THE ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT TEACHING AND LEARNING IN A DISTANCE ...

237 Pages·2016·1.73 MB·English

THE ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT TEACHING AND LEARNING IN
A DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMME AT AFRICA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY

By

MARY ATIENO OOKO

Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
In the subject

DIDACTICS
at the
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

SUPERVISOR: PROF M E MAKOE

APRIL 2016

Student No. 53452569

ii
CERTIFICATION

The undersigned certify that they have read and hereby recommend for acceptance by the
University of South Africa a thesis entitled: The Adoption of Technology to Support Teaching
and Learning in a Distance Learning Programme at Africa Nazarene University, in fulfilment
of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Didactics of the University of South
Africa.

……………………………………………………
Prof Mpine Makoe
(Supervisor)

Date:29/04/2016

iii
DECLARATIONAND COPYRIGHT

I, Mary Atieno Ooko, declare that this thesis is my own original work and that it has not
been presented and will not be presented to any other University for a similar or any other
degree award

Signature:

This thesis is copyright material protected under the Berne Convention, the Copyright Act
1999 and other international and national enactments, in that behalf, on intellectual
property. It may not be reproduced by any means, in full or in part, except for short
extracts in fair dealings, for research or private study, critical scholarly review or
discourse with an acknowledgement, without the written permission of the College of
Higher Degree, on behalf of both the author and the University of South Africa.
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I knowledge, with love, God’s grace that has brought me this far in my academic efforts. I
sincerely acknowledge the intellectual input, form and constructive criticism of my
supervisor, Prof. Mpine Makoe. I also acknowledge my dear husband, Mr. Nixon Ooko
and children Annette Ooko, Dr. Agatha Ooko, Elizabeth Ooko and Esther Ooko for their
sacrifices, moral support and encouragement.
I acknowledge the support and cooperation of the administration and students of Africa
Nazarene University who gladly accepted to be part of this study.
v
DEDICATION
This work is a special dedication to my loving husband, Mr. Nixon Ooko that the good
Lord may continue to bless him for his patience, understanding and sacrifice.
vi
ABSTRACT
The current increasingly changing world shows the influence and effects of technology in all
aspects of learning. In developed Western countries, the Higher Education institutions believe
that these developments offer valuable opportunities for improved learning as a result of
technological advancements and innovations in the learning environment. This has in turn placed
the responsibility on developing countries, in order to strive better competitively in international
markets, even under tremendous pressure, to similarly embed suitable blends of technologies
within their own learning and curriculum approaches, and consequently enhance and improve
new learning opportunities. The positive increasing growth in access to and use of technology has
caused more approaches to be developed in e-learning and is manifested in different forms. This
has supplemented or replaced the traditional methods in learning, enabling engagement of
learners with their learning through various web technologies alongside face-to-face delivery, and
sometimes completely replacing direct face-to-face contact. However, the success of use of
technology in learning depends, to a significant extent, on how the students actually use them for
learning purposes.
The purpose of this study isto examine the extent that technology is accepted, adopted and used
to enhance learning and teaching in a distance education context.The study employed an
extended version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in its investigation of the
underlying factors that affect students’ use of technological systems in learning. It explored
students’ perception and experiences of using technology for learning and teaching to guide
theInstitute for Open Distance Learning (IODL) in Africa Nazarene University (ANU) to develop
strategies for implementation of technology-enhanced learning.This study revealed that students’
attitudes and perceptions on the use of technology in learning and teaching were diverse and were
both positive and negative. While positive attitudes and perceptions of users to adopt Technology
in learning and teaching can simplify their understanding and use of the technology in learning
and teaching, negative attitudes would instead complicate this making adoption difficult. A
deeper focus on the factors that affect adoption and technology use in e-learning as well as their
associations is a pre-cursor to a better knowledge and understanding of student acceptance of e-
learning technological systems.

vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
CERTIFICATION .................................................................................................................................... iii
DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT .................................................................................................... iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..........................................................................................................................v
DEDICATION ......................................................................................................................................... vi
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................. vi
LIST OF TABLES .....................................................................................................................................x
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................. xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ............................................................................... xiii
DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS ..............................................................................................................xv
CHAPTER ONE .......................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................1
1.1 BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................................1
1.2 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................................2
1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT ....................................................................................................................4
1.4 RATIONALE..........................................................................................................................................6
1.5 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................................9
1.6 THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS ............................................................... 10
1.7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. ........................................................................................................1 2
1.7.1 THE MIXED METHOD RESEARCH APPROACH .........................................................................1 2
1.7.2 Research Population. .............................................................................................................................1 4
1.7.3 Ethical Considerations ..........................................................................................................................1 5
1.8 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY .....................................................................................................1 6
1.9 ORGANIZATION OF THE DISSERTATION...................................................................................1 6
CHAPTER TWO ....................................................................................................................................19
LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................................................19
2.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................1 9
2.2 CONTEXTUALISING DISTANCE LEARNING ..............................................................................1 9
2.3 DISTANCE LEARNING IN KENYA ................................................................................................ 23
2.4 USES OF TECHNOLOGY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES .......................................................... 24
2.5 USES OF TECHNOLOGY IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES ............................................................ 26
2.6 STUDIES OF ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGY ...............................................................................2 8
2.7 KNOWLEDGE GAPS .........................................................................................................................3 1
CHAPTER THREE ...............................................................................................................................32
THEORIES AND MODELS .................................................................................................................32
3.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................3 2
3.2 ADOPTIONS OF INNOVATION MODEL .......................................................................................3 3
3.3 INNOVATION DIFFUSION THEORY ............................................................................................. 34
3.4 THEORY OF REASONED ACTION ................................................................................................. 37
3.5 THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOUR ........................................................................................... 39
3.6 DECOMPOSED THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOUR (DTBP) ................................................ 41
3.7 TASK-TECHNOLOGY FIT THEORY (TTF) ...................................................................................4 2
vii
3.8 HUMAN-TASK-TECHNOLOGY INTERACTIONS AND PERFORMANCE MODEL ................... 46
3.9 TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL ........................................................................................4 7
3.9.1 Studies on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) .............................................................................4 8
3.10 ENHANCED TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL (TAM 2) ................................................ 52
3.11 AUGMENTED TAM OR COMBINED TAM AND TPB (C-TAMTPB) ......................................... 53
3.12 UNIFIED THEORY OF ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF TECHNOLOGY ..................................... 54
3.13 THE THEORY OF TRANSACTIONAL DISTANCE .......................................................................5 6
3.14 SUMMARIZED COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE MODELS ............................................... 57
3.15 LIMITATIONS OF PREVIOUS THEORIES AND RESEARCH FINDINGS ................................. 59
3.16 CHAPTER SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................6 0
CHAPTER FOUR ..................................................................................................................................61
QUALITATIVE STUDY – DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS .............................................61
4.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................6 1
4.2 FOCUS GROUPS ................................................................................................................................. 62
4.4 DATA ANALYSIS ..............................................................................................................................6 7
CHAPTER FIVE ....................................................................................................................................88
QUANTITATIVE STUDY ....................................................................................................................88
5.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................8 8
5.2 Quantitative Study ................................................................................................................................8 9
5.3 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT .............................................................................................. 89
5.4 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY IN QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH ............................................ 92
5.5 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE ................................................................................................ 96
5.6 DATA ANALYSIS ..............................................................................................................................9 7
5.7 CHAPTER SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................1 31
CHAPTER SIX .....................................................................................................................................133
DISCUSSION OF QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE FINDINGS .....................................133
6.1 INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................................1 33
6.2 DISCUSSION OF QUANTITATIVE FINDINGS ...........................................................................1 33
6.3 DISCUSSION OF QUALITATIVE FINDINGS ..............................................................................1 52
6.4 THEMES GENERATED FROM THE FINDINGS ..............................................................................1 59
6.5 PROPOSED SIMPLIFIED MODEL FOR TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION FOR LEARNING
AND TEACHING IN AFRICA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY ...................................................................1 67
6.6 CHAPTER SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................1 74
CHAPTER SEVEN ..............................................................................................................................175
CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND LIMITATIONS ................................................175
7.1 INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................................1 75
7.2 KEY FINDINGS FROM THE STUDY ............................................................................................1 76
7.3 RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................................................................1 81
7.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY .....................................................................................................1 86
7.5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY ........................................................................1 87
7.7 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................................1 89
APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................................203
Appendix A: Confirmation of Registration at UNISA for 2015 ................................................................2 03
Appendix B: Research Permit ....................................................................................................................2 04
viii
Appendix C: Letter from the National Council for Science in Kenya granting the Researcher
permission to conduct research in the Kajiado County of Kenya at Africa Nazarene University ............... 204
Appendix D: License provided by the Kenya National Council of Science and Technology permitting
the Researcher to conduct research in Kenya ...............................................................................................2 05
Appendix E: Focus Group Interview Research Schedule..........................................................................2 06
Appendix F: Questionnaire for Quantitative Part of the Research ............................................................2 07
Appendix G: TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR THE QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONDENTS .................. 210
Appendix H: CONSENT FORM FOR QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONDENTS ......................................2 12
Appendix I: TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR THE FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSANTS ........................... 213
Appendix J: CONSENT FORM FOR FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION PARTICIPANTS....................... 214
Appendix K: STUDENT ASSISTANT CONFIDENTIALITY FORM .....................................................2 15
Appendix L: DECLARATION.....................................................................................................................2 15
Appendix M: RESEARCH BUDGET..........................................................................................................2 17
Appendix N: WORK PLAN .........................................................................................................................2 18
Appendix O: KREJCIE AND MORGAN TABLE ......................................................................................2 20
Appendix P: APPROVAL FOR ETHICAL CLEARANCE .....................................................................2 21

ix
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1: Population…..………………….…………………………..…………………73
Table 4.2: Sample Matrix for Institute of Open and Distance Learning..……………….82
Table 4.3: Basic Themes…………………………………………………………………83
Table 4.4: Organizing Themes…………………………………………………………...84
Table 4.5: Global Themes………………………………………………………………..85
Table 5.1: Reliability Statistics .…………….…………………………………..….…...94
Table 5.2: Interpretation of the mean range scale…………………………………..……98
Table 5.3: Biographical data of the Respondents…………………………………..……99
Table 5.4: Level of Adoption of Technology among students in ODL environment….101
Table 5.5: Students’ attitudes and perceptions about using technology in Teaching
And learning…………………...…………………………………..…………………...103
Table 5.6: Total Variance Explained…………..…………………………………..……109
Table 5.7: Rotated Component Matrix………..…………………………………..…….111
Table 5.8: Factor Summary and Interpretation..…………………………………..…….114
Table 5.9: Independent Sample Test 1………….…………………………………..…..116
Table 5.10: Independent Sample Test 2………….……………………………..………117
Table 5.11: Independent Sample Test 3………….…………………………………..…118
Table 5.12: ANOVA 1………….…………………..……………………………..…….119
Table 5.13: ANOVA 2………….…………………………………………….…..……..121
Table 5.14: ANOVA 3……………………….…………………………………..……...123
Table 5.15: Paired Sample Tests……………………………………………………......125
Table 6.1: Goodness of Fit Statistics……………………………………………………128
Table 6.2: Cell Counts and Residuals…………………………………………………...130
x