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BY
After working with this thesis research, I would say that it was one of the best things I did
in my life, exploring could be fun sometimes, but it becomes more beneficial if after
accepting the challenges in the life and exploring new knowledge.
It was really interesting to join the Master program and have the opportunity to involve
and share the experience of exploring new ways and pedagogical for developing and
improving the learning process for universities in Kuwait.
My thanks go first and foremost to my Mother, Altaf Al-Mohsen, who has supported and
buoyed me up with love, patience and understanding, and financially as a graduate
student. Special thanks go to my family and closed friends for their kind supports.
I would like to express my thanks also to my committee, my deep thanks to Dr. Huub
Ruel for organizing my thesis and all KMBS academic faculty members.
Finally, my greatest appreciation goes for my colleagues and friends in KMBS and
Kuwait-Ministry of Education, Information Center.
Hamdan Al-Khashab
I
ABSTRACT
The main goal of this research is to find out about the Kuwaiti society’s attitudes toward
e-learning held by a sample of 276 volunteers. A questionnaire based on the newly
developed e-learning scale was used to gather the data. The study proves the scale in an
Arab non-western context.
The results show that there are significant differences in the attitudes toward e-learning
based on educational level. On the other hand, the results show no differences in the
attitudes toward e-learning based on volunteers’ gender. Also, the study exposes that
Kuwaiti students generally have good attitudes towards e-learning.
The study deeply discusses factors associated with the attitudes toward e-learning in
Kuwait. This study contributes to the literature on e-learning studies by systematically
measuring the attitudes towards e-learning in Kuwait.
II
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Acknowledgment…….……………………………………………........................ I
Abstract……………….…………………………………………………………... II
Table of Contents…….…………………………………………………………… III
List of Figures………….…………………………………………………………. VII
List of Tables…………….……………………………………………………….. VIII
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
3.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………… 35
3.2 Problem Statement………………………………………………..................... 35
3.3 Research Objective…………………………………………………………… 35
3.4 Methodological Framework…………………………………………………... 35
3.4.1 Research Hypotheses……………………………………………….. 35
3.4.2 Target Population and Sampling Method…………………………... 36
3.4.3 Research Limitations………………………………………………... 37
3.5 Research Design………………………………………………………………. 37
3.5.1 Data Collection Instrument and Sourced……………….................... 37
3.6 Data Analysis Method………………………………………………………… 37
V
Chapter 5: CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION, AND FURTHER RESEARCH
5.1 Conclusion………………………………………………………..................... 50
5.2 Implications…………………………………………………………………… 50
5.2.1 Research Implications………………………………………………. 50
5.2.2 Policy Implications…………………………………………………. 51
5.3 Recommendations………………………………………………...................... 51
5.4 Further Research……………………………………………………………… 52
References………………………………………………………………………… 53
Appendix A: Questionnaire (English)…....…………………………...................... 60
Appendix B: Translated Questionnaire (Arabic)…..……………………………... 61
VI
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 2.1 Kuwait Telephone, Internet and PC Users growth between 2002 and
2005……………………………………………………………………. 27
Figure 4.1 Scree Plot……………………….……………………………………... 43
VII
LIST OF TABLES
Page
VIII
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
1
can be the formulation for focusing research on e-learning. Thus, this analysis of e-
learning initiates the following questions:
Different researchers from different parts of the world discussed attitudes towards e-
learning. However, we found that there is a lack of research in this area in Kuwait. This
can be related to the belated introduction of the e-learning system and the traditional
viewpoint towards education in this part of the world. By studying the attitudes towards
e-learning in Kuwait, we try to fill this research gap in an Arab non-West context.
H1: Kuwaiti participants will report negative attitudes towards e-learning (as expressed
by lower scores on the e-learning scale).
H3: There will be a statistically significant difference in attitude towards e-learning based
on educational level.
2
1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A normal sample was selected to obtain the research objectives. The sample consists of
276 students. It includes participants from different age groups and educational levels.
The questionnaire was offered in different places such as universities and different
educational institutions. Some of the participants were contacted by face to face, phone
and e-mail in order to get more details about their opinion on the questionnaire.
Cheng (2006) created a scale that assesses attitude towards e-learning. This scale consists
of 15 items. This scale is used in the current study. This scale has been reported to be
valid and reliable. Cheng (2006).
First, the fifteen item e-learning scale was translated into Arabic. Then, the scale was
translated back into English by a bilingual expert to make sure that the content was kept
without change.
A difference can be made between two different types of factor analysis, exploratory and
confirmatory. Exploratory factor analysis which is going to be used in this study
identifies relationships among variables that are often far from the obvious in the original
data. The purpose is to summarize and describe the data by grouping related variables
3
together (Hutcheson and Sofroniou, 1999). ANOVA test procedure will be used to
examine the research hypotheses.
4
CHAPTER TWO
Literature Review
5
5. Web-based training [an alternate term for e-learning] is the integration of
instructional practices and Internet capabilities to direct a learner toward a
specified level of proficiency in a specified competency (Conrad, 2000).
In recent years, the knowledge based economy has exhibited a pervasive and ever
increasing demand for innovative ways of providing education and this has led to
dramatic changes in learning technology as well as organizations. As the new economy
requires more and more people to acquire new knowledge and skills in an appropriate and
effective manner, the advancement of computer and networking technologies are
providing a diverse means to support learning in a more personalized, flexible, portable
and on-demand manner. These radical and sweeping changes in learning needs and
technology have catapulted a revolutionary transition in modern learning tools in the
backdrop of the internet, commonly referred to as e-learning. In the midst of this
transition, corporations, government organizations, and educational institutions have to
keep pace with the e-learning phenomenon and make strategic decisions on how to adopt
e-learning techniques in their unique environments (Zhang et al., 2004).
