Embracing Mobile Learning: Exploring the Acceptance Among Undergraduates in Sri Lankan Universities

Abstract

This research explores the emerging trend of mobile learning in the higher education sector, with a focus on identifying key factors influencing its adoption in Sri Lanka. In this study, a quantitative approach was employed, encompassing a participant pool of 323 undergraduates drawn from Sri Lankan national universities. The study scrutinizes the factors that influence the acceptance of mobile learning by investigating performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, perceived playfulness, and self-management of learning employing mainly correlation and multiple regression data analysis techniques. A notable revelation emerges as the research highlights "self-management of learning" as the most influential factor, surpassing the conventional assumption regarding the significance of "performance expectancy," which surprisingly exhibits no direct impact on mobile learning acceptance. The model effectively explains an impressive almost sixty-eight percent of the variance in undergraduates' acceptance of mobile learning. Beyond the academic context, the insights that emerged from this study hold the potential to revolutionize educational practices in Sri Lanka, offering valuable guidance to educators, policymakers, and educational technology developers striving to seamlessly integrate mobile learning into the higher education landscape while contributing to the broader discourse on innovative pedagogical strategies.