Factors affecting usage of ICT among faculty members in a private university in Iran / Batoul Faghiharam

• Main Author: Faghiharam, Batoul
• Format: Thesis
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: L Education (General); LB Theory and practice of education
• Online Access: http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5577/1/BATOUL_15JANScound_part_new_version_3EDITED_NOCOLOR_(Repaired).pdf; http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5577/

Ever-increasing growth of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) today affects all aspects of human life; leading to rapid change and transition. Undoubtedly, the world’s educational systems have been affected severely with the advancement of scientific, technical and technological domains. Higher Educational Institutions, in particular universities are becoming evidently pertinent in the realms of socioeconomic, cultural and scientific advancement. Clearly, ICT has received global acceptance as one of the valuable educational necessities. In this regard, Iran as developing country faces many problems such as lack of cultural foundations for ICT adoption, lack of skilled human workforce, unfamiliarity with foreign languages, the lack of motivation and investigation spirits. In other words, there is evident lack of technological life skills which can be attributed to the inability of the traditional higher educational system in responding adequately to the fast changing needs in ICT. The main aim of this survey is to identify and determine the factors contributing to effective acceptance and use of ICT among faculty members of zone 8 branches of Islamic Azad University (IAU) in Tehran. Simple random sampling method was used in this research and a final total of 291 respondents comprising faculty members were selected. The survey questionnaire for this study consisted of 10 variables namely computer selfefficacy, computer competence, computer anxiety, management support, cultural perception, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude towards using computer, behavioral intention to use and actual use. The researcher used a modified questionnaire from past literature and researchers’ questionnaire. The Cronbach alpha (α) value for reliability of all the items in the questionnaire is .87. The collected data were analyzed by the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS version 16) to obtain t-test and f-test for measuring agreement and significant co-relation between variables respectively. A Linear Structural Relations (Lisrel) statistical tool was used in Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) which analyzed the most effective variables in using ICT. The final result of this survey shows a model of accessibility and usage of information technology in private universities in Iran. Findings show that faculty members give importance to the use of ICT. Nine (9) variables affect ICT use and four of which -- namely computer competence, computer self-efficacy, management support and perceived ease of use of computer were strong predictors of ICT usage. Hence more attention must be focused on these four components in order to enhance ICT use in universities. Appropriate steps to increase computer competence and computer selfefficacy among faculty members and students with regard to using modern information and communication technologies must be addressed. Management support in terms of providing accessibility to both hardware and software is essential; therefore managers play a significant role in universities in encouraging the use of information technology.