related to the influence of technological aspects on delivery, needs of student support,
redefinition of teacher and student roles, etc. (Inglis, 2005). In this context, there is the
need to identify if the application of technological elements by the organisations
QAE
19,4
376
To continue reading
Request your trial