Faith Integration in Online Programs: The Role of Self-Efficacy in Fostering Confidence Among Adjunct Faculty
Keywords:
Faith integration, self-efficacy, adjunct faculty, confidence, onlineAbstract
Most higher education institutions have made a commitment to providing high quality online classes or perhaps even fully online programs in order to keep up with the market demand for flexible learning environments. Administrators, directors, curriculum writers, and full-time faculty members are often very immersed in the work of faith integration and connections to institutional identity while ancillary or adjunct instructors do not always report the same level of confidence in this area of their teaching. A conceptual framework that draws on self-efficacy theory and the community of inquiry model can provide a foundation regarding ways to support adjunct faculty in the direction of confidently integrating their faith in the online classroom. The authors are both directors of online Master of Arts programs in a faith-based institution and have worked to create professional development and assessment measures to bolster self-efficacy among adjunct instructors. Many adjunct instructors lack confidence in the area of faith integration due to primarily and simultaneously working as practitioners in secular workplaces. The authors outline strategies on ways to provide training, integrate modeling, create resources, and give feedback to foster self-efficacy regarding faith integration so that adjunct faculty can confidently represent the institution’s faith tradition in their classes.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Lori B. Doyle, Dr. Tanya M. Tarbutton (Author)
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