Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

ScienceDirect
Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 159 – 164

2016 IEEE International Symposium on Robotics and Intelligent Sensors, IRIS 2016, 17-20
December 2016, Tokyo, Japan

Leading to Intention:The Role of Attitude in Relation to Technology Acceptance Model

in E-Learning
Zuhal Husseina*
a
Faculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Kota Bharu Campus, Wisma KUB, Jalan Sultan Ibrahim,15050 Kota Bharu,
Kelantan, Malaysia.

Abstract

Malaysian government has given attention to the burgeoning of E-learning due to the excessive demand in line with technology
advancement for tertiary education in the country. However, the intensity of its usage is not very remarkable, there is a need to
understand student’s attitude on the use of the e-learning system from the perspectives of the Technology Acceptance Model. The
objective of the study is to investigate the attitude of university students about the use of E-learning based on the Technology
Acceptance Model. This research is to analyze the relationship of university students’ intention to use e-learning with three
antecedents include attitude, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. A survey method was used to 151 students by using
a questionnaire as a tool. Participants were selected using random sampling. The informed consent was obtained from participants
as for ethical consideration. Findings indicated that attitude was a significant predictor towards student’s intention to use E-
Learning. As a result, it is seen that students' attitude plays an important role in contributing to the intention to use e-learning
system. The outcome of this study is expected to improve and upgraded E-learning system to be beneficial according to the needs
of the students.

©©2017
2016The
TheAuthors.
Authors. Published
Published by by Elsevier
Elsevier B.V.B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of the 2016 IEEE International Symposium on Robotics and Intelligent
Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of the 2016 IEEE International Symposium on Robotics and Intelligent
Sensors (IRIS 2016).
Sensors(IRIS 2016).

Keywords: Attitude; E-learning; Intention to use; Technology Acceptance Model

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +6012 2811774; fax: +6097417702.

E-mail address: zuhal@kelantan.uitm.edu.my

1877-0509 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of the 2016 IEEE International Symposium on Robotics and Intelligent Sensors(IRIS 2016).
doi:10.1016/j.procs.2017.01.196
160 Zuhal Hussein / Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 159 – 164

1. Introduction

Recently, with the burgeoning of information technology, university program is vital in integrating technology in
teaching and learning. With the university students who are majority generation Y and generation Z and they were
known as digital natives, it is expected that using technology in teaching and learning is the most appropriate and
wise decisions done by university to implement the online learning (Hussein, 2015). According to Byoung-Chan,
Jeong-Ok and In (2009) mentioned that the paradigm shifting in the field of education is significant from teacher-
centered to learner-centered education during the information age. Later on, the introduction of E-learning platform
leads to several issues emerged such as the appropriateness of teaching methods, design of the technological
infrastructure the interaction of students with the technology (Duffy & Kirkley, 2004; Tselios, Avouris, & Komis,
2008b; Tselios, Katsanos, Kahrimanis, & Avouris, 2008a). E-learning can be defined as a learning through electronic
devices using technology as a medium for online interaction and to access information (Wu et al., 2012). E-learning
was included as one of the learning styles together with the computer-aided learning, remote learning, and on-line
learning (Ho & Dzeng, 2010). According to Shipee & Keengwee (2014), the culture of equal participation among
students and teachers can be improved by using the E-learning and this can lead to greater success in learning
effectiveness and efficiency. Thus, the integration of the E-learning technologies in education and the students’
perceptions, attitude and intention to use the e-learning become so important to be assessed (Ozdamli & Uzunboylu,
2014). To fill in the study gaps, this study will explore the students' intention to use E-learning in relation to attitude
based on the Technology Acceptance Model.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Technology Acceptance Model

Davis (1986) proposed that Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as one of the well-known models related to
technology acceptance and use. The user behavior of information technology can be predicted and explained by using
TAM as a theoretical model (Legris, Ingham, & Collerette, 2003). This model has proven significantly valuable to
understand which factors predict acceptance of new technology and it provides a basis with which one traces how
external variables influence belief, attitude, and intention to use (King and He 2006). TAM was constructed based on
the two cognitive beliefs called perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The basis of the model is providing
other determinants to influence belief, attitude, and intention to use. TAM has influenced user’s behavioral intentions
and attitude either directly or indirectly in order to assess user’s actual use of the technology.

