What question did this study set out to answer?

The study aims to explore perceptions of professional roles and competencies among professors and tutors in distance education.

February 22, 2026European Journal of Open Distance and E-Learning0 citationsOpen Access

Professional Roles and Competencies in Distance Higher Education: Perspectives from Professors and Tutors at Universidade Aberta, Portugal

DMDércio Martins LMLina Morgado

Key Points

The study aims to explore perceptions of professional roles and competencies among professors and tutors in distance education.
Conducted focus group analysis with 7 participants to develop survey instruments.
Administered surveys to 57 faculty members assessing 8 roles and 65 competencies on a Likert scale.
Analyzed differences in role prioritization between professors and tutors.
All eight professional roles rated as important, with average scores above 4.0.
Pedagogical, social, evaluator, and adviser roles identified as top priorities among faculty.
Professors emphasized pedagogical design, while tutors prioritized social facilitation and technology engagement.

Abstract

The expansion of online distance education has intensified debates about professional roles and competencies required for effective online teaching. This study examines how professors and tutors at Universidade Aberta (UAb, Portugal’s Open University) perceive and prioritise their professional roles and competencies. We employed sequential exploratory mixed-methods design: focus group analysis (n = 7) informed survey development assessing eight roles and 65 competencies via five-point Likert scales among 57 faculty (38 professors, 19 tutors). All roles were rated important (M > 4.0), with pedagogical (M = 4.68), social (M = 4.67), evaluator (M = 4.67), and adviser (M = 4.65) emerging as priorities. Professors rated pedagogical role significantly higher (M = 4.79 vs 4.47, p = 0.025), whilst tutors emphasised social (M = 4.89 vs 4.55, p = 0.034) and technologist roles (M = 4.63 vs 3.97, p = 0.004). Top competencies included assessing student work, demonstrating availability, adopting ethical posture, providing timely feedback, and being empathetic. Findings reveal convergence around core functions and meaningful differentiation between roles, suggesting complementary specialisation within dual-role systems. Implications address professional development programme design and institutional policies for recognising diverse competency requirements. Highlights Sequential mixed-methods study examined role/competency perceptions among 57 distance education faculty at Portugal’s Open University. All eight professional roles rated important (M > 4.0), with pedagogical, social, evaluator, and adviser emerging as top priorities. Systematic differences revealed complementary specialisation: professors prioritise pedagogical design (M = 4.79), tutors prioritise social facilitation (M = 4.89, p = 0.034). Tutors rated technologist role significantly higher (M = 4.63 vs 3.97, p = 0.004), reflecting differential technology engagement. Findings inform differentiated professional development pathways and policies recognising diverse competency requirements.

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