6
Practitioners (Berry, 2000; Cone and Robinson, 2001; Rossett, 2002) and researchers
(Salas et al., 2002) agree that technological advances are dramatically altering the
training and development landscape. In particular, the increased use of Internet
technologies to deliver training has been heralded as the e-learning revolution (Galagan,
2002). Although precise estimates for growth in e-learning vary, published estimates
indicate that organizations have increased and will continue to increase the use of
technology to deliver training (Rossett, 2002).
7
included standards day-to-day applications like MS-Word, MS-Excel, MS-PowerPoint,
MS-Access and such added software’s made using programs easier. Out of this
applications such as PowerPoint became handier tool for e-learning. CD-ROM’s made it
easier for these programs to be carried and stored easily rather than carrying multiple
numbers of Floppy Disks. All this led to the advancement of the multimedia era.
With the use of multimedia applications and in an attempt to make training more
transportable and visually engaging, Computer Based Training (CBT) courses were
delivered via CD-ROM. This availability of anytime, anywhere via CD-ROM’s provide
time and cost savings compared to the ILT’s and gradually reshaped the training industry.
These too had its disadvantages. Despite these benefits and saving of time and cost, these
courses lacked the personal student-instructor interaction and dynamic presentations
making the experience somewhat less satisfying. Students started to find it slower and
less engaging.
CBT’s improved with text and graphics, but the graphics provided were of low quality.
E-mails provided standards whereby CBT’s and similar contents could be reached to
students with ease, but care had to be taken for these files to be of small file size due to
the Internet bandwidth capacity.
8
easily and with speed. This has led to a combination of ILT along with electronic
highway. Today, live instructor led training (ILT) via the Web can be combined with
real-time mentoring, improved learner services and up-to-date. This growth in Internet,
Web enables instructors to deliver high quality content directly to the users.
With the evolution of PDA (Personal Desktop Assistants) and Smartphone and wireless
technologies such as WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network), GPRS (Global Packet
Radio Service) web based contents and emails can be accessed from anywhere, anytime.
These enhanced training solutions provide greater cost savings, higher quality of learning
experience and are the educational standards are being revolutionise and changing to
adopt e-learning as the basis for many educations levels.
9
2.3 E-LEARNING DIMENSIONS
2.3.1 Attitudes
Previous researches found by and large a favourable attitude towards e-learning. For
example, Peters (1993) explored the possible benefits provided by e-learning. Results
show great conformity to deriving benefits of e-learning in both teaching and research.
However, faculty members in this study expressed certain reservations regarding the
future implementation of e-learning at the university; for example: “One day the
university will receive all its learning provision through e-learning”, “e-learning will help
faculty members develop better teamwork and inter-personal skills” and “Implementing
e-learning at the university will make faculty members flock to sophisticated
technologies in teaching”. These attitudes reflect faculty members’ lack of trust in one
another’s ability in using advanced technologies in teaching as well as in building up
teamwork spirit in the workplace.
2.3.2 Advantages
Previous researches listed several advantages for e-learning. These include:
10
6. Enhancement of course understanding.
7. Communication with classmates.
In one study (Tunison, 2001); autonomy/freedom has been listed as the most common
student response to the question of benefits of a virtual school course. Although, most
students identified the teacher as the ultimate source of information, many students
enjoyed the opportunity to work on their own and to figure out things for themselves
without having to wait for their teacher to tell them what to do. A grade-8 student
(Canadian Secondary School) wrote, “You can challenge yourself, and get a real taste of
what high school is going to be like… You can see how well you can do without a
teacher to always turn to.” Another student put a slightly different spin on this theme:
“You don’t get into trouble for doing nothing; you don’t have to log on everyday”. These
students felt empowered and in control of their own learning and they appreciated the
opportunity to make decisions about when, where, and for how long they worked on their
cyber school tasks. This student’s statement encapsulates this sub-theme. “I got to choose
when I wanted to do parts of the course, like if I was sick I could leave or come back and
do more later on. I could also do more at a time instead of having to quit when the bell
rings. I didn’t feel as rushed”.
Flexibility also has been listed as a major advantage of e-learning. Flexibility in a variety
of forms was also an often-identified positive feature of the on-line school. Students were
able to work at home, to get extra credits that did not fit into the regular school day,
and/or to take a course that was not offered at their home school, particularly for the
grade-8 students.
11
• Inexpensive worldwide distribution.
• Ease of update.
• Just-in-time, personal, adaptive, user-centric.
• Travel cost and time savings.
• Can take it multiple times (improved retention, comprehension).
2.3.3 Disadvantages
Every application has two sides. E-Learning also has its disadvantages:
12
• Portability: E-learning platforms should be made portable and compatible to all
computer applications via CD’s, DVD’s and Internet.
For example, in one study (Mihhailova, 2006) the main problems concerning e-learning
were summed up as follows:
13
himself/herself has to take active role in it and that necessitates much more self-
discipline and becomes one of the major issues why students drop e-courses. The
best learning results can be achieved and number of dropouts reduced if an
admixture of ICT means (Web-Cameras, videoconferencing etc.) as rich as
possible, are being used and blended and when this is done, the negative side
effects of web-learning would almost be trimmed down to make the e-learning
process an exceptional and exhilaratingly great experience.
