The Institutionalization of Online Education Before and During the Covid-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Universities’ Discourse Use

Abstract

Grounded in institutional theory, this study examined how universities communicate about online education and how an extreme environment jolt, the COVID-19 pandemic, affected their communication with stakeholders. Adopting Gee’s (1996) idea of big “D” Discourse, I identified universities’ Discourses because Discourses develop and maintain institutional logics via institutional messages to help members and stakeholders make sense of their experiences (Lammers, 2011). I analyzed 10 universities’ Discourses in two different time periods: (1) pre-COVID (e.g., press releases), and (2) during-COVID data (e.g., press releases, official announcements, news reports). First, focusing on Discourses universities used regarding online education before the pandemic, I reaffirmed seven previously identified Discourses and discovered three new Discourses. In addition, considering isomorphism, the extent of similarities in universities’ Discourses, I found similar Discourse use about online education, such as Innovation and Quality Discourses. To examine the influence of an extreme external environment jolt to universities’ Discourse use about online education, I analyzed Discourses universities used during COVID-19 pandemic. By comparing universities’ Discourse use before and during the pandemic, I found how universities’ focus was different. For instance, before the pandemic, universities highlighted positive aspects of online education (e.g., practicality, flexibility, openness) in their Discourses, while crisis and public health and safety Discourses were mainly communicated during the pandemic. Finally, I examined whether deinstitutionalization, the erosion or discontinuity of an institutionalized organizational practice, happened due to the pandemic (Oliver, 1992). Results showed that institutional logics presented a sign of potential deinstitutionalization, as ‘for online education logic’ was challenged by ‘against online education logic’. Examining universities’ Discourse use about online education, this study extended understanding of institutional theory, reaffirming institutionalization process, isomorphism, and institutional changes due to an external environmental force.