The adoption and the usage of E-learning have been examined using TAM as a model in many previous studies. Selim
(2003) stated that there was a need to investigate TAM with web-based learning. Saadé, Nebebe, and Tan (2007)
suggested that in order for the E-learning system to be successful, it is important to assess the university students’
participation and involvement based on their acceptance behavior and TAM was used as a solid theoretical model.
The validity of this model can be extended in the E-learning context. The study concluded that student’s attitude plays
an important role in improving efficiency of e-learning system.

2.2 Attitude towards E-Learning

Triandis (1971) defines attitude as individual characteristics which portraits either positive or negative behavior and
reflection of feeling and knowledge to certain concept or subject. According to Mantle-Bromley (1995) in the
psychology study that attitude consists of three components such as affect, cognition and behavior which refer to
people preferences level, person’s knowledge about the attitudinal object and reactions and intention regarding the
object respectively. Bruess (2003) posited in his study on the adoption of instructional technology that attitudes play
a significant role on influencing student’s learning in the classroom. In addition, based on the case study at the
Bangkok university, Wangpipatwong (2008) affirms that the intention and perception of using e-learning is influenced
by students’ attitude towards computer.

In a case study done in Malaysia by several groups of researchers in E-learning technology using TAM (Ahmed et al,
2011; Malathi and Rohani, 2011; Hussein, 2015) proved that university students had a positive attitude and TAM
 Zuhal Hussein / Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 159 – 164 161

constructs had a significant effect on attitude and intention to use the technology systems. However those studies
assessed the student’s attitude and actual intention of use by using different e-learning materials and platform such as
e-books, internet based software and social media usage. As a result, the study found that students' intention to use
E-learning technology was strongly determined by attitude. In addition, study committed by Sujeet and Jyoti (2013)
posited that higher behavioural intention can be influenced by attitude and perceived ease of use among Omani’s
student. Rupak et al (2014) also found on their social media usage behaviour study that TAM has a significant positive
relationship between perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use and both constructs have a positive effect on the
behavioural intention.

2.3 Intention to Use E-Learning

In E-learning, many previous studies on technology adoption have proposed attitude as an important predictor (Park,
2009; Liu et al., 2009; Tosuntas¸ et al., 2015). Cheung and Vogel (2013) demonstrate that user’s positive attitude will
lead to higher intention to use E-learning technology.

Taking into account the rapid expansion of E-learning process Wang and Wang (2009) urge that intention to use web
based learning was significant with its actual use. To better understand in terms of use of these E-learning Altawallbeh
et al. (2015) in his study postulate that there is a possibility for the intention and behaviour is conflicted defined since
the intention to accept E-learning can be influenced by unforeseen events. As such another study by Dlalisa and van
Niekerk (2015) conducted a review of the users' intention showed that there is no significant relationship with their
actual use in using learning management systems.

3. Methodology

This quantitative study involves 151 students and it was recruited through random sampling. This study was conducted
using a survey method and the questionnaire as an instrument of data collection. A questionnaire was formulated
based on the TAM constructs include sections on respondent’s profile and perceptions on e-learning such as perceived
usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), attitude and behavioral intention to use (BI) of e-learning system by
using five-point Likert scale measurement. Before answering the questionnaire, a 10 minute presentation was given
to the respondents in order for them to understand the basic features of the E-learning portal and 15 minute to complete
the questionnaires. SPSS was using in this study for data analysis include frequency, Pearson correlation and
regression analysis. Before starting the survey, the informed consent was obtained from participants to ensure that
ethical conduct was observed throughout a research process.

4. Findings

TABLE I: PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS

162 Zuhal Hussein / Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 159 – 164

Frequency
Demographic / Categories (%)
Social Variables N=151

Male 48 31.8
Sex
Female 103 68.2

20-25 53 35.1
Age (Years)
26-30 69 45.7
31-35 24 15.9
36-40 5 3.3
Diploma 55 36.4
Current education
level Degree 96 63.6

