A scoping review of Critical Predictive Factors (CPFs) of satisfaction and perceived learning outcomes in E-learning environments

Abstract

Over the past few decades, e-Learning has been implemented to account for the challenges of twenty-first-century learning propelled by the spread of the internet and the use of internet-based technologies. These dynamic changes informed research interests in the academia, from awareness and adoption studies, researchers are now focused on post-adoption factors to evaluate the effectiveness of the e-Learning systems using student satisfaction and perceived learning criterion. However, studies have shown a mixed grill of factors in predicting the effectiveness of the e-Learning systems. This study conducted a scoping review on the predictors of satisfaction and perceived learning to provide an extensive overview of these factors drawn from paradigms, research methods, limitations and opportunities for further research. Results from 53 articles included in the review show that the DeLone & McLean Information Systems Success (D&MISS) model is the most utilized paradigm in satisfaction and perceived learning studies, while the quantitative research approach is the most deployed research method. In addition, the most prevalent limitations are methodological, potential self-reporting bias, and the cross-sectional limitations based on the inability to generalize the findings. The study provides a trajectory for further research on e-Learning environments by identifying a taxonomy of predictive factors of satisfaction that may guide policy and curriculum design.