Students Acceptance of m-Learning for Higher Education – UTAUT Model Validation

Abstract

This study investigated how students perceive the use of mobile technologies during studying process. Although mobile devices are ubiquitous among students, their awareness and readiness to use mobile technologies for studying is still not enough widespread and thus should still be explored especially in various cultural context. Therefore proper study was based on the Unified Theory of Technology Acceptance (UTAUT) to explain determinants impacting students’ intention to use mobile devices and software for studying. Structural equation modelling was used to analyze data collected from 370 students from two universities in Poland. Additionally study allowed to verify the correctness of UTAUT model in this context. The findings showed that the UTAUT model extended with no existing in it connections between Facilitating conditions (FC) and Behavioral intention to use (BI) explains students’ acceptance of m-learning for higher education reasonably well. As a result elaborated model provides a valuable solution with practical implications for increasing mobile technologies acceptance for studying process. More specifically Facilitating conditions occurred to have both impact on Behavioral intention to use and Effort expectancy. This highlights that in contrast to UTAUT model FC does not have to be exclusively associated with Use behavior. Moreover a connection between other UTAUT variables as Effort expectancy and Performance expectancy has been confirmed. Therefore research results showed that UTAUT model can be extended not only with new variables but also with new connections between existing ones.