SAUDI STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO SUPPORT LEARNING
Issue Date
2015-05-31Author
Aifan, Hanan Ahmad
Publisher
University of Kansas
Format
277 pages
Type
Dissertation
Degree Level
Ph.D.
Discipline
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Rights
Copyright held by the author.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The Pew Research Center (2015) reported that 74% of the Internet users use social networking sites worldwide. Studies have provided evidence that social media is promising for increasing collaboration and cooperation in project –based learning. However, few empirical studies investigate the use of social media in educational settings, especially in the Middle East. This study investigates factors and barriers affecting the attitudes toward using social media in one of Saudi Arabia’s universities, King Abdul-Aziz University, Jeddah, with the intent of understanding when and how social media can best be used to support learning. The hypothesized model was developed through the social learning theories of Bandura and Vygotsky, the Technology Acceptance Model of Davis, and the Diffusion of Innovation model of Rogers. Five hundred ten students (214 male and 296 female) participated in an electronic survey, and its findings reveal the students have positive attitudes (M= 3.99, SD=.76) towards using social media to support learning. The most frequently used tool by students was WhatsApp (M= 4.60, SD=.88), with which students have the highest experience (M= 4.58, SD=.84). Students reported facing two major barriers when utilizing social media which are some of the social media contents are against the students’ religion (M= 4.12, SD= 1.1) and concerns about privacy and security issues related to the usage of social media (M= 3.72, SD=1.19). Only five predictors were significant determinants of attitudes of the students including: perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, subjective norms, experience with Skype, and age. There was a significant relationship between the overall attitudes of the students and their intentions, with r(508)= .67, p=.00. As social media tools continue to attract students’ attention, more research on developing effective instructional methods for using social media to support students’ learning, with consideration of cultural and religious aspects, is needed.
Collections
- Dissertations [4702]
- Education Dissertations and Theses [1065]
Items in KU ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
We want to hear from you! Please share your stories about how Open Access to this item benefits YOU.