• Loss of “teacher’s aura” and possibility of discussion. Some special subjects
(e.g. social work, law etc.) require a lot of discussion and quick feedback and that
makes the notion of turning these courses into full-fledged e-courses highly
questionable. Blended learning offers solution: lectures in virtual environment,
seminars, and practical assignments in class room – in face-to-face environment.
• Time-management. Although students find themselves at ease and working at
their own pace as a benefit of the on-line school, they struggled with
procrastination in their academic work because their teachers did not set deadlines
for their Cyber School projects, making it easy to put them off. Old students of e-
learning in particular mentioned this setback that impedes the academic
attentiveness and time consciousness.
• Technology. The technology issues followed two main themes: hardware
problems with the school’s network server and Internet bandwidth issues that
prevented students from uploading their assignment files easily.
• Lack of face-to-face communication. Some younger students expressed regret
that they were not able to sit in math class with their peers.
• Comparison to regular courses. Some students felt that their on-line course work
was more difficult than the work their peers in normal regular school were doing.
Others said that they felt their Cyber School courses took more time than that of
their peers in regular courses. One had also remarked that there was a drop in his
math score in the on-line school compared to what he had obtained in a regular
course the previous year.
14
2.3.5 Differences In Attitudes Toward E-Learning Based On Gender
Previous research generally found no differences between males and females in attitudes
towards e-learning. For example (Abouchedid & Eid, 2004) found no significant
differences between males and females on the interest scale except on four items. To
substantiate, females registered a lower mean rank (124.1) in web teaching than males
(144.9) with P<0.05, i.e. they did not favour Web teaching and were also not interested
when compared with males in using technology in the classroom as well as in displaying
their course syllabus on the net. Females, however, were significantly (P<0.05) more
interested than their male counterparts in receiving e-learning training.
Generally speaking, gender does not have an obvious effect on the students’ level of
acceptance in applying e-learning for business courses. However, the means for males
almost always appeared to be higher than those for females.
15
2.3.7.1 E-Learning Web Services
Today companies offer their applications to scale and meet the requirements of small,
medium and large scale organisations. E-Learning is not just limited to academic
qualifications but to all levels were learning is a continuous process. E-Learning service
providers will also start to look at this kind of product scalability where it is affordable to
all. Use of ASP (Application Service Provider) based applications will be of greater
advantage towards e-learning. An ideal e-learning ASP-based product will enable
multiple authoring permissions with editorial hierarchy. This will not only be for content
publishers within the corporation, but also for other developers and development
companies that are partners with the organization.
Many IT courses and administration today happens over the Internet. Microsoft, Cisco
and other major software and application vendors conduct their learning and evaluations
over the Internet. Product updates and improvements from e-learning ASP based
companies will simultaneously occur across their entire client base, enabling faster
deployment, lower cost per user and more profit potential.
16
2.3.7.3 Mobile Learning
Mobile learning or e-learning, is another potential area of growth and catching the market
a fast pace. Ease of use is one of the major focuses in this field. It will ensure that these
kind of media can be accessed easily with very little bandwidth requirement. The
platform of choice in this will be Flash based. Macromedia Flash has helped the graphic
developers to bring high quality content onto various platforms. This will bring life-like
instructors and bring classrooms to the students and deliver e-learning with greater
results.
2.3.7.4 EduCommerce
In a business environment where higher sales are expected all the time, e-learning tools
will play a big role. Sales happen today over the web in many areas. Although this is
happening and growing at a constant pace one of the main concerns of the customers is
their requirement to know more about the product. This every growing thirst for
knowledge on the product and services can only be covered with e-learning. Knowledge
of the products and services offered have to be presented in the most basic and technical
levels acceptable for customers of all age and knowledge levels.
The way to quench this thirst for customer knowledge is by providing rich-media
solutions with very little bandwidth consumption. Focus has to be always kept that all
customers do not have high bandwidth internet and hence quality, informative and
interactive contents have to provided under low bandwidth.
17
2.4 E-LEARNING TENDS TO FALL INTO ONE OF THE FOUR CATEGORIES
Providing content (often corporate and IT training): Within this category there are three
subcategories:
1. Companies that develop content and sell to all who choose to enrol.
2. Those that aggregate content developed by others.
3. Those that custom-design content for the specific needs of an organization.
Three organizations that evaluate on-line content are LGuide.com, Brandon-Hall.com and
Arthur Andersen Consulting.
Providers of learning platforms: Learning platforms are the infrastructure that facilitates
the development and delivery of on-line courses. Providers include Blackboard.com,
focusing on the tertiary market, Saba.com, Docent.com and Mindlever.com, focuses more
on the corporate market.
A complete package: Some e-learning companies are attempting to do all the above but
apparently some are finding this difficult as they acquire other companies that offer a
service that differs from their own and must try to incorporate multiple services and
organizational structures too rapidly.
18
Methodology and Data Analysis:
The empirical data was gathered using questionnaires distributed to 300 academicians in
the Information Technology sector of UK. The questionnaire was divided into three main
sections: (1) teaching experience using technology; (2) staff perception on usefulness of
technology; (3) additional comments and suggestions. The respondents were selected via
institutional websites. This study focused primarily in the Information Technology field.
The statistical software package SPSS was used to analyze and present the data.
Result:
A virtual learning environment does not necessarily mean that they do not feel that these
initiatives are important. The study shows that although a lack of clarity is evident in
distance learning, yet this shows that there is a willingness to participate in this activity
which reflects the intrinsic values played by academic staff on teaching and learning.
