Status of e-learning Quality in Kenya: Case of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Postgraduate Students

Abstract

There is a substantial increase in the use of learning management systems (LMSs) to support e-learning in higher education institutions, particularly in developing countries. This has been done with some measures of success and failure as well. There is evidence from literature that the provision of e-learning faces several quality issues relating to course design, content support, social support, administrative support, course assessment, learner characteristics, instructor characteristics, and institutional factors. It is clear that developing countries still remain behind in the great revolution of e-learning in Higher Education. Accordingly, further investigation into e-learning use in Kenya is required in order to fill in this gap of research, and extend the body of existing literature by highlighting major quality determinants in the application of e-learning for teaching and learning in developing countries. By using a case study of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), the study establishes the status of elearning system quality in Kenya based on these determinants and then concludes with a discussion and recommendation of the constructs and indicators that are required to support qualify teaching and learning practices.According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), many countries are currently overseeing a massive expansion of higher education through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). However, improving quality is one the most significant challenges for Higher Institutions of Education (HEIs), particularly in developing countries. This is as a result of enrollment expansion characterized by a range of weak inputs such as weak academic preparation for incoming students, lack of financial resources, inadequate teaching staff, poor remuneration of staff, and inadequate staff qualifications (Johanson, Richard, & Shafiq, 2011; United States Agency for International Development [USAID], 2014; Aung & Khaing, 2016).Recent studies show that ICT integration in education through e-learning are facing numerous challenges associated with quality. For example, studies in Kenya confirmed that there are quality issues linked to inadequate ICT and e-learning infrastructure, financial constraints, expensive and inadequate Internet bandwidth, lack of operational e-learning policies, lack of technical skills on e-learning and e-content development by teaching staff, inadequate course support, lack of interest and commitment among the teaching staff, and longer amounts of time required to develop e-learning courses (Tarus, Gichoya,& Muumbo, 2015;Makokha & Mutisya , 2016).A related study (Chawinga, 2016) in Malawi on increasing access to university education through elearning observed that the greatest obstacles to e-learning use were: Lack of academic support (77.6%);Delayed end of semester examination results (75.5%); Class too large (74.3%); Delayed feedback from instructors (72.6%); Failure to find relevant information for studies (67%)...

Research trends in measurement and intervention tools for self-regulated learning for e-learning environments—systematic review (2008–2018)

“…Currently, most institutions of higher learning have adopted e-learning for online courses to curb the increased demand of higher education (Hadullo et al, 2018). However, the numbers of instructors are not enough to provide the support in terms of self-regulated learning (Muuro, Wagacha, Oboko, & Kihoro, 2014).…”

“…Presently, there is a recognized shift towards technology supported learning commonly known as e-learning with most of institutions of higher learning adopting elearning for fully online courses or complementary to the face-to-face sessions in blended learning approach in order to curb the challenge of large backlog of students to be admitted (Hadullo, Oboko, & Omwenga, 2018;Luna, Castro, & Romero, 2017). As a result, there is increased number of students undertaking online learning courses (Bogarín, Cerezo, & Romero, 2018;Broadbent & Poon, 2015).…”

How Course, Contextual, and Technological Challenges are Associated With Instructors’ Individual Challenges to Successfully Implement E-Learning: A Developing Country Perspective

“…This led higher education institutions generally to acknowledge the importance of e-learning in facilitating students' learning in traditional classroom environments. However, the greatest majority of e-learning initiatives in developing countries are still lagging behind those of developed countries [9]. This is due to various factors that are yet to be addressed in order to successfully implement e-learning [1], [6], [7], [10].…”

Understanding utility essentials of e-learning management systems in higher education: a multi-generational cohort perspective

“…Also, in a utility-satisfaction linked model for evaluating the e-learning environment, the model exhibits moderate to high levels of accuracy with a reasonable explanatory and predictive power. Thus, contributing to the solution of modelling with fewer items in this area of research as stated by Al-Fraihat et al (2020) and also taking into consideration the unique idiosyncrasies of developing countries as in emerging literature (Hadullo et al, 2018(Hadullo et al, , 2017. This contribution also provides an alternative and contributes to Noel-Levitz's (2004) recommendation, as he posited that the key to measuring satisfaction is in determining what is important to the learner.…”

“…However, Hadullo et al (2017) developed an e-learning quality evaluation model which they characterised as designed for higher education in developing countries. This model was modified and applied in a higher education context in Hadullo et al (2018). This evaluation model is employed in the conceptualisation development of the study with the concept of user satisfaction to assess information systems' success, conceptualised as, if an information system meets users' needs, then their satisfaction will increase and a lower satisfaction level about the information systems will hinder system usage.…”