CHAPTER TWO

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

1.1 Conceptual Framework

1.1.1 Concept of E-learning

E-learning is becoming an increasingly popular emerging new approach to teaching

and learning worldwide. As Lin (2006) pointed out, e-learning is becoming more and

more popular with learners as they can combine their learning experience together

with the advancement of information technology. ICT technologies provide a distinct

advantage to e-learning by revolutionizing every aspect of the learning. Wanjala,

Khaemba and Mukwa (2011) advise organizations to adopt ICT utilization in

education because these technologies have been recognized worldwide as tools that

facilitate and enhance the teaching and learning process through various ways like

providing universal access to learning resources. Adoption and use of ICT can

promote collaborative, active and lifelong learning, increase learners’ motivation,

offer better access to information and shared working resources, deepen

understanding, help students think and communicate creatively (Khan, Hasan &

Clement, 2012). Ariwa and Rui (2005) point out that e-learning has become the

protagonist for change in the world of learning. Thus, stark ultimatums continue to be

made by education technologists that organizations must either ‘transform or die’ in

the face of technological progress (Bates, 2004). Berhanu (2010) points out that

promoting e-learning provides a potential and comparative ladder for developing

countries to leapfrog to the knowledge economy. It is seen as a cost effective

approach to facilitating learning to large groups using information and communication

technology.
1.1.2 Benefits of E-Learning

The benefits of e-learning are mainly the cost efficiency, accessibility and flexibility

in terms of time and place. E-learning allows learning to take place when the learners

and the tutor are separated both in time and space (Uys, 2003). It offers convenience

for both tutor and the learner (learning anytime or anywhere). Other benefits of e-

learning as adapted and shortened from Unwin (2008) include: (1) Ease of access to

information, (2) The potential for interactivity amongst and between learners and

teachers, (3) Enables conduct of lessons from a remote location and extends

geographical access to education, (4) Content is more timely, consistent and

dependable with potential for re-use, (5) Combination of both synchronous and

asynchronous learning, (6) Supports student centered e-learning paradigm and

students can learn at their own pace, (7) Increases access to learning and training

opportunity, (8) E-learning lowers costs and improves cost-effectiveness of

educational resources, (9) Offers the combination of education with work and family

life, (10) Scalability: e-learning solutions are highly scalable, (11) Facilitates the

management of student records and tracking students’ progress.

1.1.3 Implementation of E-Learning

Implementation of e-learning in universities should be viewed as part of educational

reform. For e-learning to be efficient and effective, a great deal of care and attention

needs to go into its implementation. According to Cox (2010), if e-learning is to be

successfully adopted in a school, teachers and head teachers need to be involved in

the decision making processes. Leadership and support from senior management are

identified as critical factors for successful implementation (Birch & Burnett, 2009;

Browne et al., 2010). Gunawardena (2005) points out that for e-learning to succeed in
the developing world, it needs to build on another important pillar: the existence of

infrastructure, along with connectivity. Developing countries like Nigeria still face a

lot of challenges while implementing e-learning which requires advanced level of

technological infrastructure and heavy investment of resources especially at the initial

stages. According to Zake (2009), poverty is one of the most important barriers,

especially due to the fact that ICT is important and therefore relatively more

expensive in Africa than in developed countries. Therefore, most of the organizations

have opted for blended learning as a starting point since it’s a cheaper option in terms

of implementation and requirements. Research shows that teachers and learners prefer

the blended learning approach, which mixes the traditional face-to-face teaching with

online collaboration (Motteram, 2006). It is considerably clear that Nigerian

organizations have taken significant steps and have shown their commitment towards

implementation of e-learning. According to the E-Readiness Survey (2013),

Organizations are allocating an average of 0.5% of their total recurrent expenditures

on Internet bandwidth to support implementation of e-learning. As a result, the

organizations in 2013 achieved Internet bandwidth increase to 4.0 Mb/s per 1,000

students compared to only 0.431Mb/s per 1,000 students in 2008 (Kashorda and

Waema, 2014). However, their efforts towards full utilization of e-learning as an

alternative approach to teaching and learning still faces other numerous obstacles

which range from technological, organizational and pedagogical challenges. Berhanu

(2010) warn that introduction of e-learning without acknowledging the paradigm shift

and setting up the required ICT infrastructure and efficient support mechanism

threatens e-learning developments.

1.1.4 Barriers of E-learning

The review of literature related to challenges of implementation of e-learning has

revealed that a number of related studies have been carried out in other developing

countries. For instance, Ssekakubo, Suleman and Marsden (2011) point out that

majority of e-learning initiatives implemented in Sub-Saharan countries tend to fail,

partially or totally due to various barriers to e-learning in developing countries. The

absence or inadequacy of infrastructure is a barrier in developing countries. Touray,

Salminen and Mursu (2013) identified 43 ICT barriers in developing countries that

were grouped into eight possible critical success factors, namely socio-cultural,

infrastructural, political and leadership, legal and regulatory, economical, educational

and skills, security and safety and technical. In Saudi Arabia, according to Al-Ghaith,

Sanzogni and Sandhu (2010), the quality of the Internet was an important factor

influencing the adoption and usage of e-learning.

