Exploring pedagogical competence in a distance education nursing program: A case study

The proliferation of distance education programs and online learning presents tremendous opportunities to expand nursing educational offerings. The emergence of online learning into nursing education has also resulted in significant changes in pedagogy and institutional leadership. This case study investigates how leaders address pedagogical competence in a nursing program offering distant education courses according to selected national standards. This case study utilizes a triangulation assessment to address two research questions describing the experiences of a nursing program offering online courses. The Contingency Leadership Theory provides the theoretical framework. Data collection methods include a pre-interview assessment survey, telephone interviews of key respondents, and review of additional evidence. The results of this investigation reveal themes derived from data collection including technological environment, pedagogy, and leadership. The findings of this study may assist nursing leadership in their efforts to address pedagogical competence and to provide technological resources as nursing programs design or redesign their online education. Future research suggestions include exploring how pedagogical instructional design skills can be integrated into the course development process and examining the possible connections between pedagogical competence and program outcomes.