Acceptance of Learning Management System - Literature review Example

This research paper has four chapters with the first chapter providing an introduction to LMS, Saudi Arabia and the status of women in the universities in the kingdom. The second chapter contains a detailed review of existing literature while the third chapter provides a succinct explanation of the research methodology adopted for use in the research. The fourth and final chapter contains the findings of the research and a detailed discussion of the same. 1.1. Overview of Research Understandably, there could be a variety of reasons that influence the acceptance of learning management systems (LMS) by female academic staff members in KSA universities. This thesis will adopt the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a methodology that will most likely provide a comprehensive understanding of all the factors that influence LMS adoption. According to Alharbi and Drew (2014), “An effective implementation of LMS should highly consider academics who will use such systems for teaching” (p. 143). Alharbi and Drew (2014) indicate that one way of considering the adoption of LMS is through the use of TAM. The research will draw upon expansive sources of literature for purposes of understanding the nature of the current knowledge and for purposes of identifying current gaps in knowledge. Based on the TAM, the research will seek to find out any existing external variables that affect LMS adoption in KSA. Additionally, the research will seek to understand how members of university faculties perceive the usefulness of LMS and equally, how they perceive the ease of LMS use. Further, the research will seek to reveal any attitudes that faculty members have towards LMS, and will also seek to gauge any behavioural intentions that the faculty members may exhibit towards the intended use of LMS. Finally, the research will identify the actual usage of the LMS within universities in KSA. The research methodology will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 3, while the literature review, which enables this research to identify existing gaps in knowledge, is in Chapter 2. Notably, not much research has been done about female students and their perceptions or reception to e-learning in KSA. However, Rambo, Liu and Nakata (2009) found out that women academician’s perception of electronic learning is mostly influenced by their ages. The younger a female student was, the more receptive she was likely to be towards e-learning. Another factor that Rambo et al. (2009) identify as critical to shaping the perceptions of female learners was the academic discipline that one was pursuing. For example, Rambo et al. (2009) found out that female students who were pursuing studies in technology, linguistics, science or business were eager to adopt e-learning. However, their counterparts who were pursuing languages, religious studies or other humanity courses were less eager to embrace e-learning. Some of the reasons cited as hindering the adoption of e-learning by female learners in KSA include: the absence of adequate female teachers who are literate on e-learning usage, and who are willing to embrace the use of e-learning in their course instruction; accessibility of e-learning facilities; lack of Arabic e-learning content; and the presence of filtration blocks, which hinder female learners from accessing the information (Al-Kahtani , Ryan & Jefferson, 2006). One such information block is the failure to understand the English language or the absence of non-Arabic content on e-learning platforms (Al-Kahtani et al., 2006). Global Context of KSA Al-Mubaraki (2011) argues that growing global openness coupled with unlimited cross-border access to global higher education is necessitating changes in countries such as Saudi Arabia. In particular, Al-Mubaraki (2011) claims that the desire to improve the international status of Saudi Arabian universities is causing national strategies and policies to focus on reforming the existing higher education institutions and establishing new ones. This, according to Al-Mubaraki (2011), constitutes the Saudi Arabian approach for attaining knowledge-oriented social and economic growth. In the global context, KSA universities also have to offer competitive education, especially if the students have to compete with other students who graduate from other universities across the world. The global competitiveness requirement means that KSA universities cannot afford to be limited by the prevailing social, cultural and political dynamics. Failure to adopt modern ways of learning or teaching will only translate to the country having less competent professionals compared to other countries. As Parvan (2013) notes, a significant number of young Saudi Arabians are opting to study abroad based on the belief that the education systems abroad are more competitive. The Saudi government, therefore, has a challenge in it hands, which requires it to improve the education standards in the kingdom, and restore the population’s confidence in the same education. Writing about the challenges facing higher education in KSA, Colbran and Al Ghreimil (2013) noted that Saudi universities are still struggling to use IT to support learning and teaching in the universities and colleges. The authors specifically note that “pure distance education is a small component of the current system in the kingdom” (p. 82). The foregoing citation is an indication that the higher education in KSA is yet to fully embrace elearning. Effectively, this means that the higher education system in KSA is missing out on most of the advantages obtained from embracing elearning. It has been suggested that KSA can still uphold its culture of segregating women from men without necessarily denying them the benefits of a comprehensive education through the use of elearning. Alaugab (2007) for example suggests that the Kingdom can overcome the challenge of few female lecturers by