Nawaz et al. (2011) identified the following factors as having an impact on e-learning

development level in Pakistan: teachers' ability to integrate technology into teaching

and learning activities, development approaches and attitudes, project management

techniques, user participation, user training, change management. Similarly, Libyan

still face many challenges in terms of the implementation of ICT and e-learning in

teaching and learning. These challenges are associated with the cultural and linguistic

background of students and instructors, and their awareness of and attitudes towards

e-learning; the underdeveloped technological infrastructure and the often prohibitive

cost of educational technologies; the lack of local expertise in curriculum

development for e-learning; and, the lack of educational management mechanisms to

support e-learning initiatives (Rhema and Miliszewska, 2010).

Oye et al. (2011) point out that aspects such as electricity, awareness and training of

staff on the use of ICTs, motivation, bandwidth and Internet connectivity impacted on
e-learning development in Nigeria. It is evident that some of the challenges of

implementation of e-learning in developing countries are similar, some are unique to

particular countries. Nawaz and Kundi (2010) caution that e-learning solutions must

be compatible with the human and contextual factors of any country. Tedre et al.

(2009) assert that no two developing countries are alike.

1.2 Theoretical Framework

Scholars have made serious attempts to connect several factors and conditions that

determine the adoption of online training into comprehensive theories. For instance,

the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) developed by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen

in 1975 suggests that an individual’s actual behavior is contingent on his/her

behavioral intention. It further suggests that a person is influenced by two factors:

attitude towards the behavior and subjective norm (Fshbein & Ajzen, 1980). The

attitude of a person is the positive or negative feelings about performing a target

behavior. On the other hands, subjective norm is an individual’s perception on what

other people think about a target behavior. Again, the Theory of Planned Behavior

(TPB) propounded by IcekAjzen in 1985 holds that behavior is not absolutely

voluntary and controlled, but can be deliberate and planned. This theory added a third

factor—perceived behavioral control—to the two factors in the theory of reasoned

action (Ajzen 1985, 1991). As reviewed by various scholars (Davis 1989, Davis,

Bagozzi & Warshaw, 1989), technology acceptance model (TAM) was built upon

TRA and TPB. Technology acceptance model holds that the acceptability of any

information system is influenced by two main factors: perceived usefulness and

perceived ease of use. Perceived usefulness is the degree to which an individual

believes that their job performance will be enhanced by using a particular system
while perceived ease of use is the degree to which an individual believes that using a

particular system will be facile (Davis et al. 1989). Hauser &Shugan (1980) argued

that perceived ease of use influences perceived usefulness since the easier the usage

of a system, the higher the accomplishment; and the more clumsy a system, the less

work the individual will be able to finish. Nevertheless, Davis et al (1989) holds that

perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are the two factors that shape the

attitude of an individual towards the adoption of any information system. Therefore,

these theories (reasoned action and planned behavior) justified this study in the sense

that, even if some organizations failed to adopt e-learning in the short run, the

probability that they will implement it in the long run is high; especially when they

discover its effectiveness.

1.3 Empirical Framework

Ahmed Al-Azawei1, Patrick Parslow, and Karsten Lundqvist1(2016) studied the

Barriers and Opportunities of E-Learning Implementation in Iraq. The research

highlights on challenges that hinder effective implementation of e-learning in Iraq and

recommend possible solutions to tackle them. A total of 108 respondents voluntarily

participated in this research. They consisted of academic staff (N=74), professors in

charge of e-learning (N=3), and undergraduate students (N=31). Three methods were

used to collect data: a survey instrument, semi-structured interviews, and focus

groups. Data was then analyzed and reported quantitatively and qualitatively. This

provided in-depth understanding to the current status of e-learning and highlighted

major hindrances of its successful application. Based on this analysis, the study

proffered many recommendations that should be considered in order to fully benefit

from e-learning technologies.

John K. Tarus1, David Gichoya1, and Alex Muumbo (2015) discuss the challenges

experienced by public universities in implementation of e-learning and recommend

possible solutions towards its successful implementation. In the last few years, most

public universities have adopted e-learning as a new approach to teaching and

learning. However, the implementation challenges faced by these universities have

continued to impact negatively on its effective utilization. This paper presents the

findings from a survey of 148 staff of three public universities who are currently using

e-learning in blended mode approach. Data was collected through questionnaires, in-

depth interviews and document analysis. The findings reveal that e-learning comes

with some challenges that must be addressed by public universities before successful

implementation can be realized. However, the benefits and opportunities presented by

e-learning far outweigh the challenges. The paper finally recommends some possible

solutions that public universities could embrace towards successful implementation of

e-learning.

