Title:
FACTORS INFLUENCING E-LEARNING ACCEPTANCE IN TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: STUDENTS’ AND LECTURERS’ VIEWS

Authors:
Emmanuel Chinamasa and Mercy Ncube

Abstract:
The study focused on evaluating factors influencing e-learning acceptance by students and lecturers at a teacher education institution in Zimbabwe. It is motivated by explanations from Davis’ (1989) Technology Acceptance Theory. The study was guided by the pragmatism research philosophy adopted for an intervention factor evaluation. Pragmatism facilitated the application of mixed methods to cater for qualitative and quantitative responses. A sequential research design of document analysis, surveys and interviews parallel to document analysis for benchmarks was applied to capture data. A stratified sample of 213 students from an education institution’s three intakes participated in the study. Intake 23 cohort was in their final year of the course, Intake 24 cohort on term seven and Intake 25 cohort was on Teaching Practice Attachment. The quantitative variation in the student population, called for probability stratified random sampling. A purposive sample of six lecturers from the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) department and ten lecturers from various departments in the college were involved in the study. The study established that the major e-learning platform used was WhatsApp. This was lecturer and students’ initiative in response to the need for learning from a distance. Factors promoting the dominance of WhatsApp include smartphones availability, its’ easy of access by both lecturers and learners. WhatsApp versatility to different uses such as text messages, videos and photographs are key to its acceptance. Factors against other e-learning platform use include: scanty awareness of the application from hearsay, financial challenges for data bundles, poor internet connectivity in Zimbabwe, limited technical supporting culture and at national level, electricity shortages. The study recommends a mixture of face-to face and e-learning. There is need also for awareness campaigns for the existence of more e-learning platforms. Institutions need to support their lectures and students with data bundles to enhance their use of WhatsApp. The nation can install more network transmitters in all areas of Zimbabwe.