Virtual learning environment barriers are not related to institutional support.
Organisational encouragement is important towards the progression of innovation.
Organisation should ensure that effective strategies are in place prior to implementing
web based distance learning.
19
Result:
E-learning will not reduce the difficulty of the coursework nor improve students’ grades.
1. Gender does not have an obvious effect on the students’ level of acceptance in
applying e-learning for business courses.
2. The experience of applying e-learning for business courses played a key factor in
affecting the level of acceptance.
3. School systems do not play a key factor in affecting students’ level of acceptance
in applying e-learning for business courses.
4. Computer skills do not play a key role affecting students’ level of acceptance in
applying E-learning for business courses.
5. The experience of applying e-learning greatly influences students’ level of
acceptance in applying e-learning for business courses.
This section describes the methodology aspects of the study. Included in these
descriptions are discussions on the study’s variables, population and sample,
instrumentation, data collection and data analysis procedure. The Usability variable under
Downey’s study were Learnability (ease of learning), error (rate of errors), and
satisfaction (user satisfaction) were the three usability attributes that were used to guide
the usability aspect of this study (Nilsen, 1993). In this study, error rate was included in
learnability.
20
The population for this study was composed of thirty attendees in an international
workshop on training improvement held in Penang, Malaysia. These people were selected
for this study because of the attendees’ diverse cultural backgrounds and their underlying
interest in all forms of training and instructional delivery. The samples consisted of
various nationalities from Canada, China, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, India, Indonesia,
Italy, Libya, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, and Zimbabwe.
Result:
The study targeted major areas “Power Distance and the Usability of an E-learning
System”; “Relationship between Individualism and Collectivism and Usability of an E-
learning System”; “Relationship between femininity/masculinity and the Usability of an
E-learning System”; “Relationship between Uncertainty Avoidance and the Usability of
an E-learning System”. The results were as follows:
21
Methodology and Data Analysis:
The framework set out in this study is grounded on the assumption that the use of the
Internet in schools introduces some new competencies and leads to a new level of
standard that reflects knowledge and skills contained in the curriculum. The hypothesis
discussed about E-learning not having a statistically significant effect on making students
competent in the areas of:
Data was collected using questionnaires designed using the Likert 5 point scale from
Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. The study was done in Kuwait within the Kuwait
teachers from randomly selected public schools. The sampling was done on grade span,
school gender (schools in Kuwait are segregated by gender), and school districts (the
Kuwait educational system is divided into six school districts). Six hundred
questionnaires were sent out with an 83%.
The purpose of the testing the hypotheses was to know which requirements of the e-
learning competency areas could be met upon implementing e-learning in Kuwait public
schools. From the data collected from teachers and students, the study revealed that the
personnel involved in the educational system in Kuwait ought to consider the e-learning
competency areas upon implementing e-learning in Kuwait’s educational system.
Result:
Six e-learning areas were tested in this study. These were:
22
2. Ethical and human issues
3. Productivity tools
4. Research tools
5. Problem-solving and decision-making tools
6. Communication tools.
This was done to understand which requirements of the e-learning competency areas
could be met upon implementing e-learning on Kuwaiti Public Schools. The importance
of e-learning vests upon the Kuwait Ministry of Education (MOE). MOE should have the
basic infrastructure in place and support from Political areas and adequate funding. E-
Learning should be recognised as a guide to standard learning in curriculum
developments. The results also show the gender differences in communication where
male school teachers scored higher than female school teachers.
23
Result:
A total of 57 questionnaires were completed, giving an 88% response rate. Out of the
total responses received, 95% of the students sample reported using the internet. From the
study it was understood that 79% wanted the e-course to be used as a supplement to the
undergraduate program and a few 7% wanted the E-course to replace formal lectures.
Students recognized the limitations of the E-course and the importance of the lectures.
Result:
The multivariate statistics indicated a significant model in other words the treatment was
significant. Duncan’s Multiple Range test and Tukey’s Studentized Range (HSD)
resulted in significant differences between the treatment group and the control group for
the two dependent variables representing the scores for the multiple choice and theory
parts of the final examination. These conclusions are the same as for the t-tests. However,
the Duncan and Tukey tests did not indicate a significant difference for the practice
(programming) scores on the final examination, whereas the t-test found a significant
difference at the 0.1 level of significance. Thus, H1 and H2 are supported but H3 is not
supported.
24
2.5.7 Alghazo’s Study (2006)
This study aimed at investigating students’ attitudes toward web-enhanced instruction in
an educational technology course taught in the College of Education at the United Arab
Emirates University.
Results:
This study dealt with the following issues: student attitudes toward Web-enhanced
instruction, the effect of learning preference on attitude toward web-enhanced instruction,
effect of previous experience with Web-enhanced instruction on attitude, advantages of
Web-enhanced instruction as seen by female students, and obstacles to Web-enhanced
instruction as seen by female students.
25
to course related materials, submitting assignments and enhancement of course
understanding and communication with classmates.
• The difficulties perceived were in accessing the course from home, limited
computers in the labs and poor internet bandwidth.
83.3% of the respondents were daily users of computers, including internet facilities with
the rest as occasional users. The overall response showed a positive attitude towards e-
learning. The study revealed that males registered a significantly higher mean ranking
than their female counterparts in their belief that e-learning will help faculty members
disseminate information more rapidly through e-learning than through traditional
approaches to learning. Males have also registered favourable views on the benefits of e-
learning by agreeing more than. As for the benefit dimension, no significant differences
were found between daily and occasional users.