Samnan Ali, Amaad Uppal, and Stephen Gulliver (2016) studied a conceptual

framework highlighting e-learning implementation barriers. The purpose of this paper

is to consider a range of barriers, impacting the success of e-learning

implementations. This paper undertook an in-depth review of literature concerning e-

learning implementation barriers. Papers were extracted from established peer-

reviewed journals and open sources. Articles not related to e-learning implementation

barriers were discarded. A total of 259 papers were identified, published between

1990 and 2016. Hermeneutics and data-driven qualitative content analysis was used to

define 68 unique barriers. The 68 unique barriers were thematically grouped into four
conceptual categories, i.e. Technology (T), Individual (I), Pedagogy (P), and Enabling

Conditions (EC). These four categories led to the conceptualization of “TIPEC”

framework, which highlights the key concepts hindering e-learning implementation

and delivery. Results show that most articles only consider a narrow range of success

barriers. The proposed TIPEC framework acts as a guide for education practitioners,

system developers, policy makers, and researchers. It provides stakeholders with a

summary of e-learning barriers. This paper fulfils an identified need for a conceptual

framework that consolidates all current research related to e-learning implementation

barriers.

Dorothy N Mutisya and George L Makokh (2016) studied Challenges affecting

adoption of e-learning in public universities in Kenya Public universities in Kenya

are, today, turning to the use of e-learning in an attempt to cope with the rapidly

increasing demand for university education. This research was conducted between

February 2012 and February 2014 to determine the challenges affecting the adoption

of e-learning in these institutions of higher learning. Data were collected using

questionnaires administered to 420 lecturers and 210 students, and analysed through

the use of simple descriptive statistics. Lecturers ranked heavy workloads the most

serious challenge affecting the adoption of e-learning, followed by: insufficient

Internet connectivity, denial of copyrights for their developed e-learning modules,

limited information and communication technology (ICT) skills, lack of incentives,

shortage of computers/laptops, inadequate computer laboratories, and insufficient

time for online interaction. Students, on the other hand, ranked insufficient Internet

connectivity the numberone challenge, followed by: lack of computers/laptops,

inadequate computer laboratories, limited ICT skills, and insufficient time for online

interaction. The paper concludes that as a result of these challenges, the adoption of e-
learning is slow and still at its infancy stage in public universities in Kenya. It

recommends that universities should invest heavily in the improvement of e-learning

infrastructure, e-learning content development, capacity building, attitude change, and

enhancement of e-learning awareness.

Ruth Kukua and Ntumy Coleman (2011) evaluated the adoption of e-learning among

Ghanaian universities could be assessed. To reach this objective, the researcher seek

to assess and examine the adoption of e-learning in four (4) universities across Ghana.

A structured questionnaire has been developed, pretested and administered to a

sample of 103 persons comprising students, university lecturers and management

authorities of the four selected universities which use e-learning in their educational

curriculum. Based on an objective analysis of the obtained data, the major findings

show that university managements and lecturers have not established broader e-

learning facilities that would trigger students to adopt e-learning course. Also, the

current facilities being used are very few and insufficient. Although, some of the

universities have made provision for several e-learning delivery modes, yet students

and lecturers are not all that familiar with them. Hence, most of those delivery modes

are not being used at all. Students’ level of access to computers, internet connectivity,

and the lack of regular electric power supply on campus, appear to be the major

factors which are most likely to impact negatively on students to hinder them from

attending elearning courses. It was also found out that the most important barriers

likely to affect the implementation of e-learning include poor internet connectivity,

fear of failure in internet/elearning services, fear of internet fraud, and the low speed

of intern
Parvin Lakbala1 (2016) studied the Barriers in Implementing E-Learning in

Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences in respect of the students and lecturers’

point of view. A cross-sectional study based on a questionnaire was conducted among

286 of students and lecturers in the nursing, midwifery and paramedic schools of

HUMS. Two hundred and eighty-six participants filled in the questionnaire: 256

students, and 30 lecturers. Results of the study showed a lack of proper training in e-

learning courses of the university 182 (69.1%), limited communication with the

instructor 174 (68%) and the learners dominance of English language 174 (68%)

showed the greatest importance for the students. The awareness about e-learning

program was 80% and 43% among lecturers and students respectively. The

dominance of English language 26 (86.7%) and lack of research grants for e-learning

23 (76.6%) and lack of proper training on e-learning courses from the university 20

(66.7 %) were the most important barrier factors of implementing e-learning for

lecturers. E-learning courses to supplement classroom teaching was a solution that

mentioned by the majority of students 240 (93.8%) and lecturers 29 (96.7%) in this

study. The positive perception of e-learning is an important consequence effect in the

future, educational development of nursing, midwifery and paramedic schools.÷