Single 72 47.7
Marital status
Married 79 52.3
Distance learning 121 80.1
Type of programme
Part time 30 Frequency analysis was run to get the distribution of the
19.9
Yes 129 respondents based on their socio demographic profiles in
85.4
Internet access at Table 1. In terms of sex, 68.2% of the respondents were
home No 22 14.6
female and the percentage is slightly higher, which
1-3 years 13 8.6 accounts for more than half of the total respondents
Years of experience
on using internet 4-6 years 44 29.1 surveyed. Majority of the respondents were in the age
7-10 years 50 33.1 group of 26-30 years (45.7%), followed by age group of
Above 10 years 44 29.1
20-25 years (35.1%), age group of 31-35 years (15.9%)
and the least was the age group of 36-40 years (3.3%).
Yes 134 88.7 Since the respondents are students, their current education
Knowledge on E-
Learning No 17 11.3 was in diploma or degree level which accounts 63.6% for
degree level and 36.4% for diploma level respectively.
Most of the respondents are married (52.3%). In terms of their type of programme attended, majority of them came
from distance learning programme (80.1%) compared to part time programme (19.9%). Most of the respondents were
having internet access at home (85.4%) and this is a good indicator that E-learning will be useful for them. In addition,
majority of the respondents were having 7-10 years of experience of using internet with the highest percentage (33.1%)
and the lowest experiencing 1-3 years of using internet (8.6%). Lastly, majority of the respondents indicated that they
had the knowledge on E-learning (88.7%) and only small percentage did not know about the E-learning (11.3%).

TABLE II: PEARSON CORRELATIONS

Correlation PEU PU ATT

Pearson 0.546 0.509 0.646
Correlation
ITU
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.000 0.000
N 151 151 151
The results show that every pairs of the variables are significantly correlated at the 0.01 level of significant.

TABLE III: REGRESSION ANALYSIS

 Zuhal Hussein / Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 159 – 164 163

Unstandardized Standardized
Coefficients Coefficients
Model β Std. Error Beta t Sig.
1 Constant 0.026 0.358 0.073 .942

PEU 0.213 0.129 0.158 1.656 .100

PU -0.249 0.145 -0.185 -1.718 .088

ATT 0.431 0.142 0.331 3.028 .003

Dependent Variable: Intention

The relationship between those three constructs: attitude, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness with intention
to use, were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses.
According to the result above, attitude is significant with the intention to use E-learning by having p-value = .003
while perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness were not a significant predictor on the intention to use E-learning.
The result also found that attitude is an important factor that contributes to the intention to use E-Learning with a value
of β = 0.431. The results indicate that they have a positive relationship with each other.

5. Discussion

The findings of this study demonstrate that attitude plays a significant role in persuading the students' intention to use
E-learning. This result was supported by many previous studies on the attitude and intention to use E-learning.
Majority of the studies found that attitude was a vital component that can lead to intention to use technology (Ahmed
et al., 2011; José Carlos and Ana Maria, 2011; Sujeet and Jyoti, 2013; Altawallbeh et al., 2015). This can be postulated
that due to the components of attitude comprises of affect, cognition and behaviour based on psychology theory lead
to the positive reactions in students' intention to use E-learning. A surprise finding of this study show that perceived
ease of use and perceived usefulness were not significant predictors in influencing the intention to use of E-learning.
This can be due to the majority of the students already had a knowledge about the E-learning and they feel that the
technology is convenient and made them satisfied with the technology. As stated by study done by Altawallbeh et al.,
2015 that the unexpected factors or events can be a determinant to influence the intention to accept e-learning and
attitude seems to be much more important to them.

6. Conclusion

In conclusion, by understanding the strong predictors of students' intention to use E-learning, as attitude become the
most significant one, and the perception of usefulness and ease of use not so important, it is crucial for the educator
to ensure that E-learning will be benefited to improve students' learning outcomes and to provide more excellent
education techniques for greater success.

Acknowledgements

The acknowledgment goes to Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) for funding this project under the Excellent
Research Grant Scheme for the publication of this paper.

References

1. Ahmed, T.S., Kamal, M.B., Nik Suryani, A. and Tunku, B.T.A. ‘Investigating students’ attitude and intention to use social software in higher
institution of learning in Malaysia’, Multicultural Education and Technology Journal, Vol. 5, No. 3, 2011. pp.194–208
2. Ajzen, I., The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179e211.,1991.
3.Altawallbeh, M., Soon, F., Thiam, W. and Alshourah, S., “Mediating Role of Attitude, Subjective Norm and Perceived Behavioural Control in
the Relationships between Their Respective Salient Beliefs and Behavioural Intention to Adopt ELearning among Instructors in Jordanian
Universities”, Journal of Education and Practice, vol. 6(11), 2015. pp. 152-159
4. Bruess, L., University ESL Instructors’ Perceptions and Use of Computer Technology in Teaching. Dissertation Abstracts International, 64,
164 Zuhal Hussein / Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 159 – 164