Result:
Turning to gender and frequency of using computers, considerable variations were found
between males and females as well as between daily and occasional users of computers
on their mean ranking of the effectiveness of e-learning dimension.
26
2.6 KUWAIT AND E-LEARNING
According to a study released by Madar Research Group, the ICT (Information
Communication and Technology) infrastructure forecast of Kuwait for the years 2002-
2005 were as shown in Figure 2.1. Kuwait has paid good attention to developing its
Information Technology and Communication networks and the focus in the educational
field is especially strong. The following sections will discuss about the Internet, E-
Government, E-Commerce and Educations.
Figure 2.1: Kuwait Telephone, Internet and PC Users growth between 2002 and 2005
Source: Madar Research Group, 2003
27
The GCC consortium has created a Fibre Optic Gulf (FOG) network, of which Kuwait is
a part. FOG consists of a 1,300 kilometre cable system jointly owned and operated by
operators in Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. The bandwidth offered on
FOG is 5GBPS is capable of carrying 180,000 telephone calls or equivalent data circuits
between the four countries to other parts of the world simultaneously. FOG was
inaugurated in 1998 and built at a cost of US $283 million. FOG provides gateway access
into Fiber Optic Link around the Globe, with a landing site in the UAE.
FOG is the main gateway for Internet, but apart from these Kuwait has connectivity links
with Arabsat, Intelsat and Inmarsat. These help carry both voice and data traffic
originating from Kuwait to the Middle East region. Local Internet access is available
through dial-up, leased line, ISDN and DSL connections.
By end 2002, Internet penetration in Kuwait stood at 13.2 percent (slightly above the 10
percent world average), with the country's 320,000 Internet users accessing the Internet
through three major ISPs and 13 sub-ISPs. Businesses are relying heavily on Internet
usage and this is a healthy sign for the growth of Internet and electronic applications such
as e-learning, the focus of our study. According to the report released by Madar Research
to major ISPs, show that over 11,000 subscribers access the Internet through DSL lines
(9,500 from home, 1,500 from work), while 650 use leased lines. Additionally, there are
150 ISDN subscriptions.
This increased use has helped more ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) to come into
existence in Kuwait. Currently there are four ISP’s in Kuwait which are closely
monitored by the Ministry of Communication (MOC). Apart from the four ISP’s there are
50 sub-ISP’s as well. There has been a healthy growth of Internet Cafés as well. This
competition has helped in Internet cost reductions which in turn has led to a considerable
rise in the number of Internet users. Mobile Service providers such as MTC and
WATANIYA are also providing Internet to their customers. This helps Notebook/Laptop
users to access internet from anywhere in the country within their signal range. Hotels
and other public places are offering Internet either free or at a very reduced priced via
28
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). With the introduction of Internet everywhere
(either via Mobile service providers or WLAN), most of the students prefer to do their
learning in coffee shops, cafés, and other such public areas. This trend has increased
rapidly in the past few years and continues to do so. (ESCWA, 2005).
2002 2005
An early initiative to expose teachers to the benefits of distance education was conducted
in November 2002 through an online course conducted between MOE and the US State
Department, in collaboration with the University of Oregon and the American English
Institute. The first online course, attended by 40 Kuwaiti educators, was an introduction
to Web based resources for English language teaching with a special emphasis on
secondary school level.
These courses helped the teachers to learn more about computers and also in how to use
them as teaching aids. This improved the teaching environment. Teachers on weekly
basis participated in dynamic and insightful online discussions on wide range of
educational topics. They also gained knowledge into the use of web-based instructional
materials. This helped them segregate topics based on age, language and culture of their
students thereby providing personal care and attention to imparting knowledge to their
29
the students. These computer aided teaching was used along side the existing classroom
texts and resources with an objective to enhance the knowledge of each of the topics.
This is another positive step taken by the Kuwait Ministry of Education to ensure the use
of computers and encourage e-learning. It helps the teachers and students to stay in trend
and focus of development and to move in its path for improvement in education and
knowledge levels.
“Students constitute around one fifth of the population. In 2002, the Ministry of
Education (MOE) initiated the 25-year plan to modernize the education system, in
particular, installing electronic education “Education Net” to link public schools and
libraries to a single network, and aim to increase the use of PCs in the classroom in all
620 public schools, 34 % of which were covered by the Ministry of Education and the
Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science (KFAS). Short-term goals include
covering elementary schools in 2003, and achieve a ratio of one PC for every eight
students by 2006-2007” (ESCWA, 2005).
KFAS has also accelerated efforts to provide computers to schools and colleges starting
from Kuwait's kindergarten schools. The government has been subsidizing projects with
the aim to achieve a ratio of 1 PC per 8 students in public schools and private learning
institutions by 2006-2007. Schools also have a prerequisite to learn Computer Science in
schools. The new Omar Center at the Kuwait National English School has a 1:1 student-
computer ratio and a fully networked environment.
Education and the thirst for knowledge is not confined to the boundaries of the Schools,
Colleges and Universities. Training centers such as New Horizons, Infocenter and such
offer certifications in various Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, Sun and Autodesk environments,
30
among a slew of technical and end-user courses. The Kuwait Institute for Scientific
Research's (KISR) continuing education program is offering short term IT courses at a
nominal fees. Courses include Introduction to AutoCAD, Introduction to Oracle
RDBMS, Access, and Microsoft Office modules, Visual Basic, Windows 2000 and Java.
