The higher education sector is making a conscious effort to integrate information and communication technologies (ICTs) into the academe with a view to improving teaching, learning and access to knowledge. Unfortunately, the use of ICTs in teaching by academics in Nigerian universities is far below expectation.
The aim of this article was to report on a study that examined the underlying factors determining the use of ICTs in teaching by academics in private and public universities in Nigeria by using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) as a theoretical lens.
A mixed method approach involving the use of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews was adopted for the study. Data were collected from 267 academics in 3 faculties and 10 key informants who were in managerial positions at the University of Ibadan and Covenant University.
Regression analyses indicated that only facilitating conditions (FCs) (β = −0.345,
The study concludes that stakeholders in higher institutions should give adequate attention to these underlying factors: FCs and EE for optimal success of ICT use in teaching. The findings of this study have far-reaching implications for policy makers within the educational environs and intervention strategies on the part of the university stakeholders in supporting ICT use in teaching.
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide limitless opportunities for universities in developing countries to overcome many of the impediments to the successful delivery of higher education (Njoku
Information and communication technologies’ diffusion into higher education can be found in infrastructural development, equipping lecture theatres with the latest multimedia facilities and establishment of centres for ICT and ICT policy (Willis et al.
Information and communication technology uptake in Nigeria began in 1999 with the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) action plan of 1999 known as National Information and Communication Infrastructure (Ibara
Despite the relevance of ICTs in the academic success of the students, Yushau and Nannim (
The study reported on in this article examines the factor(s) with the most significant influence on ICT use in teaching amongst academics in public and private university in Nigeria. Without identifying the decisive factors affecting ICT use in teaching by academics, efforts by stakeholders in the education sector on ICT policy formulation will remain futile. The study would be beneficial to university stakeholders in developing a reform agenda necessary for making the university environment more enabling for academics to integrate ICT into teaching. Moreover, the result of this study will add to the body of existing literature on technology adoption, acceptance, use and success of information system (IS).
This research question was developed to guide this study:
Demographic variables (age, gender and academic qualification) have no effect on the determinants of ICT use in teaching amongst academics.
The use of ICT in teaching is an integral part of inclusive education as indicated in the sustainable development goals. Vega-Hernández, Patino-Alonso and Galindo-Villardón (
Evidence of ICT infusion in the educational sector proliferates with academics enjoying access to up-to-date information resources, course materials, communication with colleagues and expansion of learning preferences for students (Herath & Hewagamage
Nnazor (
There are many models and theories of information systems (ISs) that have been used to explain success factors for acceptance and the use of ICTs. But the one adopted as the theoretical lens for this study is the UTAUT proposed by Venkatesh et al. (
The study was carried out in south-west Nigeria. South-west Nigeria is made up of six states: Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states. Two universities, the University of Ibadan (UI), a public university in Oyo state, and Covenant University (CU), a private university situated in Ogun state, were purposively selected as the study sites. The UI was founded in 1948, whereas CU was established in 2002 as a result of the reformation in the educational sector in Nigeria. The UI was selected because it is the first and oldest public university in Nigeria, and both universities have made laudable efforts in ICT investment. Academics from three faculties (Arts, Science and Technology) that comprise the majority of disciplines that are common to both universities were purposively chosen.
A mixed method approach consisting of a survey and semi-structured interview were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative aspect was dominant and the qualitative was engrained within it. The mixed method approach was found to be the most suitable for this study’s purpose as it helps to minimise the shortcomings of both approaches and provide a better understanding of research questions (Creswell
A total of 183 questionnaires were distributed at the UI, 162 were returned, but only 131 were found suitable for the purpose of data analysis. The researcher administered 84 questionnaires at CU and all of them were returned and found useful for the purpose of data analysis. Overall, 267 questionnaires were distributed, and 246 were returned out of which 215 questionnaires were found suitable for data analysis. For the qualitative study, an interview guide was used for consistency of questions and responses. The interviewees were deans of the selected faculties, the director for centre for ICT and the university librarian, and data were collected through the census from 10 out of 11 participants. This category of people were considered key informants because they are involved in strategic decision-making, policy development and implementation in the university. The interview reponses were recorded by using a research diary and a handheld device with due consent of the interviewees. The quantitative data were analysed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software to generate both descriptive (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistics. The semistructured interview data were analysed by using content analysis. An ethical guideline that involved the use of informed consent, voluntariness of participation in the study, protection of respondents’ identities and freedom to withdraw from the study at any time as proposed by Creswell (
