| Research suggests that availability and use of distance education (DE) and distance education technologies (DET, i.e., technological applications) are growing at a prolific rate. Excitement over new technologies stems from their potential to develop new ways of teaching and learning. Yet, whereas the infrastructure necessary to support DE and DET exists, pedagogical applications have not kept pace. A major reason cited in the literature for limited use of DE and DET is mainstream faculty leadership and willingness to adopt these applications. While faculty members have expertise in content and pedagogy, DE and DET adoption may require greater technological competence. In the field of school psychology, limited research has been conducted regarding faculty use of DE and DET. In this study, 232 school psychology faculty members completed an online questionnaire concerning their knowledge of DET and use of DE, factors that encourage adoption, and attitudes regarding their use in school psychology teaching and training. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi square, and analysis of variance. The results of this study showed that about one-third of school psychology faculty members were teaching some form of DE and rated themselves as skilled in a number of DET. Nevertheless, many faculty members did not believe that school psychology courses and curricula should be taught using DE presently. Implications for the profession of school psychology, research limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed. |
