Abstract:

The successful implementation of e-learning elements can be seen as the key factor to establish part time professional education programmes. Only with the help of these instruments, students can deliberately organise their workload by themselves.
On the one hand, the mix between e-learning and in-class lectures seems to be dependant only on the organisation of the programmes. But as we can learn from practical experience, there are on the other hand some other elements that limit options to effectively adopt blended learning concepts.
The focus of this paper will be on the lecturers as enabling or restraining elements for the implementation of blended learning concepts in professional education. We will present a small scale case study from the masters programme “Nonprofit Management & Governance” at the Centre for Social Investment in Heidelberg, Germany. The underlying hypothesis is that especially two characteristics (i.e. age and the level obtained in the academic hierarchy) of teachers have significant influence on the implementation success of e-learning elements. We will show differences in the individual behaviour and attitudes towards e-learning and analyse them with respect to our research question.
Our analysis can be used as groundwork for the generation of further informed hypothesis. It should give a stimulus to take the teacher into account as a limiting factor when introducing new programmes.

Keywords:

professional education, e-learning, blended learning, vocational training.