A Meta-Synthesis Approach to Designing a Conceptual Framework for Mobile Learning in Higher Education

Abstract

Background: Higher education is considered as a source of inspiration and a major factor in the development and advancement of every society. The realization of an effective education in any educational institution requires the formation of an efficient teaching-learning process. The purpose of this study was to design a framework for mobile learning in higher education. Methods: It is an analytical-oriented qualitative study in designing a framework-based meta-synthesis. Data were collected through documentary method using search engines as well as valid websites presenting national and international articles. In the search for mobile learning keywords in higher education, 418 Persian and English papers were found and after examining their titles, it appeared that the majority of them covered topics relevant to mobile learning, such as e-learning. Hence, a total of 119 articles were selected to consider their abstracts. Upon studying the abstracts and contents of the above-mentioned articles, 71 papers were chosen. Due to the principles of conducting meta-synthesis research and omitting incomplete papers, 52 articles were selected for content analysis. Results: According to the results, five main dimensions including: strategy, data, process, infrastructure and human forces are recognized for adopting mobile learning in higher education. Infrastructures develop the highest frequency in the considered studies and out of 52 papers only 42 of them have mentioned codes and factors relevant to the infrastructure. Conclusion: Experts in this study provided their assessments and opinions about research findings in order to score, acknowledge and finalize the dimensions of m-learning in higher education.