Papers by Tahani Z . Aldahdouh
Frontiers in Education, Jan 7, 2024
What we know about the development of online teaching expertise during the COVID-19 pandemic is s... more What we know about the development of online teaching expertise during the COVID-19 pandemic is scarce. Current research has concentrated primarily on the obstacles encountered by university teachers, leaving a significant gap in our understanding of the strategies they employ not only to survive but to flourish in online teaching. Furthermore, there is a significant bias toward Western perspectives in existing research and it remains unclear whether Western theories of expertise development are relevant in deprived, fragile, and conflict-affected contexts. The current study set out to explore how university teachers developed their online teaching expertise during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Palestinian context. Narrative episode interviews were conducted with 16 university teachers working at a Palestinian higher education institution in Gaza city. Thematic analysis revealed five themes of online teaching expertise development: domain, mechanisms, motives, consequences, and emotions. Implications for practitioners and administrators are discussed together with future research directions.
Teacher development, Feb 26, 2024
This study aimed to build an integrative model of the interrelations between pedagogical training... more This study aimed to build an integrative model of the interrelations between pedagogical training, teacher regulation skills, learning patterns and student-centred teaching approach. Self-reported questionnaire data were collected from 378 higher education teachers and analysed using structural equation modelling. The findings indicated that pedagogical training was related to teachers' regulation of their pedagogical development, which was further connected to both meaning-oriented and application-oriented teacher learning. However, only meaning-oriented teacher learning was connected to adopting a student-centred teaching approach, while application-oriented teacher learning was not. Teacher regulation was negatively connected to problematic learning, meaning that those who did not regulate their pedagogical development more often reported a problematic pattern towards teacher learning. Thus, pedagogical training, regulation skills and teacher learning patterns are important in terms of teachers' pedagogical development to a student-centred teaching approach. The findings highlight the importance of regulation and the quality of teacher learning in increasing student-centred teaching.
Education and Information Technologies, Apr 11, 2023
The purpose of this study was to understand the factors behind university teachers' ability to im... more The purpose of this study was to understand the factors behind university teachers' ability to implement instructional changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online questionnaire comprised of open-ended and Likert-scale questions was administered to teachers at a Finnish university in April 2020. The sample consisted of 378 university teachers who were categorised into four groups based on their digital innovativeness and the extent to which they implemented changes to adapt their teaching practices to COVID-19 restrictions: Avoider Survival Adapters, Avoider Ambitious Adapters, Embracer Survival Adapters, and Embracer Ambitious Adapters. We examined the association between the teacher groups and their learning patterns and background characteristics. The findings showed that Embracer Ambitious Adapters have significantly more meaning-oriented and application-oriented learning patterns than Embracer Survival Adapters, though Avoider Survival Adapters have more problematic learning patterns. Furthermore, the results indicated that pedagogical training and having more teaching experience helped innovative teachers embrace more changes in their teaching practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of discipline, the results showed that teachers working in hard disciplines (e.g., physics) were more likely to belong to the Embracer Survival Adapters group, while teachers working in soft disciplines (e.g., history) were more likely to belong to the Embracer Ambitious Adapters group. Possible interpretations of these findings and perspectives for further research are discussed.
Professional and practice-based learning, 2022
Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
PurposeThe aim of this study is to explore the extent to which a transnational pedagogical traini... more PurposeThe aim of this study is to explore the extent to which a transnational pedagogical training affected university teachers' approaches to teaching, as well as their efficacy beliefs and cultural perceptions, and to examine how such training could stimulate teachers' pedagogical-development processes beyond the specific context.Design/methodology/approachAn explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was adopted for the study. Quantitative data were collected through an online self-reported questionnaire from two-independent samples, both before (n = 119) and after (n = 110) the training. Qualitative data were collected after the training through episodic narrative interviews with five teachers.FindingsThe quantitative and qualitative findings indicate contradictory aspects of the teaching approach and perceived culture. While the questionnaire responses highlighted the dominance of teacher-centred teaching approaches and an individualistic culture, a thematic analysis ...
Tampere University, 2020
xi suggest several implications for HEI administrators and practitioners. First, the dissertation... more xi suggest several implications for HEI administrators and practitioners. First, the dissertation draws the attention of managers in that by allowing the staff flexibility, discretion and autonomy, this implicitly guarantees their professional growth. Second, administrators and supervisors should stimulate staff members' orientations towards mastery goals and inhibit their orientations towards performance-avoidance goals. For example, feedback and appraisal should be self-referenced rather than other-referenced based. The criterion for performance judgment should focus on efforts rather than ability. Third, HEIs should take wise and fast decisions about technology adoption because late adoption implicitly means that staff members will resort to other commercial alternatives.