Kuwait University is also a certified Cisco Regional Training Academy and IBM E-
Business Academy, and it currently offers Microsoft Academic Programs and Oracle Job
Track.
These computer centers are used by students to develop and test applications on various
platforms. These common operating systems used range from Microsoft Windows, Linux
and UNIX. The development tools used are ANSI, C++, Pascal, and Visual Basic, Visual
C++. (ESCWA, 2005)
31
2.6.5 Kuwait E-Government Plans
The vision of the e-government is to link various government offices into a single Wide
Area Network (WAN) without disturbing the internal structure of each government
institution, thus ensuring individuality within the each entity and providing a one point
access to the public. This kind of centralisation is a very tedious task which requires lots
of money and time and Kuwait is half way through this project. It is scheduled to go
online in 2007. This project is under the supervision of Microsoft as is expected to cost
around US$450 million, according to Madar Research (2005).
This is the governments initiative to ensure that Kuwait is in pace with the growing
technology. The focus of being electronic thus does not limit itself towards education but
stems from grass root levels in educational institutions and moves upward to all fields.
Hence it is a combination of interest whereby Kuwait ensures that its generation is
imparted with the right technology knowledge so as to use and benefit from it.
Kuwait University’s new classrooms also are equipped with provisions for cameras
whereby the teaching sessions can be recorded and stored in the digital library. This can
then be accessed via Video-on-Demand (VoD) facility. This helps the students to access
the lectures at anytime at their own leisure and convenience and multiple times.
32
Students have to register for free in the Kuwait University for academic courses and also
to receive information’s through the Internet. Currently the services are limited to faculty,
staff and students. At a later stage this will also be introduced to parents of the students as
well. The Kuwait University library has been completely automated whereby students
can access and download all academic related articles from the library and download
them to their flash drives and take it with them for future reading. A student portal also
helps them access all their daily applications through a completely customized web
interface. This customized student portal helps them to stay up-to-date with University
news, calendar of events and also personalised communications with their teachers.
Kuwait University is equipped with multiple Gigabit Ethernet all around its campus and
in addition have installed WLAN to ensure access from anywhere within the University
boundary. This helps the students to be in a café, meeting areas and restaurants and do
their work simultaneously.
Kuwait is also ensuring that public, intermediate and secondary schools to be equipped
and installed with e-learning. Subjects covered in the e-learning portal will be English,
Mathematics and Science with other subjects to be introduced gradually. The Ministry of
Education hopes to roll out the project to all intermediate and secondary schools by
school year 2006-2007. (ESCWA, 2005)
2.7 SUMMARY
The literature review has shed light on the importance of e-learning from various aspects.
The initial section of this chapter shed light into the evolution and current standards of e-
learning with benefits and also some of the disadvantages. The later section talked about
the different studies done on e-learning by various authors. Only a few of the many
studies have been selected to highlight the fact on the importance and focus provided by
various authors and educational institutions on e-learning. The final part of the chapter
particularly focuses on Kuwait and the importance that Kuwait emphasises into e-
learning and other aspects of electronic applications like e-commerce and e-government.
33
It can be summarised that e-learning is the standards of education today, as it opens the
doors to learning focusing on the individuals priorities and learning skills. E-Learning
tolls can be customised to meet all learning patterns, age, culture and varied subjects. E-
Learning is used in schools, businesses, government organizations, non-government
organisations, in short everywhere where there is a thirst for knowledge. Kuwait has
taken the right steps required to attain this objective, but needs to move faster to stay in
pace. In the following chapters we shall focus on the empirical studies by collecting data
from various educational institutions and relating them to our objective. Prior to which
the subsequent chapter will discuss about the methodology used in collecting the various
literature and empirical data.
34
CHAPTER THREE
Research design and methodology
3.1 INTRODUCTION
In this chapter we are going to introduce our problem statement, research objectives, and
methodological framework. In addition, research design and data analysis methods are
also supposed to be conducted to analyze Kuwaiti students’ attitudes towards e-learning.
35
H1: Kuwaiti students will report negative attitudes towards e-learning as expressed by
lower scores on the e-learning scale.
Previous studies showed no difference in attitudes towards e-learning based on gender. It
was thus hypothesized that:
H2: There will be no significant differences in attitudes towards e-learning based on the
respondent’s gender.
Collecting data by mail surveys in the Arab world has been very difficult (Nasif, Al-
Daeaj, Ebrahimi & Thibodeau, 1991). In order to ensure an acceptable number of
responses, a convenience sample was used. A network of contacts cooperated in
distributing and returning the questionnaire. The questionnaires were administered to
groups of students who completed them in the classroom. Students responded voluntarily
and were not compensated for their participation.
36
discarded because the respondents failed to complete the research instrument
appropriately or because they indicated that they are non-Kuwaitis.
37
original data. The purpose is to summarize and concisely describe the data by grouping
correlated variables together (Hutcheson and Sofronios, 1999). One-way ANOVA test
procedure will be used to test the research hypotheses.
38
CHAPTER FOUR
Data Analysis, Findings and Discussion
39
4.1.1 Reliability
Reliability is the instrument’s ability to provide consistent results in repeated uses
(Gatewood and Field, 1990). The basic measure for reliability is the Cronbach’s alpha. In
this study the fifteen-item e-learning attitudes scale has an acceptable coefficient alpha (α
= 0.834). Nunnally (1978) suggests that an alpha value of 0.7 is sufficient. According to
table (4.2) it was found that every item of the ten items of the e-learning attitudes scale
has a less Cronbach’s alpha than the calculated scale alpha (α = 0.834). This means that
no single item in the scale suppresses the alpha level. Therefore, the e-learning attitudes
scale seems to be a reliable measure of attitudes towards e-learning.
