FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE SAUDI SECONDARY TEACHERS’ ACCEPTANCE OF E-LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES

As in many developing countries, the Saudi government is seeking to introduce modern technology into its educational system. The Ministry of Education has provided computer labs and the National Education Portal, a digital resource available to all schools. However, as in other countries, digital technologies are not fully accepted and used in Saudi secondary schools. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model [1] has been widely used in the field of Information Systems to explain technology acceptance and use.
A review of the literature suggests that a number of changes to the model would better fit developing countries, and take into account the diversities that are found there. A proposed revised model with additional factors was designed for the Saudi secondary context to support fuller analysis of the acceptance and use of new educational technologies by teachers; and to include their perceptions and practical and affective experiences. In taking account of Saudi educational and cultural factors, the research explores this knowledge gap in the study of technology acceptance and also addresses differences between teachers’ stated intention to use these technologies and their actual use in practice. The paper reports on the research design for an online survey conducted among 347 Saudi secondary school teachers in the Jazan area of Saudi Arabia, to investigate digital learning technology acceptance in secondary schools in a regional Saudi context characterized by remote mountainous areas, rural villages as well as urban ones.
After analyzing the data, results demonstrated that other factors affect the behavioural intention and actual use of new technology in Saudi secondary schools. The researcher found that performance and effort expectancy, attitudes, and education policy have positive effects on teachers’ intention to incorporate e-learning technologies and that anxiety has a significant negative effect. Also, that these behavioural intentions, facilitating conditions and teachers’ educational experience have positive effects on the actual use of e-learning technologies.
The study outcomes will both illuminate regional policy issues in digital technologies and, importantly advance the debate on conceptual understanding of technology acceptance in education by refining the UTAUT model to suit the context; leading to a deeper understanding of the factors which are barriers to accessing the advantages of digital e-learning technologies in the context of a developing country.