Ammattikasvatuksen aikakauskirja, Mar 1, 2017
This study seeks to explore organizational culture and growth-oriented atmosphere as experienced ... more This study seeks to explore organizational culture and growth-oriented atmosphere as experienced at higher education institutions in Tampere together with the relationship between culture and atmosphere. The Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) and the Growth-Oriented Atmosphere Questionnaire (GOAQ) were administered to a sample of 322 staff members. The results revealed that all four culture types (Hierarchy, Market, Clan and Adhocracy) were experienced in moderation inTampere higher education institutions, while the dominant culture was found to be Clan. The score for a growth-oriented atmosphere was above the average, which means that the atmosphere encourages professional growth. The relationship between culture and growth-oriented atmosphere indicated that only the Clan and Adhocracy culture types support professional growth. That is to say, allowing the staff flexibility, discretion and autonomy implicitly guarantees their professional growth. The study also reported differences in organisational culture based on discipline, job type, gender and educational level. Administrators at higher education institutions could benefit by taking the study findings into account when developing strategic plans and initiatives.
Supplemental material, Technology_Usage_QuestionnaireTUQ_-_supplementary_file for Technology and ... more Supplemental material, Technology_Usage_QuestionnaireTUQ_-_supplementary_file for Technology and Social Media Usage in Higher Education: The Influence of Individual Innovativeness by Tahani Z. Aldahdouh, Petri Nokelainen and Vesa Korhonen in SAGE Open
Only a few studies have examined work cultures, teaching approaches and self-efficacy beliefs of ... more Only a few studies have examined work cultures, teaching approaches and self-efficacy beliefs of academic teachers outside Europe, North America, and Asia. This mixed-method study investigated the following research questions: 1) What kinds of approaches to teaching and self-efficacy beliefs can be identified among academics in the selected Palestinian university?, 2) Are there disciplinary or career-stage differences in the teachers’ approaches to teaching or concerning their self-efficacy beliefs?, 3) What features of academic and teaching culture can be identified among these academics? and 4), Which factors affect teaching and learning in this institution. Quantitative data were collected from 119 teaching staff through an online, self-reported questionnaire. Qualitative data consisted of four focus group interviews with 18 teaching staff. The results showed that teaching staff reported high self-efficacy beliefs, whereas the teacher-centered approach was slightly more dominant ...
International Journal of Higher Education, 2018
Innovativeness has been believed to be a significant psychological construct underlying individua... more Innovativeness has been believed to be a significant psychological construct underlying individual differences in adopting novel ideas, experiences or approaches. Although few recent studies have contributed to identifying the factors that predict innovativeness, there is a lack of research showing the impacts of implicit theories and goal orientations on innovativeness. This study aimed to investigate this matter. A sample comprising 315 staff members working in three Finnish higher educational institutions completed self-reported questionnaires. The results showed that the mastery goal orientation fully mediated the effect of both the entity theory of ability and personality on innovativeness. However, both entity theories failed to predict the performance-avoidance goal orientation, while the performance-avoidance goal orientation showed to be a significant, negative predictor of innovativeness. This study presents a promising framework for examining innovativeness in the higher ...
SAGE Open, 2020
This article presents a two-phase study exploring the usage of technology in higher education as ... more This article presents a two-phase study exploring the usage of technology in higher education as well as the role of the general innovativeness in predicting the actual use of technology. During the first phase of the study, which involved 502 staff members, a descriptive analysis of their usage of social media, technological devices, and Microsoft Office 365 cloud services was performed, with various demographic variables being considered. During the second phase, which involved a subsample of 106 staff members, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine a model in which the general innovativeness and the demographic variables acted as predictors of the actualized innovativeness. The results showed that the staff used social media, devices, and cloud services quite satisfactorily. The examination of their user profiles revealed that there were significant differences among the staff members on the basis of their demographic variables, especially their gender, job type, ...
International Journal of Innovation Studies, 2019
It is well-established that individual innovativeness is an indispensable quality for employees w... more It is well-established that individual innovativeness is an indispensable quality for employees working in a variety of workplace environments. However, the interaction between the psychological and organizational factors influencing innovativeness remains unclear. This study seeks to address that research gap by examining a model comprising a mix of psychological factors (implicit theory and goal orientation) and organizational culture. Data were collected from 315 staff members working in 34 different departments/ schools at Tampere University, Finland. The study employed a Bayesian multilevel path analysis that matched the hierarchical structure of the data to test the hypotheses. The results suggest that psychological factors reflecting goal orientation are the most important for interpreting individual innovativeness. Specifically, mastery goal orientation was shown to be a positive predictor and performance-approach goal orientation a negative predictor of innovativeness. Unexpectedly, departmental culture had neither a direct effect on innovativeness nor a moderation effect on the relationships between the psychological variables and innovativeness. Plausible explanations for these results and implications for future research are discussed.
