Adoption of Learning Management Systems - Essay Example

1.#.# Methodology In order to achieve the aims of the research, a qualitative case study methodology is adopted that is shaped by constructionist epistemology and an interpretivist theoretical perspective. The selection of data collection and analysis methods will be guided by this methodological approach. From the standpoint of constructionist epistemology, knowledge construction activities are performed by individuals and groups within social phenomena , and the ways of constructing knowledge may vary from individual to individual even within the same social phenomena . Based upon such assumptions, a qualitative case study methodology is selected to allow the researcher to study particular social phenomena through accessing information provided by different groups of individuals within several learning communities, in this case female academic staff in universities in Saudi Arabia --------------------- 1.# Rationale for the Study Research has demonstrated that LMSs within elearning have the potential to enrich educational experiences for both learners and educators. In particular, the affordances of LMS allow lecturers and students to connect without the confines of the traditional classrooms (Adzharuddin & Ling, 2013) irrespective of the gender of the learners or their tutors. In light of this research, the lack of adoption of LMS by female academic staff is of concern, especially given the gender segregation of Saudi Arabia universities, which means that female university students are primarily taught by female academic staff. The rationale of this research is further founded on the assumption that the research results will act as a basis for policy making for the Saudi higher education. Specifically, it is assumed that once the factors that affect LMS adoption among female academic staff are identified, stakeholders in the education system can work to ensure that any hindrances that prevent adoption of LMS will be addressed. Educational fields today are tending towards adaptation of technology (Aldunate & Nussbaum, 2013). Even in Saudi Arabia, LMS is being adopted in institutions of higher learning (Albarrak, 2010). Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have become a major focus of the educational institutions. More so, education with integration of technology provides several benefits to different stakeholders. It includes quality of learning, advanced knowledge, skill enhancement, capabilities increments, enhanced learning and interactive state of mind among other factors (Park, 2009). In addition, within an educational institution, research has shown that it enhances the institute's performance and students learning (Sife, Lwoga & Sanga, 2007; Teo, Lee, & Chai, 2008). Furthermore, integration of technology with education institutes removes various limitations such as time and space, and barriers such as faculty acceptance for the technology (Gibson, Harris, & Colaric, 2008). Unfortunately, the adoption of LMS and other technologies in female universities in KSA is suboptimal (Albarrak, 2010). The foregoing revelation suggests that there are factors that hinder the adoption of LMS in such universities. Naturally, one needs to know the nature of a problem before he can resolve it. This thesis is therefore an attempt at understanding the problems that hinder LMS adoption among female faculty members in KSA. Notably, the potential benefits that elearning can offer in terms of access to higher education, particularly for female students, makes it important for more information about the level of technology acceptance, issues and the possible barriers of elearning to be unearthed. This is especially necessary if KSA female graduates are expected to be globally competitive. The proposed research will explore ways in which educational institutions within KSA are adopting the innovative learning management system using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The aforementioned model arguably holds the key to a successful framework for educational institutions to adopt. Further, this research aims to better understand the factors that affect women’s use of LMS and make recommendations that will inform universities about how to support female academic staff. For instance, if it is indeed true that fewer female academic staff in KSA universities use LMS compared to males, then it will be vital to highlight the factors that need to change in order to promote parity in LMS use by male and female KSA university academic staff. Further, this knowledge will contribute to what needs to be done to increase LMS adoption – it will consider the complexity of factors that influence technology acceptance such as the LMS’s usefulness, perceived ease of use, as well as cultural and institutional factors. The rationale of this study is further based on the importance of understanding the need to focus on the parameters like academic staff engagement with the LMS. The current literature – though extensive in answering elearning in higher education system – is lacking in the specifics regarding staff engagement in LMS and particularly the engagement of female staff in the KSA universities. The existing literature (Alshwaier et al., 2012; Al-Asmary & Khan, 2014) indicates that female academic staff are less engaged than their counterparts but fails to define why this particular phenomenon is occurring or why it is important. This study will explore such knowledge gaps and through the quantitative survey, will explore the experiences and perceptions of female staff when using LMS to try to provide an accurate picture of what their perceptions, attitudes and feelings about technology use in learning are. An additional reason why this study is important is pegged on the possibility that the results of the research will awaken stakeholders in the education sector towards the need of motivating more female staff in KSA universities to adopt LMS. Additionally, the results could be used to draw the staff members’ attention to the important role they play in enhancing the adoption of technology among the students they teach and guide. Arguably, most staff members in KSA avoid using LMS for personal reasons; however, they fail to realise that their indifference to LMS is affecting their students’ ability to use technology as much as other students in KSA and elsewhere in the world do. Effectively, the