Journal Article

How Social and Organizational Support Influence Online Teaching Experience in China? Exploring the Mediating Role of Technological Efficacy and Innovation Awareness

Hu, Ke, Liu, Weitong

2025

Overview

The rapid shift to online education, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has fundamentally altered the landscape of teaching, and learning worldwide, making the exploration of factors influencing online teaching experiences increasingly vital. While existing research has examined the impact of instructional support on teaching efficacy and experience, a critical gap remains systematically exploring how personal, social, and organizational factors shape online teaching practices. This study aims to address this gap by investigating the relationships among social and organizational support, technological efficacy, innovation awareness, and online teaching effectiveness. Data collected from 3,154 university instructors across China were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings reveal that both technological efficacy and innovation awareness significantly mediate the relationship between social and organizational support and the online teaching experience. From the perspective of the standard total effect values, technological efficacy played a pivotal role in shaping the online teaching experience. These results contribute to the field by deepening our understanding of how support structures influence online teaching outcomes, providing empirical insights for strengthening support mechanisms that empower educators in technology-enhanced teaching environments. Plain language summary How support from others helps improve online teaching in China: Understanding the role of technological efficacy and innovation awareness The COVID-19 pandemic forced a rapid switch to online education, which has made teaching and learning very different for educators worldwide. While we know that support from colleagues, institutions, and technology can influence how teachers experience online teaching, we still don’t fully understand how different types of support shape their teaching effectiveness. This study looked at how support from social networks (like colleagues and peers) and organizations (like universities) influences online teaching, focusing on two important factors: technological efficacy and awareness of innovation. We surveyed over 3,000 university teachers across China and found that both technological efficacy and awareness of innovation play a key role in how social and organizational support influences online teaching. In particular, technological efficacy was very important in shaping how teachers feel about their online teaching experience. Our study shows that when teachers receive strong support-whether from colleagues, their school, or through improved technological tools-they are more likely to feel confident and effective when teaching online. This research offers useful insights for schools and policymakers to strengthen the support teachers need, so they can succeed in the increasingly digital world of education.

• Publisher: SAGE Publications,SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC,SAGE Publishing
• Subject: CAI / Colleagues / Colleges & universities / Computer assisted instruction / Consciousness / COVID-19 / Distance Education / Distance learning / Education / Educational technology / Efficacy / Experience / Higher education / Influence / Influence of Technology / Innovation / Innovations / Internet / Learning / Online instruction / Organizational effectiveness / Organizational factors / Organizational support / Pandemics / Policy making / Social factors / Social networks / Structural equation modeling / Structural Equation Models / Teacher Effectiveness / Teachers / Teaching / Teaching Experience / Teaching methods / Technology