An ethical guideline that involved use of informed consent, voluntariness of participation in the study, protection of respondents’ identities and freedom to withdraw from the study at any time as proposed by Creswell (
The study found that more male respondents participated in the study with (95% or 72.5%) from the UI and 62 (73.8%) from CU than female academics. A majority of the respondents were in the age of 36–46 years with the UI having a proportion of 67 (51.1%) and CU had 45 (53.6%), whereas those between 58 and 68 years had the least proportion. Results further showed that the designation of the respondents ranged from assistant lecturers to those in the professorial cadre. A majority of the academics were in the lecturer grade II category with 36 (27.5%) at the UI and 23 (27.5%) from CU followed by assistant lecturer cadre. Further findings showed that a majority of the respondents with 91 (69.5%) from the UI and 37 (44.0%) from CU had a PhD degree as their highest educational qualification. The study found that a majority of the respondents are from the Faculty of Science/Natural and Applied Science, with the UI having 64 (48.8%) whereas CU had 39 (46.4%) as shown in
Demographic characteristics of respondents (
Demographic characteristics of respondents | University of Ibadan |
Covenant university |
||
---|---|---|---|---|
Frequency | % | Frequency | % | |
Male | 95 | 72.5 | 62 | 73.8 |
Female | 36 | 27.5 | ||
25–35 | 16 | 12.2 | 23 | 27.4 |
36–46 | 67 | 51.1 | 45 | 53.6 |
47–57 | 36 | 27.5 | 10 | 11.9 |
58–68 | 12 | 9.2 | 6 | 7.1 |
Professor | 9 | 6.9 | 4 | 4.9 |
Reader/Associate Professor | 15 | 11.4 | 5 | 5.9 |
Senior Lecturer | 27 | 20.6 | 15 | 17.9 |
Lecturer I | 24 | 18.3 | 9 | 10.7 |
Lecturer II | 36 | 27.5 | 23 | 27.4 |
Assistant Lecturer | 20 | 15.3 | 28 | 33.3 |
PhD | 91 | 69.5 | 37 | 44.0 |
MSc | 27 | 20.6 | 40 | 47.6 |
MA | 11 | 8.4 | 4 | 4.8 |
Others | 2 | 1.5 | 3 | 3.6 |
Arts/School of Leadership | 33 | 25.2 | 7 | 8.4 |
Technology/Engineering | 34 | 26.0 | 38 | 45.2 |
Science/Natural and Applied Science | 64 | 48.8 | 39 | 46.4 |
PhD, Doctor of Philosophy; MSc, Master of Science; MA, Master of Arts.
Performance expectancy was measured by using five items out of which a descriptive analysis of the average score of the statement ‘I find ICTs useful in teaching’ with the highest mean score, and the least deviation from the mean (0.799) followed by ‘ICTs enable me to accomplish tasks such as teaching more efficiently’ with
The mean value of responses to the variable EE showed that ‘learning to use ICTs is easy for me’ (
Social influence was measured with four items out of which the statement ‘people who are important to me such as my Dean, HOD and my colleagues think I should use ICTs in my teaching’ (
With a mean score of 3.64 and standard deviation of 1.331, the respondents indicated that ‘my institution should make more ICT resources (such as computers, projectors, internet connectivity, LMS, e-resources, etc.) available for use in the department/faculty’. This was followed by the statement ‘my institution has people in ICT section who are available to provide assistance with difficulty on the use of ICTs’ with
The
Institution | Model | Sum of square | Mean square | Sig. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of Ibadan | Regression | 203.245 | 4 | 50.811 | - | - |
Residual | 1695.488 | 126 | 13.456 | - | - | |
Total | 1898.734 | 130 | - | 3.776 | 0.006 | |
Covenant University | Regression | 1361.747 | 4 | 340.437 | - | - |
Residual | 8122.718 | 79 | 102.819 | - | - | |
Total | 9484.465 | 83 | - | 3.311 | 0.015 |
Regression result of underlying success factors for information and communication technology use in teaching.
Model | University of Ibadan |
Covenant University |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Standardised coefficients: Beta | Sig. | Standardised coefficients: Beta | Sig. | |||
Constant | - | 3.186 | 0.002 | - | 2.105 | 0.039 |
Performance expectancy | 0.092 | 0.75 | 0.455 | −0.105 | −0.842 | 0.403 |
Effort expectancy | −0.021 | −0.156 | 0.876 | 0.38 | 3.116 | 0.003 |
Social influence | 0.239 | 1.835 | 0.069 | −0.05 | −0.423 | 0.673 |
Facilitating conditions | −0.345 | −3.221 | 0.002 |
−0.281 | −2.327 | 0.023 |
, significant influence.
Note: Dependent Variable: ICT use in teaching.
Sig., significance.
To complement these findings, the deans, the directors of Centre for Information and Technology System (CITS) and the two library directors (university librarians) were asked to express their thoughts on factors they consider most imperative for success in ICT use in teaching. This elicited several responses as shown in
Synopsis of interview responses on underlying success factors for information and communication technology use (
Respondent | Institution | Category of respondent | Response |
---|---|---|---|
R2 | UI | Dean of Faculty | ‘… of course, institutional policy is very important because if you are in an organisation, whatever your belief is, you must abide by the policy and regulations of the institution where you work’. |
R3 | UI | Dean of Faculty | ‘… it is more of infrastructural support than any of these factors put together, if the technological infrastructures are not there, ICT adoption and use is not possible in the first instance’. |
R6 | CU | Dean of Faculty | ‘I would attribute these factors to funding and institutional policy’. |
R4 | UI | Dean of Faculty | ‘… to me, institutional policy is of no value if it is not backed up with fund’. |
R8 | CU | Director, CITS | ‘… organisational support is an imperative factor for ICT use. For instance in this institution, university management ensures that we have access to electricity 24/7 through a private patnership’. |
R10 | CU | University Librarian | ‘If I have to do a ranking of all the factors that could serve as underlying factors for the use of ICT in teaching, first is university policy, then technological infrastructure, followed by simplicity of use’. |
UI, University of Ibadan; CU, Covenant University, ICT, information and communication technology.