allowing male lecturers to offer their expertise and knowledge to female learners albeit remotely through closed circuit televisions. Effectively, such an approach would limit the face-to-face interaction between unrelated members of the male and female gender. To enable interaction between the lecturer and students, Alaugab (2007) suggests that elearning targeting female students and being taught by male lecturers can utilise elearning platforms that enable one-way video broadcast and two-way verbal communication. Such interaction would mean that lecturers can answer any questions that female students ask, but cannot recognise their faces. The possible benefits of distance education are not new in KSA, because as Al-Khalifa (2009) and Al-Khalifa (2010) observe, a broadcasting technology that allows distance education for female learners in a female-only college has been in use in the kingdom since 2006. Notably, this section provides a snapshot of the broader issues facing higher education in KSA, including the shortage of female lecturers, their inability to adopt technology, and the cultural factors that segregate the female gender, effectively meaning that male lecturers cannot teach in female classrooms. As noted above, one of the potential ways through which the challenge of insufficient female lecturers can be overcome is by using distance learning. There are many potential problems and positives within using distance learning in enhancing higher education for female learners in KSA. Therefore, the literature review now addresses more specifically the area of elearning and the role of women in higher education in KSA, from both a student and an academic staff point of view. The second component of elearning especially in the higher education context is learning. According to Cohen and Nycz (2006), adults learn differently from children hence the conceptualisation of the adult learning theory also known as andragogy. Andragogy theory was conceptualised by Malcom Knowles and indicates that adult learners are self-directed, and that often times, adults need to understand why they are learning something. Additionally, teaching adults requires the use of experiential techniques (Cohen & Nycz, 2006). Moreover, adult learners need to understand how they can solve problems using the knowledge gained from a learning experience. Notably, the instructor in the higher education context acts as a source of knowledge and this does not change in an elearning context. Cohen and Nycz (2006) note that in an elearning context, the “e-learning systems replace the teacher as the centre for learning… [Instead], knowledge-bases are collected, assembled and sequenced by the teacher” and become the main centre of learning (p. 26 [emphasis added]). In other words, elearning, enables the resource-nature of the teacher to be shared among more students when compared to a traditional classroom setting since the knowledge-bases can be shared by a large number of students. For effective e-learning to take place, however, the management of the learning initiatives need to have the same commitment as the traditional forms of learning. To conclude this section of the dissertation, it is important to note that factors related to the institution, the staff and the academicians (instructors) all affect the acceptance and usage of elearning in higher education. Linking such findings back to the research, it is important to note, therefore, that the factors affecting elearning in KSA are multi-faceted. Consequently, if a solution to enhance the adoption of elearning was to be designed, it would have to address factors that affect each stakeholder’s willingness to accept and use elearning. While LMSs have been adopted widely in higher education across the globe, it is quite evident that they involve the adoption of technology, which can be a complex process depending on different factors in different societies. Notably, there are many factors that influence technology adoption and such factors may also act as barriers to the adoption of LMS as indicated in the following section. 1.1.1. Barriers to LMS In literature, there is agreement among many authors that LMS can improve interaction, collaboration and performance during learning (Jurado, 2012). However, there is also consensus among authors that the implementation of LMS is hindered by several barriers, whose genesis is from institutional sources, lecturer-related sources, and learner-related sources. The different barriers to LMS are discussed in detail in this section. The lack of readiness by institutions of higher learning and the reluctance to embrace new technologies by instructors are some of the common cited barriers to LMS. Stuppy (2000) for example indicates that the American patents for instructional design systems have acted as a major barrier to the adoption of LMS in institutions of learning. Christensen (2002) further observes that intrinsic issues such as computer anxiety for educators also act as a barrier to LMS adoption. The anxiety comes from learning new systems and the requirement to use the same new systems for pedagogical issues of constructivism and deliverers of the new learning systems. Further, educators who had little experience of the rapid change in technology could be less familiar with the concepts of each device and system than their students (Bebell, Russell, & O’Dwyer, 2004). Another major barrier to LMS adoption relates to the lack of skills in and access to information technology. This means that some lecturers do not know how to use the technology, and even where they do, the access to the same technology is not always limitless Besides the barriers indicated above, there are several reasons why institutions of higher learning have overcome most hindrances and adopted LMS. In this section, this dissertation will discuss some of the enablers (or motivators) that have enhanced the adoption of LMS. Notably, LMS is an element that facilitates convenience