staff’s behaviours have a disadvantageous effect on the students. Moreover, it has been noted that women’s education in KSA has not received as much attention from researchers as men’s education (Alshwaier et al., 2012; Al-Asmary & Khan, 2014). Therefore, this study will add to the existing knowledge regarding KSA women as active members of the social, economic, cultural and political system of the kingdom and some of the challenges women face in the quest to acquire knowledge and skills. The nature of this research is investigative and will go beyond usage patterns – which currently frame research around technology. The research will extend and explore the internal factors that can be termed as beliefs or attitudes and external factors such as the Saudi social and cultural norms using the TAM framework. This research will determine the extent to which these internal and external factors are supportive or unsupportive to female adoption of LMS in KSA universities. -------------------- 2.1 Introduction The purpose of this chapter is to present a comprehensive and critical review of existing literature that informs the research questions. As explained in the introductory chapter, the objective of this study is to investigate the factors influencing the adoption of LMS among female academic staff in Saudi Arabia. To achieve this, the design of this study uses the TAM model to investigate the factors that influence the use of technology among female academic staff in universities in the kingdom. It will also investigate more thoroughly the key finding by Al Balawi (2007) that fewer female university academic staff use web-based learning tools compared to males. To inform this study, this literature review will examine the interplay between the three broad conceptual fields: Higher Education Context of KSA Elearning and LMS within in higher education in KSA Female academic staff in higher education in KSA This chapter is organised into three main sections, which reflect the fields outlined above. The first section will review the historical context of higher education in Saudi Arabia and, in particular, the issue of gender separation. It will examine both the historical and current perspectives of higher education in the kingdom. It will also analyse the policy of gender separation (where male and female students are placed in separate institutions or separate classes) and how this has influenced higher education. This section will also highlight the literature around the current climate within KSA higher education. In doing so, this section will provide an overview of the influences on the study and locate the context of the research. The second section will present an analysis of elearning within higher education in KSA. The issues covered in first initial stages of this section include a review of elearning in higher education in general and in KSA in particular. This will also involve an analysis of the factors that have contributed to the growth of elearning and current status of elearning in Saudi Arabia. This section will also look at the challenges involved in elearning with regard to institutions, academic staff and students. It will also highlight the concept of learning management systems, the barriers to the use of LMS, and the enablers of LMS. Through this section, the review will provide an account of the status of elearning in Saudi Arabia, particularly in view of the purpose of the research. The third section will examine the status of women in higher education in KSA in general and that of female academic staff in particular. It will also highlight pertinent issues such as the growth in the number of women pursuing higher education as well as the development of universities that offer higher eduation for women in Saudi Arabia. This section will also review elearning issues facing female academics in the kingdom, including the low adoption of elearning by women. In doing so, this section will provide an summary of the issues that face women in higher education, particularly women’s use of elearning and LMS in KSA Overall, this chapter will present a review of literature that links to the aims of the research. This will be achieved havng an understanding of the status of higher education in saudia Arabia, the use of elearning and LMS in the kingdom, and the use of elearning systems and LMS by females; which will in turn help in why the factors that affect use of these systsms by female academics. In addition, a further 100 universities (approximately) and colleges1 have been established in Saudi Arabia since 2003 (Romani, 2009). _---------------------------- Changes in the education system in Saudi Arabia have seen the government strive to avail more opportunities to pursue higher education . In a study titled “Review of women's higher education in Saudi Arabia”, it is argued that “The Saudi government has invested heavily in its higher education programme and the Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University offers courses in science that were previously restricted to male students, so the situation regarding women’s higher education opportunities has continued to improve. Women can now study abroad and the numbers have increased from roughly 3,879 in 2004/2005 to approximately 35,700 in 2011/ 2012,” (Al Alhareth, Al Dighrir & Al Alhareth, 2015, para. 3). But despite the efforts being made by the KSA government to support the education of women in higher learning institutions, there are some regions in the kingdom in which women are still marginalised when in comes to their consideration for inclusion in higher education. This seen when it is argued that “… despite all the efforts being made, women who live in the Northern and Southern regions still continue to have less opportunities to access higher education than those who live in the other regions because of the distribution of universities and their branches between regions and provinces, and the barriers of traditional culture... Because of the increasing number of secondary school graduates year-on-year, there is also a rise in the demand for higher education places…. Supporting this view, in 2008 for example, only 73 percent of female secondary school graduates were offered higher education places by Saudi universities, but the Najran and Northern Border regions showed the lowest rate of offering university seats to female, compared to other regions, with only 1.4 