40
4.1.2 Validity
Examining the reliability and validity of the e-learning attitudes scale in Kuwait was one
of the objectives of the study. It is important to analyze the measurement instrument
reliability and validity for different reasons. For instance, it provides confidence that the
empirical findings accurately reflect the proposed constructs. Also, the empirically-
validated scales can be used directly in other studies in the field for different populations
and for longitudinal studies (Mostafa, 2005).
Measuring the validity of the e-learning attitudes scale was done through several
measures. As it was mentioned previously, the scale was factor-analyzed by principal
component analysis. The results showed a three-factor solution with a 66 percent of the
variance explained (Table 4.3). This percentage is acceptable in social sciences (Hair et
al, 1998).
41
11 .308 2.056 95.496
As shown in Table 4.3, the eigenvalue for the first factor is 7.217 which explains 48114
of the variance, whereas the second factor explains 10.252 which an eigenvalue 1.538.
The third factor explains 7.673 which an eigenvalue 1.151.
Scree plots which show eigenvalues plotted against component number has also been
proposed as a method of identifying the number of factors required (Cattel, 1996). The
important thing to note from these plots is the discontinuity between the slopes of the line
linking the later principal components (components which account for little variance) and
the slope linking the earlier, more important components. From figure 4.1, it can be seen
that components 4 to 15 fall roughly on a straight line and that components 1 to 3 depart
from this line. The discontinuity suggests that the first three components might be
interesting with regards to the amount of variance they account for and should, therefore,
be retained in the analysis. The interpretation of the Scree plot is, however, not always so
clear-cut and can be open to differing interpretation. As with the eigenvalue, it can only
be used as a rough guide as to the optimal number of factors required to describe the data.
42
Scree Plot
e
lu
a
v4
n
e
g
i
E
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Component Number
43
implies that the data are thus approximately multivariate normal and acceptable for factor
analysis.
44
To formally test whether the score items differ significantly from the theoretical scale
mean (3 points on the Likert-type scale), a one-sample t-test was performed. Results are
shown in Table 4.5.
From Table 4.5 it can be seen that all the scores on all the items are significantly higher
than the scales’ theoretical mean (Note that items 3 and 15 are reverse-scored so lower
values indicate positive attitudes towards e-learning. This result does not support H1
which states that Kuwaiti students will have negative attitudes towards e-learning system.
Put differently, the overwhelming majority of respondents in our sample have positive
attitudes towards e-learning.
Test Value = 3
Lower Upper
45
4.2.2 Gender Differences Hypothesis
A one-way ANOVA test procedure was used to examine the hypothesis based on gender
difference. All results are shown in Table 4.6.
Apart from item 15, all the results indicate no significant attitudes towards e-learning
based on the respondent’s gender. This result supports H2.
Table 4.6: One-way ANOVA Results for Gender differences in Attitudes towards E-learning
Sum of Mean
Df F Sig.
Squares Square
46
Total 248.246 275
EL9 Between Groups .937 1 .937 1.319 .252
Within Groups 194.672 274 .710
Total 195.609 275
EL10 Between Groups .077 1 .077 .111 .740
Within Groups 189.040 270 .700
Total 189.118 271
EL11 Between Groups 6.783 1 6.783 6.699 .010
Within Groups 277.463 274 1.013
Total 284.246 275
EL12 Between Groups .307 1 .307 .298 .586
Within Groups 282.244 274 1.030
Total 282.551 275
EL13 Between Groups .942 1 .942 1.623 .204
Within Groups 157.948 272 .581
Total 158.891 273
EL14 Between Groups 1.359 1 1.359 2.395 .123
Within Groups 155.410 274 .567
Total 156.768 275
EL15 Between Groups 8.383 1 8.383 8.820 .003
Within Groups 260.428 274 .950
Total 268.812 275
Table4.7: One-way ANOVA Results for Educational Level differences in Attitudes towards e-
learning.
47
EL2 Between Groups 8.179 3 2.726 4.923 .002
Within Groups 147.288 266 .554
Total 155.467 269
EL3 Between Groups 5.405 3 1.802 2.404 .068
Within Groups 199.395 266 .750
Total 204.800 269
EL4 Between Groups 5.841 3 1.947 3.365 .019
Within Groups 153.922 266 .579
Total 159.763 269
EL5 Between Groups 8.632 3 2.877 3.459 .017
Within Groups 221.235 266 .832
Total 229.867 269
EL6 Between Groups 9.244 3 3.081 4.331 .005
Within Groups 189.274 266 .712
Total 198.519 269
EL7 Between Groups 5.577 3 1.859 2.829 .039
Within Groups 174.809 266 .657
Total 180.385 269
EL8 Between Groups 11.526 3 3.842 4.437 .005
Within Groups 230.341 266 .866
Total 241.867 269
EL9 Between Groups 8.133 3 2.711 3.933 .009
Within Groups 183.334 266 .689
Total 191.467 269
EL10 Between Groups 6.477 3 2.159 3.211 .024
Within Groups 176.140 262 .672
Total 182.617 265
EL11 Between Groups 12.993 3 4.331 4.311 .005
Within Groups 267.215 266 1.005
Total 280.207 269
EL12 Between Groups 10.859 3 3.620 3.597 .014
Within Groups 267.659 266 1.006
Total 278.519 269
EL13 Between Groups 4.047 3 1.349 2.321 .076
Within Groups 153.461 264 .581
Total 157.507 267
EL14 Between Groups 2.712 3 .904 1.577 .195
Within Groups 152.488 266 .573
Total 155.200 269
EL15 Between Groups 14.219 3 4.740 4.995 .002
Within Groups 252.389 266 .949
Total 266.607 269
48
Apart from items 1, 14, all the results indicate a significant difference (at the .05 or .10)
level in attitudes towards e-learning based on the respondent’s educational level. This
result supports H3.
