Academic Staff Opinions on Issues Related to Investment in E-learning: A Qualitative Multi-Method Approach

This study aimed to explore the opinion of academic staff about the necessity of investment in E-learning development and the issues that are encountered with the investment of E-learning. This research is a qualitative multi-method and has been done using two meta-synthesis qualitative and phenomenological designs. The meta-synthesis design was based on the six-step method of Sandlowski and Barroso (2007). Accordingly, the meta-synthesis team was formed with the presence of three curriculum planning experts and two meta-synthesis research experts. In the phenomenological method, the participants were 12 academic staff selected from Shiraz University in Iran and Sheffield Hallam University in the UK through purposive samples. A qualitative design was adopted using semi-structured interviews. In general, the analysis showed academic staff’s positive opinion about the necessity of E-learning development. Three main themes emerged after thematic analysis which showed that to develop E-learning three issues must be addressed: Technological-infrastructure issues, pedagogical issues, and cultural issues. The result has brought some different experiences and cultural issues. Both universities claimed that investment is worthwhile. But cultural issues are a subject that needs to be considered while investing in E-learning. It brings a good research area to explore cultural diversity and different attitudes in various cultures towards the development of E-learning.