percent offered a place at the universities in these regions. This means that their opportunities to access higher education are still less than other females in major regions (Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam)” (Al Alhareth et al., 2015, para. 4). ------------------------------- “Arab countries in the last decade (since 1998) have undergone tremendous development in higher education: for example, the number of students, and the number of higher education institutions, has more than doubled, and the share of females in higher education has increased significantly” (Darandari & Cardew (2013, p. 105). ------------------------------------ More importantly, during the same period, there has been an increase in the number of female faculty members – 242% compared an increase of 152% for male faculty members. Based on these findings, Jamjoom and Kelly (2013) suggest that that there is an increasing opportunity for Saudi Arabian women in higher education institutions. However, in spite of this, the same authors contend that the number of male members of faculty is still nearly double that of their female counterparts. These sentiments are captured when the authors assert that “There is most evidently, therefore, an increasing chance for Saudi women to participate in university teaching, despite the fact that, notwithstanding the acceleration in female hiring, the number of male faculty members is currently almost twice the number of their female counterparts (in 2009, there were 27,488 male academics compared with 14,401 female academics” (Jamjoom & Kelly, 2013, p. 121). Jamjoom and Kelly’s (2013) view is confirmed by the statistics of the Ministry of Higher Education (2011b), which were discussed earlier. --------------------------- The strain arises from the fact that the few resources that are to be used are not shared mutually since men and women have to use them separately. This results in limited opportunities for students, especially women, to use scarce resources such as computers for teaching and learning, which in turn limits their capacity to use embrace elearning. 2.#.#.# KSA’s global context and the pressure to compete internationally 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 has meant that national strategies and policies to focus on reforming the existing higher education institutions and establishing new ones. For instance, in 2014, Saudi Arabia’s king, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, ordered the setting up of three universities Hafar al-Batin, Jeddah and Bisha.  The king also sanctioned the merger of the university of Dammam and two campuses of the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals into one autonomous university (Al Arabiya News, 2014). Such inititives, according to Al-Mubaraki (2011), constitute the Saudi Arabian approach for attaining knowledge-oriented social and economic growth. --------------------------- Failure to adopt modern ways of learning or teaching will only translate to the country having less competent professionals compared to other countries. In response to this a report by Global Penn State (2013) notes that “… to improve higher education in general, the MoHE is focusing on increasing the quality and quantity of “jobs-training” fields such as engineering and the hard sciences, and vocational training, as opposed to social sciences and the humanities, which have traditionally been popular fields of study in the country. This shift is intended to address several issues: lack of diversity in the economy (dominated by oil), an extremely inefficient public sector, a private sector dominated by foreign workers, and high unemployment” (para. 13). Further, 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. This includes investment in courses such as sciences and engineering providing the necessary resources. --------------------------- From this section, the gaps that have been identified include the specific reasons why not many female academics use teaching/learning technologies despite the fact that they are insufficient in number. This needs to be addressed together with the challenges involved in using distance learning to deliver instruction in higher education, in line with the aims of the research. 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. ------------------------------ In summary, the definition of elearning is complex and there are many facets to consider, including technology, focus on learning, tools for learning, content bias definitions and the focus on managing and supporting learners (Andrews & Haythornthwaite, 2007). It is, however, worth noting that new developments in the use of electronic learning make elearning a continually evolving field. In other words, what is known about elearning today may completely change in a few more years. As Andrews and Haythornthwaite (2007) suggest, this changing nature of elearning is to a great extent the result of the “social and emergent nature” through which people interact, communicate and use information communication technologies (ICT). It is within this social and emergent ICT culture that this thesis is located. In particular, the thesis will look at how ICT is used in higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia, especially by female academic staff. The thesis now considers the influence of elearning within higher education. --------------------------------- It is also argued that elearning allows students more flexibility in planning their learning schedules, offers them a platform to interact with other students and instructors in a different way, and to develop new skills: “From the students’ aspect, e-learning allows the exploration of more flexible ways for learning with reduced need for travel to attend classes. The learning is replaced by interaction opportunities with instructors and other students on an anywhere-anytime-anyhow basis. Hence, e-learning offers avenues for students to continue their learning to acquire new and upgrade existing skills at a time and place of their choice” (Al-adwan & Smedley, 2012, p. 122). ----------------------------------------------- Despite the numerous benefits associated with elearning, the phenomenon also has several demerits. To start with, time management is also a great concern among elearners as Sharpe and Benfield (2005) found out. ----------------------------- 2.#.#.