Sage Open, 2020
This article presents a two-phase study exploring the usage of technology in higher ... more This article presents a two-phase study exploring the usage of technology in higher education as well as the role of the general innovativeness in predicting the actual use of technology. During the first phase of the study, which involved 502 staff members, a descriptive analysis of their usage of social media, technological devices, and Microsoft Office 365 cloud services was performed, with various demographic variables being considered. During the second phase, which involved a subsample of 106 staff members, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine a model in which the general innovativeness and the demographic variables acted as predictors of the actualized innovativeness. The results showed that the staff used social media, devices, and cloud services quite satisfactorily. The examination of their user profiles revealed that there were significant differences among the staff members on the basis of their demographic variables, especially their gender, job type, and discipline. The results of the SEM showed that the general innovativeness contributed positively, as was expected, to predicting the adoption of devices, non-academic social networking sites and Office 365 cloud services. The results further suggested that males were early adopters of devices, while academics were early adopters of commercial services and academic social networking sites. However, the academics appeared to lag behind the administrators in terms of adopting Office 365 cloud services. The implications of the study and directions for future research are also presented.
International Journal of Innovation Studies, 2019
It is well-established that individual innovativeness is an indispensable quality for employees w... more It is well-established that individual innovativeness is an indispensable quality for employees working in a variety of workplace environments. However, the interaction between the psychological and organizational factors influencing innovativeness remains unclear. This study seeks to address that research gap by examining a model comprising a mix of psychological factors (implicit theory and goal orientation) and organizational culture. Data were collected from 315 staff members working in 34 different departments/ schools at Tampere University, Finland. The study employed a Bayesian multilevel path analysis that matched the hierarchical structure of the data to test the hypotheses. The results suggest that psychological factors reflecting goal orientation are the most important for interpreting individual innovativeness. Specifically, mastery goal orientation was shown to be a positive predictor and performance-approach goal orientation a negative predictor of innovativeness. Unexpectedly, departmental culture had neither a direct effect on innovativeness nor a moderation effect on the relationships between the psychological variables and innovativeness. Plausible explanations for these results and implications for future research are discussed.
International Journal of Higher Education, 2018
Innovativeness has been believed to be a significant psychological construct underlying individua... more Innovativeness has been believed to be a significant psychological construct underlying individual differences in adopting novel ideas, experiences or approaches. Although few recent studies have contributed to identifying the factors that predict innovativeness, there is a lack of research showing the impacts of implicit theories and goal orientations on innovativeness. This study aimed to investigate this matter. A sample comprising 315 staff members working in three Finnish higher educational institutions completed self-reported questionnaires. The results showed that the mastery goal orientation fully mediated the effect of both the entity theory of ability and personality on innovativeness. However, both entity theories failed to predict the performance-avoidance goal orientation, while the performance-avoidance goal orientation showed to be a significant, negative predictor of innovativeness. This study presents a promising framework for examining innovativeness in the higher educational context where further research is suggested.
Ammattikasvatuksen aikakauskirja, 2017
This study seeks to explore organizational culture and growth-oriented atmosphere as experienced ... more This study seeks to explore organizational culture and growth-oriented atmosphere as experienced at higher education institutions in Tampere together with the relationship between culture and atmosphere. The Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) and the Growth-Oriented Atmosphere Questionnaire (GOAQ) were administered to a sample of 322 staff members. The results revealed that all four culture types (Hierarchy, Market, Clan and Adhocracy) were experienced in moderation in Tampere higher education institutions, while the dominant culture was found to be Clan. The score for a growth-oriented atmosphere was above the average, which means that the atmosphere encourages professional growth. The relationship between culture and growth-oriented atmosphere indicated that only the Clan and Adhocracy culture types support professional growth. That is to say, allowing the staff flexibility, discretion and autonomy implicitly guarantees their professional growth. The study also reported differences in organisational culture based on discipline, job type, gender and educational level. Administrators at higher education institutions could benefit by taking the study findings into account when developing strategic plans and initiatives.
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Papers by Tahani Z . Aldahdouh