Conceptualizing Factors that Influence Learners’ Intention to Adopt ICT for Learning in Rural Schools in Developing Countries

Abstract

Despite the positive contribution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to learning outcomes in education, its adoption, integration, and use remain a challenge for rural school learners in developing countries. To understand why ICT adoption by rural school learners has been slow, a systematic literature analysis was undertaken in this study. An analysis of twenty-nine peer reviewed and published papers selected from five electronic databases was conducted to identify the key factors that influence rural school learners’ adoption patterns. The findings revealed the key factors as ICT infrastructure, technical support, access to resources, and social influence. Deductively, infrastructure was found to have a direct obstruction and negative consequences on the adoption of ICT technologies in learning. The findings are valuable for illustrating factors that affect the adoption of ICT technologies by rural learners in developing countries. The results inform educational policy strategies for providing rural schools with infrastructure and resources that promote the use of ICT in learning. Providing ICT infrastructure is fundamental to rural schools, especially in this era where the COVID-19 pandemic has made it compulsory for learners to adopt online learning.