# Institutional This section reviews the challenges that face elearning based on accounts of different authors. Many authors have discussed this issue in regrd to oransational commitment, cost of implementing elearning, availability of resources such as the Internet, and ethical issues among others issues. A number of researchers cite institutional challenges in terms of coordination and organisation of elearning such as poor linkages between departments, which may influence elearning uptake (Al-Shehri, 2010). For example, qualitative research conducted by Al-Shehri (2010) suggested that there are no clear organisational links to ensure coordination and collaboration among the various entities involved in e-learning in KSA. For instance, it is necessary that both the public and private organisations involved in e-learning such as the Ministry of Higher Education, the National Centre of E-learning and all universities and other higher learning institutions are informed of the need to have formal oversight of elearning to ensure quality and success. According to Al-Shehri (2010), better management and organisation can change the existing inequities and variations in the administration of e-learning in various institutions into strengths as opposed to weaknesses. ------------------ There are differences in the long term success of elearning depending on the commitment by institutions: “The key factor of long-term success in implementing e-learning tends to be developing an e-learning planning strategy at the managerial level. Organizations that declare it as a policy goal and plan accordingly with milestones and short and long-term goals in implementing tend to have more success than those that implement e-learning ad hoc or on department by department basis” (Albidewi & Tulb, 2014, p. 215). ----------------------------- The limited availability of software programmed in Arabic could thus be one of the reasons why there is limited use of elearning facilities especially among female academic staff, most of whom teach using Arabic. -------------------------------- In particular, Al-Harbi (2011) notes that: “The individual factor includes three demographic characteristics of the students (i.e. gender, mode of study, place of residence and faculty), attitude, Internet experience and self-efficacy” (p. 35). Support from the university staff is particularly important in inculcating confidence among students in their use of e-learning tools (Al-Harbi, 2011). Where such support is lacking, a review of literature by AlMegren and Yassin (2013) revealed that the transition from the traditional method of teaching and learning to the use of technology may not be easy for teachers, administrators and students. -------------------------- Some researchers believe that this may be attributed to being more accustomed to the traditional methods of classroom teaching and learning which has traditionally dominated university teaching in KSA. A point reinforced in this statement: “some academics are technophobes and many higher education institutions do not recognise the time and effort spent in implementing web-based teaching and preparing computer-generated instructional materials” (Alqurashi, 2009). in some cases, tutors are willing to use elearning systems, but the lack the requisite skills, as was revealed by several participants in a research: “Three teachers told that they had already used technology for language teaching at their previous institutes. Rest of the eleven teachers raised the issue of training to use technology for language teaching. A sampling is as under In terms of language labs, one teacher said, “It is very important to us to know how to use language labs and how to maximise the benefits of language labs. I have seen many language labs were closed because teachers were unable to use them” (Saqlain & Mahmood, 2013, pp. 108-109). ------------------------ The next section will look at the challenges to elearning from the perspective of the role played by students. 2.#.#.# Students students play a critical in the adoption of elearning since they are the main recipients of the innstuction that is delivered through such systems. This section looks at the external and internl factor that hinder students’ proper use of elearning. -------------------------- This implies that if left on their own without guidance, students may resort to using elearning technologies for other activities at the expense of the aim of using such technolgies, which is to improve their academic learning experience. ------------------------- This is emphasised by Yamani’s (2014) assertion that young people grow up exposed to new technologies and thus prefer to use them in learning: “Young people are using technologies in all their daily activities, including their learning. They find it difficult to engage with the traditional teaching method ... Thus, students who have grown up in the era of digital technology are poised to obtain the benefits of e‐learning” (Yamani, 2014, p. 171). ----------------------------------- This section has shown there is a wealth of issues that contribute to the complexity of elearning adoption. Some of these were external such as accessibility of e-learning facilities and others were internal such as students’ perceptions toward elearning. This research attempts to capture this diversity through the TAM model (described in more detail in later chapters) to find out the factors that affect the use of elearning systems by female academic staff in Saudi Arabia. ---------------------------------- The research by Al-Busaidi and Al-Shihi (2010) investigated instructors' acceptance of LMS. They reviewed literature which suggested that “The major issues that might influence instructors' acceptance of LMS might be related to the instructors' characteristics…, organization factors … and the technology” (p. 4). As well, Gyambrah (2007, p. 30) argued that the factors that drive the use of technology in universties include” “a) The globalised economy, with a growing demand for standardised products, services and technical infrastructure, and sophisticated communication systems. b) The emergence of a post-industrial information age and the explosive growth and distributed nature of new knowledge. c) The demands for greater access to tertiary education fuelled by rapid changes in the economy, the need to maintain and upgrade skills for employment, and industry’s demand for “work-ready” graduates. d) The growing reluctance on the part of governments to fund the increasing demand for higher education.” -------------------------------- A number of research projects have been conducted on LMS in Saudi Arabia. However, many of these studies (such as Zakaria, Jamal, Bisht & Koppel, 2013) have mainly centred on student perspectives, students' learning and students’ use of LMS rather than on the experiences of academic staff/lecturers (some exceptions include Al Balawi, 2007). 