Mobile-Based Assessment: Integrating acceptance and motivational factors into a combined model of Self-Determination Theory and Technology Acceptance

Abstract

Mobile-Based Assessment (MBA) is an alternative or complementary to paper- or computer-based assessment delivery mode. Its successful implementation depends on users' acceptance. However, no study exists exploring the factors that influence students' acceptance of mobile-based assessment. Furthermore, research that combines acceptance with motivational factors is limited. The current study builds on the theoretical framework of the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) of Motivation and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and proposes the Mobile Based Assessment - Motivational and Acceptance Model (MBA-MAM), a combined model that explains and predicts Behavioral Intention to Use Mobile-based Assessment. One-hundred and forty students (N = 140) from a European senior-level secondary school participated in mobile-assisted assessment activities and self-reported their perceptions about ΜΒΑ afterwards. Structured equation modeling used to analyze quantitative survey data. The study confirmed the proposed model, explaining and predicting students’ intention to use MBA in terms of both acceptance and motivational (autonomy, competence and relatedness) factors. The study provides a better understanding towards the development of mobile-based assessments by relating acceptance and motivational factors into an integrated model. Implications are discussed within the wider context of mobile learning acceptance research.