Abstract:

Today, with the rapid expansion of 4G, 5G, and wireless communication networks, mobile technologies have been widely employed in many fields globally, particularly in education. The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020 further increased the utilization of these technologies in pedagogy and education. Mobile learning (M-learning) helps overcome the limitations and barriers of traditional classroom learning. However, advances in emerging technologies cannot improve learning performance unless they are accepted by end users. This study investigates M-learning acceptance among high school students in Iran, where the adoption of mobile learning has not yet been fully established, making the examination of end-user acceptance essential. The purpose of this study was to examine how students perceive mobile devices as learning tools in online classes and to evaluate their attitudes toward M-learning, as well as the motivational factors influencing acceptance. A deductive approach based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was employed to predict and explain users’ acceptance. Data were collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, and questionnaire data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The proposed TAM-based model includes nine variables: Perceived Usefulness (PU), Perceived Mobility Value (PMV), Perceived Social Interaction Value (PSIV), Perceived Enjoyment (PE), Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), Prior Experience (PEx), Perceived Output Quality (POQ), Attitude Toward Using (ATT), and Behavioral Intention (BI). The results indicate that PMV has the strongest effect on PU (0.406), highlighting students’ emphasis on mobility value, followed by POQ (0.261) and PEOU (0.231). PSIV also shows a positive relationship with PU (0.213), while PEx exhibits the weakest effect (0.126). Overall, students’ attitudes significantly influence behavioral intention, which is also affected by perceived usefulness. The findings suggest that M-learning is accepted at a satisfactory level among Iranian high school students, who demonstrate a willingness to adopt this technology for learning.

Keywords:

Technology acceptance model (TAM), Mobile learning (m-learning), End-user acceptance, Students.