The Role of College Study Competencies and Motivations in Determining the Acceptance of Distance Education

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate whether students’ Distance Education (DE) acceptance is influenced by the same factors affecting the acceptance of new digital technology. Furthermore, we also study competencies and motivations as factors affecting DE’s acceptance. The study was cross-sectional, and linear regressions tested the hypotheses. 165 Italian college students (F = 87.3%; average age 23) compiled an online survey. The main results are that considering the future intention to use DE as an indicator of its acceptance, the perceived usefulness, subjective norm, and perceived ease of use influence the future use of DE. Moreover, intrinsic motivation and emotional control during the exams directly and negatively determine the intention of using DE in the future. The perceived usefulness and ease of use, together with the subjective norms, totally mediated, in different ways, the effect of teachers’ relationships, time management, learning assessment, extrinsic motivation, and study dedication in explaining the future intention of using DE.