E-learning use in Higher Education is an emerging area of research that has been gaining increasing interest and scrutiny. This is attributed to various factors including the continuing development of technologies, E-learning potential in affecting teaching and learning and expectations from Higher Education providers to implement E-learning. Lecturers’ Professional Development (PD) is widely viewed as a key component for the improvement of lecturers’ E-learning practices, which could potentially affect teaching and learning. The transition from PD to classroom practices continues to be a rich area of research where there is lack of clarity in the process through which practitioners transform knowledge to classroom practices. This thesis investigated lecturers’ E-learning PD in an Omani Higher Education Institution following an ethnographic case study approach. I spent four months in Ibri College of Technology examining day-to-day formal and informal learning practices, lecturers’ and managers’ experiences with and perceptions of E-learning PD and lecturers’ use of and perceptions of E-learning use in teaching. The study involved managers and lecturers from four academic departments: Business, Information Technology, Engineering and English, in addition to trainers from the Educational Technologies Centre and Senior Managers within the College. Multiple methods were employed in the study including interviews with managers and lecturers, focus groups, questionnaires, documentary analysis, classroom observations, observations of PD practices and a lesson planning and lesson teaching activity.

E-learning use in Higher Education is an emerging area of research that has been gaining increasing interest and scrutiny. This is attributed to various factors including the continuing development of technologies, E-learning potential in affecting teaching and learning and expectations from Higher ...