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, an issue that this literature review now addresses. In summary, this section has discussed various types of LMSs and how they are used. It has also analysed the situation in Saudi Arabia regarding the use of LMS. In doing so, it has identified the barriers to the use of LMS as well as the barriers that exist. It has also been noted that many studies on LMS focus on student perceptions toward the use of LMS. The few studies that have focused on the perceptions of academic staff toward LMS use have not explained why there are fewer female academic staff using LMS compared to their male counterparts in Saudi Arabia. This is the issue that this research intends to unravel. ------------------------------------ A similar point is expressed by Alturise and Alojaiman (2013), that “Furthermore the strict application of Islamic law has led to its (Saudi arabia’s) education system being segregated according to gender, which has far-reaching implications for the educational environment which puts it at odds with the open-access culture practiced in many other countries”(p. 46). These challenges that stems from having separate classes of institutions for men and women include the high cost of duplicating courses and facilities used by females so that they match those used by males, and strains placed on existing resources (e.g. libraries, computers) because they cannot be shared by males and females. There is also the challenge of finding qualified lecturers to deliver instruction in all the universities and their campuses and colleges, especially those that serve women: “Saudi Arabia practices gender segregation. This has significant implications in determining easy access to good education and job availability for women. Before 2010, many universities set up branch colleges for female students. Teaching at these colleges are by female instructors or via voice only conferencing if by male instructors. Because of the scarcity of good female instructors, the teachin-g at these colleges can be of varying quality” (AlMegren, 2011, p. 8). The implication of the views given by various authors is that gender segregation affects women’s education in regard to sharing of resources. Having men and women in separate classes or institutions implies having more resources in terms of human resources as well as the material resources required by students. This affects education of women in general and in turn affects the availability of women taking up roles of academic staff. This issue is explored further in the next section. ----------------- This is because of factors such as “rival job-family commitments, duties in child bearing and rearing, as well as inadequacy of spousal support” (Al-Rubaish et al. 2009, n.pag.). ------------------- Overall, the number of female academic staffs in KSA has improved significantly when compared to past decades (Al Alhareth et al., 2015). However, it is worth noting that female workers in the high education sectors are prone to factors that affect their job satisfaction negatively, such as job-family commitments, thus meaning that the turnover of female workers is still relatively high when compared to their male counterparts (Al-Rubaish, Rahim, Abumadini, & Wosornu, 2009). 2.#.# Elearning Issues Facing Female Academics in KSA In their review of the literature, Alkhalaf et al. (2010) observe that women are often among the most potent backers of elearning, which possibly makes their access to higher education easier. Similarly, Alenezi (2012) found that females had more positive perceptions of using elearning technologies than males. However, this is amenable to discussion since a review of literature conducted by Rhema and Miliszewska (2014) suggested that “male students had more positive attitudes towards e-learning than female students” (p. 171). ------------------------- 2.# Conclusion The aim of the literature review was to present a detailed and analytical review of existing literature that informs the research questions, which are aimed at investigating the factors that influence the adoption of LMS among female academic staff in Saudi Arabia. The review was based on three main areas: higher education context of KSA, elearning and LMS within in higher education in KSA, and the status of female academic staff in higher education in KSA. Under higher education context of KSA, it was noted that gender segregation in institutions of higher learning in Saudi Arabia has put pressure on the resources available for the learning of women. This affects the progression of women to become academic staff as well as women’s access to learning ad instruction facilities such as LMS. The review elearning and LMS within in higher education in KSA found out that there are internal and external factors that affect perceptions towards the use of elearning. This section also highlighted the enablers and challenges to the use of elearning and LMS. Challenges to elearning in unverstisities in Saudi arabia were identified at three levels: institutional, students and academic staff. In regard to the status of female academic staff in higher education in KSA, it was revealed that few studies have been conducted about elearning or LMS and female academic staff in Saudi Arabian universities. In addition, it was found out that female academics use LMS to a lesser extent than their male counterparts. This is directly related to the aim of this research, which is to examine the extent to which female academic staff in universities in Saudi Arabia use LMS. Overall, the literature review has identified a diversity of factors that impact on adoption of LMS. These include the rise of elearning within KSA; the barriers and limitations of technology; cultural and social expectations of female academic staff. To deal with the diversity of these factors, the research will adopt a TAM framework (Davis, 1986), which will now be explained in more detail. Read More