Demographic variables (age, gender and academic qualification) have no effect on the determinants of ICT use in teaching amongst academics.
Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used for determining the relationship between the demographic variables (age, gender and academic qualification) and the determinants of ICT use. At the UI, the correlation between age and EE (
Correlation analysis between demographic characteristics and underlying factors of information and communication technology use in teaching.
University | Demographic characteristics | Performance expectancy |
Effort expectancy |
Social influence |
Facilitating conditions |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of Ibadan ( |
Gender | −0.055 | 0.531 | 0.048 | 0.584 | −0.070 | 0.436 | −0.004 | 0.963 |
Age | 0.012 | 0.890 | 0.194 | 0.026 |
0.094 | 0.288 | 0.232 | 0.008 |
|
Highest qualification | 0.128 | 0.144 | 0.113 | 0.200 | −0.060 | 0.499 | −0.023 | 0.794 | |
Covenant University ( |
Gender | 0.064 | 0.566 | 0.176 | 0.109 | 0.129 | 0.242 | 0.168 | 0.126 |
Age | −0.213 | 0.052 | 0.088 | 0.428 | −0.236 | 0.031 |
−0.147 | 0.183 | |
Highest qualification | 0.113 | 0.307 | 0.011 | 0.921 | −0.063 | 0.570 | −0.149 | 0.177 |
, positive relationship between the variables.
This section discusses the major findings of the study.
The results of the study reveal that FC is a significant determinant of ICT use in teaching at the UI. Findings also show that both EE and FC are the major determinants of ICT use amongst academics in CU. The results from this study suggest that EE and FC are the variables that significantly influence academics’ use of ICTs in teaching. However, FC is the most important underlying factor for ICT use in teaching amongst academics in a public university, whereas EE and FC are requisite for ICT use amongst academics in private university. Similar to this finding, Kocaleva et al. (
It was found that academics from CU perceived EE, aside from FC to be a fundamental determinant of ICT use. The results further confirmed that EE, a construct analogous to ease of use in TAM, has a strong influence on ICT use. This result is not unexpected, as previous studies (Venkatesh et al.
Interviews with the deans, the directors of CITS and the two library directors (university librarians) revealed that management at both private and public universities are aware of the major factors influencing the use of ICT in teaching and learning. One of the deans of faculty totally opines that:
… it is more of infrastructural support than any of these factors put together, if the technological infrastructures are not there, ICT adoption and use is not possible in the first instance instance!’ (R3, UI, Dean of Faculty)
Overall, the qualitative aspect of this study showed that institutional policy, technological infrastructure, simplicity of use, fund and organisational support were requisites for ICT use. Related studies (Al-Mobaideen
Findings showed that PE had no significant influence on the use of ICT in teaching amongst academics in both public and private universities. The descriptive analysis showed that out of all of the individual items used in measuring the construct academics from both UI and CU, the statement ‘I find ICTs useful in teaching’ emerged with the highest mean score and the least deviation from the mean. This finding implies that academics are not disputing the usefulness of ICT in teaching. In the context of this study, academics in both private and public universities do not attach much importance to PE as a decisive factor in ICT use.
Social influence is defined by Venkatesh et al. (
Today’s academics must use ICTs in teaching to better position themselves within the learning curve as facilitators and not the sole custodians of knowledge. In finding support for ICT use in teaching, the possibility lies in unwavering effort towards provision of an enabling environment. This article concludes that stakeholders in higher institutions should give adequate attention to these underlying factors: FCs and EE for optimal success of ICT use in teaching.
The implications of these findings is that stakeholders in higher institutions should be more involved in helping academics to develop a greater sense of ICT use in teaching through provision of a supportive environment, most especially provision of infrastructure, hardware, software, technical assistance and regular training. The study makes significant contribution to IS theory by revealing the analytical power of the UTAUT in determining the underlying success factors for ICT use in an educational setting.
The limitation of this study lies in its inability to include academics from higher institutions in other geopolitical zones in Nigeria, and as such, the results cannot be applied to settings other than areas where the study was conducted, except when replicated over time. Future studies should include other academics from other disciplinary backgrounds and from universities other than those used in this study.
This article reports on part of the findings of a doctoral study that was completed at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2016.
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
A.O.A. carried out the research for her PhD study and S.M. supervised the PhD research.
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the authors.