Mobile learning technology acceptance in Saudi Arabian higher education: an extended framework and A mixed-method study

Abstract

This article reports a two-phase study with (1) an extended framework on mobile learning technology acceptance, and (2) a mixed-method research investigating college students on the use and embracement of mobile learning technology acceptance in Saudi Arabia. The research extended the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) framework with constructs particularly concerning mobile learning technology. The sequential mixed-method study investigated college students’ mobile learning technology acceptance in Saudi Arabia, and also validated the extended framework with empirical data. A total of 1203 eligible college students, 591 male and 612 females, participated in the online survey, and 15 of them also participated in individual interviews afterward. A wide range of social media and social networking sites were used to recruit participants and collect data. The study found that variables like Learning Expectancy (LE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Influence (SI), and characteristics of mobile learning were significant predictors of students’ intentions to use mobile learning technologies, regardless of the moderating effects of gender, age, and eLearning experience. Social influence was the only construct that was found as moderated by gender, where men showed a stronger behavioral intention to use mobile learning technology than women. Facilitating Conditions (FC) and Self-Management of Mobile Learning (SMML) in this study were not significant in predicting students’ behavioral intention or their use behavior of mobile learning technology acceptance.