1509A, 2003.
5. Dlalisa, S.F. and van Niekerk, B., "Factors affecting the post implementation adoption and usage of blackboard amongst academics at dut." 9th
Annual teaching and learning in higher education conference, 2015.
6 .Davis, F.D., A Technology Acceptance Model for Empirically Testing New End-User Information Systems: Theory and Results, Doctoral
dissertation, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,1986.
7. Duffy, T.M., & Kirkley, J.R. Learning Theory and Pedagogy Applied in Distance Learning: The Case of Cardean University. In Duffy, T. &
Kirkley, J. (Eds.) Learner-centered theory and practice in distance education: Cases from higher education Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum, 2004. pp.107-143.
8. Hussein, Z. Explicating Students’ Behaviours of E-Learning: A Viewpoint of the Extended Technology Acceptance, International Journal of
Management and Applied Science, 1 (10), 2015.
9. Ho, C. L., & Dzeng, R. J. (2010). Construction safety training via e-learning: Learning effectiveness and user satisfaction. Computers &
Education, 55, 858–867, 2011.
10.King, W. R., & He, J., A meta-analysis of the technology acceptance model. Information & Management, 43(6), 740–755, 2006.
11. Legris, P., Ingham, J., & Collerette P., Why do people use information technology? A critical review of the technology acceptance model.
Information and Management, 40(3), 191-204, 2003.
12. Lee, H-H. and Chang, E. ‘Consumer attitudes toward online mass customization: an application of extended technology acceptance model’,
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp.171–200, 2011
13. Lee, Byoung-Chan; Yoon, Jeong-Ok; Lee, In. (2009). Learners' Acceptance of E-Learning in South Korea: Theories and Results, Computers
& Education, v53 n4 p1320-1329 Dec 2009.
14. Liu, S. H., Liao, H. L., & Pratt, J. A. Impact of media richness and flow on e-learning technology acceptance. Computers and Education,
52(3), 599e607, 2009.
15. Malathi, L. and Rohani, T. ‘Assessing the intention to use e-book among engineering undergraduates in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia’,
Library Hi Tech, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp.512–528, 2011.
16.Mantle-Bromley, C., Positive Attitudes and Realistic Beliefs: Links to Proficiency. Modern Language Journal, 79, 372-386, 1995.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1995.tb01114.x
17.Ozdamli, F., & Uzunboylu, H. M-learning and perceptions of students and teachers in secondary schools. British Journal of Educational
Technology. 2014. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12136.
18. Pituch, Κ., & Lee, Υ. The influence of the system characteristics on e- learning use, Computers and Education, 47(2), 222–244, 2006.
19. Rupak, R., Greg, R., Jei, Y. and Ben, J. ‘Technology acceptance model (TAM) and social media usage: an empirical study on Facebook’,
Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp.6–30,2014.
20. Saadé, R.G., Nebebe, F., & Tan, W.Viability of the technology acceptance model in multimedia learning environments: A comparative Study.
Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects, 3(1), 175-184, 2007.
21. Selim, H.M. An empirical investigation of student acceptance of course websites. Computers & Education, 40(4), 343-360, 2003.
22. Shipee, M., & Keengwee, J., M-learning: Anytime, anywhere learning transcending the boundaries of the educational box. Education and
Information Technologies, 19, 103–113, 2014.
23. Sujeet, K.S. and Jyoti, K.C. (2013) ‘Technology acceptance model for the use of learning through websites among students in Oman’,
International Arab Journal of E-Technology, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp.44–49, 2013.
24. Tosuntas¸,S.B.,Karadag, B. E., & Orhan, S. The factors affecting acceptance and use of interactive whiteboard within the scope of FATIH
project: a structural equation model based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. Computers & Education, 81, 169e178.,
2015
25. Venkatesh, V., Morris, G.M., Davis, B.G., & Davis, D.F. User acceptance of information technology: toward a unified view. MIS Quarterly,
27(3), 425-478, 2003.
26. Wang,W.T. and Wang, C.C. “An empirical study of instructor adoption of web-based learning systems”, Computers & Education, vol. 53(3),
pp. 761-774, 2009.
27. Wu, W. H., Jim Wu, Y. C., Chen, C. Y., Kao, H. Y., Lin, C. H., & Huang, S. H. Review of trends from mobile learning studies: A meta-
analysis. Computers & Education, 59, 817–827, 2012.
28. Yi, M. Y., & Hwang, Y. Predicting the use of web-based information systems: self-efficacy, enjoyment, learning goal orientation, and the
technology acceptance model. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 59(4), 431e449, 2003.