What does it mean to be “career ready”? A study of competencies important for instructional designers and educational technologists

Abstract This study considers the professional needs of instructional design (ID) and educational technology (ET) professionals, including not only the technical and domain-related knowledge and skills traditionally covered by most professional organizations and institutions, but also crucial professional and cross-disciplinary skills and dispositions, with a surprisingly large emphasis on the latter two themes. ID and ET program graduates seek to be competent to stay competitive in the workplace. However, the constantly expanding and evolving field and changing job expectations present a challenge. This leads to an important question of whether what current and recent graduates have learned in their program is sufficient to be considered competent and up-to-date and what other areas of need may be present in the curriculum. The study’s findings are based on the results of 31 interviews with ID and ET professionals from the three contexts (K12, higher education, and corporate environments). Data were analyzed using a collaborative Constant Comparative Method for Naturalistic Inquiry, involving iterative coding and thematic refinement to identify key professional competencies and dispositions. While the knowledge and skills identified aligned well with the current literature in the area, the cross-disciplinary and dispositions sections revealed findings that will help program directors and designers, faculty, employers, and current and future graduates.