How do Instructional Designers Engage in Their Career Development?: Based on Action Regulation Theory Perspective

Abstract: The demand for online education has grown significantly in recent years, leading to an increased need for instructional designers responsible for creating learning experiences based on principles of learning, instructional theories, and technology. Most of the current literature has focused on examining the competencies, skills, and knowledge of instructional designers (Best, 2020; Dooley et al., 2007; Kang & Ritzhaupt, 2015; Klein & Kelly, 2018; Martin & Ritzhaupt, 2021; Ritzhaupt et al., 2021; Tennyson; 2001). Several studies (Chartier, 2021; Chongwony et al., 2020; Zhu et al., 2020) have categorized instructional designers as experts or novices based on experience and served as a foundation for research on career development in terms of revealing essential elements for novices to develop into experts. Although instructional designers are key stakeholders in creating learning experiences for individuals and their organizations, the instructional design profession is relatively new and lacks an apparent or standardized career path. Considering their crucial role, career development for instructional designers needs to be clearly defined (Mancilla & Frey, 2020; Tracey & Boling, 2014).
Given the changes in the labor market and business environment, individuals need to proactively take initiative in managing their careers. In engaging in career self-management, individuals should develop, implement, and evaluate their career goals and strategies (Greenhaus et al., 2019). Action Regulation Theory (ART) provides a useful framework for understanding how individuals strive to achieve their career goals and self-regulate their behaviors in pursuit of them (Frese & Zapf, 1994; Zacher & Frese, 2018). It proposes that individuals have personal goals and desires that motivate their actions and situational and personal factors play a role in regulating actions. The five components of an action regulation process include goal selection and development, orientation or mapping of the environment, plan development, selection of action programs and monitoring of execution, and feedback processing. This study aims to explore the experiences of instructional designers as they shape their career development based on the perspective of ART, guided by the following research questions:
1. How do instructional designers start their work as instructional designers?
2. What are the career goals of instructional designers, and what plans do they develop to achieve those goals?
3. How do instructional designers execute the plans to achieve their career goals, and how do they process feedback?
This study employed a descriptive qualitative research design, conducting in-depth interviews with instructional designers with five to ten years of experience. Ten participants were from higher education institutions and were highly and diversely educated, with a minimum of a Master’s degree. The semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom, each lasting approximately one hour. The recorded interviews, with the consent of all participants, were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis techniques.
The preliminary findings include the following six themes: the serendipitous beginning and a passion for teaching, transitions for personal growth and life changes, the utilization of various resources for planning, challenges in resource management, the ambiguity of career paths in pursuit of career goals, and the importance of feedback and adjustment. Their careers in instructional design, started by chance and with distinctive beginnings, were characterized by a shared passion for teaching. Career goals involved transitions and promotions, akin to those in other professions, driven by a desire for personal growth and life-related factors. Participants explored diverse resources and then promptly implemented the gained insights, blurring the distinction between planning and execution. The challenges encountered in achieving their goals encompassed difficulties related to time management and budget constraints. Participants frequently sought external reference points through networking and accessed various resources. Given the limited upward transition opportunities and the multifaceted nature of higher-level positions that required competencies beyond instructional design professional development emerged as a pivotal aspect of their careers. All participants actively sought feedback on their careers and work, adapting their goals and actively exploring the necessary resources.
This study contributes to the currently limited understanding of instructional designers’ career development through the theoretical lenses of ART. It is the first qualitative study based on ART, as the previous literature primarily utilized quantitative methods (Haenggli et al., 2021; Raabe et al., 2007) and provided conceptual frameworks (Hirschi et al., 2019; 2022; Wilhelm & Hirschi, 2019). The findings of the study helps HRD professionals understand different occupations' career development processes. Lastly, the study provides insightful career development resources for aspiring and current instructional designers and serve as a knowledge base for universities seeking to enhance their instructional design programs.