in teaching and learning as has been observed by Culp, Honey and Mandinach (2003). The three authors conducted a review of two decades of United States education technology and found out that people understand the convenience that is brought about by the use of LMS. The view of technology as a more engaging tool through which to interact with learners has also been identified as another LMS enabler. In a research conducted by Bernard et al. (2009) for example, it was revealed that course instructors found LMS methods to be more flexible and engaging when compared to traditional classrooms. In an exhaustive review of post-secondary use of technology in classes found differences between a time when technology was used for presentation of classroom material (content through television and Powerpoint) and contemporary use (Schmid et al., 2014). Al-Rubaish, Rahim, Abumadini and Wosomu (2009) also noted that variables that led to lower job satisfaction were more prevalent within the female gender. For example, psychosocial factors like domiciliary obligations, one’s marital status, and the support from a significant partner seemed to significantly affect the careers of Saudi women who worked in different ranks in universities or colleges. Al-Rubaish et al. (2009) also found out that the representation of women in higher education (especially as professionals) was affected by family-related commitments, the presence or absence of spousal support and child-bearing and child-rearing related activities. Gender, social and work segregation also retarded women’s participation in occupations in the higher education sector (Al-Rubaish et al., 2009). Because of similar reasons, women who chose to pursue careers in the higher education sector also ended up registering lower job satisfaction when compared to their male counterparts. Regardless of the challenges they face, it is worth noting that women in the KSA are gaining impressive milestones in education and careers and should be afforded equal opportunities to study and work. By 2009, the number of female lecturers in KSA had gone up to 19,600. This was a major improvement from the 2004 statistics which indicated that the kingdom just had 4,700 lecturers (Al Alhareth, Al Dighrir & Al Alhareth, 2015). By the time of writing this dissertation, the 2009 numbers must have improved significantly. Obviously, lecturers are not the only female academic staff KSA has, but if they were used as a reflection of female involvement in occupations in higher learning, this could mean that there is a significant improvement. Some of the reasons that have contributed to the upsurge of female professionals interested in working in the higher education sector include: increased interest by government, hence encouraging women to take up jobs in universities; the opening up of liberal space in the Saudi cultural setup, hence giving women more leeway to work; and the opening up of the knowledge space hence creating awareness among Saudi women about professional pursuits made by other women throughout the world (Ministry of Higher Education, 2010). Overall, the female academic staffs in KSA have improved significantly when compared to past decades. However, it is worth noting that female workers in the high education sectors are prone to factors that affect their job satisfaction negatively, thus meaning that the turnover of female workers is still relatively high when compared to their male counterparts. Others (Al Balawi, 2007; Alenezi, 2012; Almegren & Yassin, 2013; Alqurashi, 2009; Al-Harbi, 2011) have indicated how the academic staff affects the adoption of elearning in higher education. Still, there are authors (Albidewi & Tulb, 2014; Al-Shehri, 2012; Guri-Rosenblit, 2005) who observe that institutional factors affect the effective adoption of elearning. A critical look at the literature creates the impression that there are no comprehensive sources of knowledge regarding all the factors that affect elearning adoption. The absence of such knowledge makes it even harder to find a source of knowledge that indicates comprehensive solutions that would be adopted to enhance the adoption of elearning. Because of the unique social and cultural situation of KSA, it is important to note the system of elearning adoption in other societies may not necessarily be applicable in the kingdom, especially when considering gender segregation. 1.3.1. Web-Based Survey A web-based survey will be conducted through a questionnaire to respondents. The survey criteria will include female employees who work in universities in KSA. A web-based survey is easy to use, and as Wyatt (2000) notes, is more inclusive, cheap, interactive, and easy to analyse but can also be frustrating especially if the response rates are not as high as initially expected. To minimise low response rates, the researcher will send follow-up emails to all targeted respondents two weeks and one week before the end of the survey period. Another advantage of a web-based survey is that the survey results are easy to document and analyse especially with the use of analytical tools. 1.3.2. Interview Phone interviews will be conducted among targeted respondents. Due to the nature of time requirements, and the busy schedule of most of the targeted respondents, each phone interview will last for a maximum of five minutes. Additionally, only a representative sample of 100 respondents will be included in the phone interviews. The respondents will be drawn from different female universities across KSA. 1.4. Limitations The limitations of this research include low response rates especially from the web-based surveys. Wyatt (2000) notes that only respondents who can use the computer and are Internet-literate can use web-based surveys. Additionally, not all of the 100 targeted interview respondents may be reached for response. Consequently, the representative sample that was initially intended for inclusion in the survey may not be attained. Read More