An Exploration of Self-Efficacy of Online Dissertation Chair-Only Faculty During the Mentoring Process: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the self-efficacious experiences in the dissertation mentoring process for online dissertation chair-only faculty at higher education institutions in the United States. The theory guiding this study was self-efficacy theory. The central research question of this study was: What are the self-efficacious experiences of online dissertation chair-only faculty at higher education institutions in the United States? The examination of the self-efficacious experiences of 11 online dissertation chair-only faculty was explored utilizing a qualitative transcendental phenomenological design. Participating individuals must have held an online dissertation chair-only role in a higher education institution within the United States. Individuals participating in this study shared their experiences through a questionnaire, individual interviews, physical artifacts, and two focus groups. The data was analyzed following Moustakas’s (1994) modified van Kaam data analysis method for phenomenological data utilizing horizonalization, reduction, elimination, clustering, thematizing, identification of themes through validation, and textural-structural descriptions to develop a sense of meaning through describing the essence of the participant experiences. Findings from this study led to three primary themes: variegated expertise, connection development, and idiosyncratic mentorship. Each primary theme hosted three sub-themes further exploring the lived experiences of the participants who described the variegated expertise developed through connection and performance experiences.