The results reject H1 which predicted that Kuwaiti students will show negative attitudes
toward e-learning due to their traditional view of education. From the results we can
conclude that Kuwaiti students have favourable attitudes towards the use of technology in
education.
Examining the impact of different factors such as gender and educational level on the
attitudes toward e-learning is the second objective of this study. Our results supported H2
which predicted no significant differences in attitudes towards e-learning based on the
respondents' gender status. H3 was not supported as there was significant difference in
attitudes towards e-learning based on the student’s educational level.
The fifteen-item e-learning scale was found to be valid and reliable measure of attitudes
towards e-learning in Kuwait.
49
CHAPTER FIVE
Conclusion, Recommendation, and Further Research
This chapter incorporates the conclusion on the finding and provides recommendations
on the issues highlighted in the various chapters from this research work. The first section
covers the conclusions of this study. Research and policy implications are the main topic
of the second section. Finally, author's recommendations and further research are also
included in the sections three and four.
5.1 CONCLUSION
Few studies have analyzed the attitudes towards e-learning in the Arab world. The goal of
this study was to fill this research gap by analyzing the attitudes towards e-learning in
Kuwait. The impact of some variables such as gender, age, and educational level on
attitudes towards e-learning has also been examined. In addition, the e-learning scale’s
reliability and validity were tested for the first time in a non-western context.
From these research findings we can thus conclude that there exists a favourable attitude
towards e-learning in Kuwait. On the other hand, a gender gap was not found in attitudes
towards e-learning, while a gap was detected in this regard based on educational levels.
Finally, the results showed that e-learning scale is reliable and valid measure of attitudes
towards e-learning. Thus, other researchers can use this scale in their empirical studies.
5.2 IMPLICATIONS
The following section talks about the research and policy implications of e-learning.
50
e-learning scale with reservations, or who might have avoided the instrument because of
concerns about validity.
It would be inescapably detrimental for institutions that might undeservedly ignore the
boons of current technological revolution and wake up belatedly to find themselves
drastically lagged behind. It would still be no less pathetic to battle with a futile trial to
catch up with the times that always drift away from those suffering from indecision and
disbelief.
We should leave no stone unturned to reap the fruits of scientific and technological
innovations with e-learning being one of them.
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
Although e-learning systems in Kuwait are new phenomena, they are patronized by
positive students and peoples attitudes. In education, e-learning systems showed that they
can support and enhance the traditional educational systems.
51
aware of e-learning problems and try to manage these problems by offering training
programs for students and teachers in areas as diverse as e-literacy and e-systems privacy.
New researchers should investigate new areas or variables that affect the attitudes
towards e-learning that was not investigated before in the Arab world such as relationship
between culture and e-learning attitudes.
52
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59
APPENDIX A:
QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH)
This questionnaire is conducted to measure attitudes towards e-learning in Kuwait.
Gender Nationality
Neither
Q. Strongly Agree Strongly
No
Question Agree
Agree
not
Disagree
Disagree
Disagree
1 I’m in favour of applying e-learning for
business courses
2 I think the teacher’s application of e-
learning in teaching business courses helps
me learn a lot
3 I think the teacher’s application of e-
learning in teaching business courses is a
waste of my time
4 I think my grade will improve by applying
e-learning to business courses
5 I will find business courses easier if the
teacher applies e-learning in teaching
6 By means of e-learning, I (should) like
business courses more and more
7 I hope the teachers who conduct business
courses may apply e-learning in their
teaching
8 Applying e-learning for business courses is
more relaxing and delightful than the
traditional method
9 Applying e-learning for business courses is
more sprightly and lively for the curriculum
10 E-learning make me more interested in
business courses
11 By applying e-learning for business courses,
the chance of interaction with the teacher is
enhanced
12 By applying e-learning for business courses,
the chance of interaction with my classmates
can be enhanced
13 Applying e-learning for business courses
improves my computer skills
14 Applying e-learning for business courses
encourages me to continue learning on the
Internet by myself
15 I’m unwilling to learn business courses
through using e-learning
60
APPENDIX B:
) (Arabicاﺳﺘﺒﻴﺎن Questionnaire
ﺗﻢ ﻋﻤﻞ هﺬا اﻹﺳﺘﺒﻴﺎن ﻟﻤﻌﺮﻓﺔ ﻣﺪى اﻹﺗﺠﺎﻩ ﻧﺤﻮ اﺳﺘﺨﺪام ﻧﻈﺎم اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻢ اﻹﻟﻜﺘﺮوﻧﻲ ﺑﺪوﻟﺔ اﻟﻜﻮﻳﺖ
اﻟﺠﻨﺴﻴﺔ اﻟﺠﻨﺲ
اﺧﺘﻠﻒ أواﻓﻖ
اﺧﺘﻠﻒ ﻣﺤﺎﻳﺪ أواﻓﻖ اﻟﺴﺆال ت
ﺗﻤﺎﻣ ًﺎ ﺗﻤﺎﻣ ًﺎ
61