Service quality of the online classroom experience in higher education: the influence of lecturer-controlled variables.

Abstract

This study attempted to understand what undergraduate students expect and perceive in terms of online lecture service quality, explore the influence of interventions related to lecturer-controlled elements of the classroom experience (i.e. interaction between students and staff, physical evidence and lecture production process) on students’ initial perceptions of online lecture service quality, and propose a model/tool to measure online lecture service quality at the National University of Lesotho (NUL). In adopting an action research case study design and a mixed methods approach, the study addressed the bias in the marketing literature towards purely quantitative investigation of service quality in education. Using a sample of 188 students and 14 staff from NUL, data gathered via multiple methods and in several stages facilitated deep exploration of the quality of the online classroom encounter at NUL. The study emphasised qualitative exploration by soliciting opinions of teaching staff via interviews on interventions they implemented and challenges they faced, and by using focus group discussions to collect data from various categories of students about online lecture service quality. Thematic analysis was used for qualitative data analysis. Based on input solicited during the focus groups and interviews, a modified three dimension SERVQUAL instrument was proposed as a suitable measure of the online classroom experience at NUL. Findings suggest that three main role players in the online teaching and learning activity are lecturers, students and technological infrastructure. Students hold that their learning experiences are impacted as they interact with lecturers and co-act in the lecture production process, while technological infrastructure is vital for the online teaching and learning process. As such, an instrument designed to assess contact lecture service quality cannot be readily used to assess online lecture service quality.