The Effects of Previous Experience and Self Efficacy on the Acceptance of e-Learning Platforms Among Younger Students in Saudi Arabia

Omar Sulaymani; Ahmad R. Pratama; Moneer Alshaikh; Ali Alammary

doi:10.30935/cedtech/11524

Omar Sulaymani ¹, Ahmad R. Pratama ² ^* , Moneer Alshaikh ³, Ali Alammary ⁴

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CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 14, Issue 2, Article No: ep349

https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/11524

Submitted: 19 October 2021, Published Online: 09 January 2022

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Abstract

In Saudi Arabia, some e-learning initiatives such as the Future Gate Project (FGP) and Madrasati (MySchool) have been in place since 2018 and 2020, respectively. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they were used as a means of distance learning for students across the country. This paper investigates the willingness of students to use the e-learning platforms and whether it varies across different sex and age group. Primary data in the form of a survey of 265 secondary school students across the Makkah region was analysed with Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) by using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a theoretical framework. We found that students’ self-efficacy, which is strongly influenced by their previous experience with the underlying technology used in the e-learning platforms, has a positive effect for older students in high school, yet surprisingly, a negative one for younger students in middle school. We also found that perceived ease of use and social influence to be the most important factors behind the students’ acceptance of e-learning platforms and that the effects are stronger for female students than for male students. While this study was conducted in Saudi Arabia, the findings from this study provide a first-hand insight that can help ensure the continuity of the e-learning platforms if they are to be implemented permanently as distance learning platforms even after the end of the pandemic that is also applicable to any other countries.

Keywords: e-learning, distance learning, previous experience, self-efficacy, COVID-19 pandemic

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Citation

Sulaymani, O., Pratama, A. R., Alshaikh, M., & Alammary, A. (2022). The Effects of Previous Experience and Self Efficacy on the Acceptance of e-Learning Platforms Among Younger Students in Saudi Arabia. Contemporary Educational Technology, 14(2), ep349. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/11524

Sulaymani, O., Pratama, A. R., Alshaikh, M., and Alammary, A. (2022). The Effects of Previous Experience and Self Efficacy on the Acceptance of e-Learning Platforms Among Younger Students in Saudi Arabia. Contemporary Educational Technology, 14(2), ep349. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/11524

Sulaymani O, Pratama AR, Alshaikh M, Alammary A. The Effects of Previous Experience and Self Efficacy on the Acceptance of e-Learning Platforms Among Younger Students in Saudi Arabia. CONT ED TECHNOLOGY. 2022;14(2), ep349. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/11524

Sulaymani, Omar, Ahmad R. Pratama, Moneer Alshaikh, and Ali Alammary. "The Effects of Previous Experience and Self Efficacy on the Acceptance of e-Learning Platforms Among Younger Students in Saudi Arabia". Contemporary Educational Technology 2022 14 no. 2 (2022): ep349. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/11524

Sulaymani, Omar et al. "The Effects of Previous Experience and Self Efficacy on the Acceptance of e-Learning Platforms Among Younger Students in Saudi Arabia". Contemporary Educational Technology, vol. 14, no. 2, 2022, ep349. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/11524

Sulaymani O, Pratama AR, Alshaikh M, Alammary A. The Effects of Previous Experience and Self Efficacy on the Acceptance of e-Learning Platforms Among Younger Students in Saudi Arabia. CONT ED TECHNOLOGY. 2022;14(2):ep349. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/11524