Examining the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology in Mandatory Digital Learning Under COVID-19

• In Event: AERA Virtual Poster Session 7
  In Poster Session: Looking at Online Learning From Various Perspectives, Methodologies, and Contexts

Abstract

In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic enforced a rapid shift to emergency remote teaching and mandatory digital learning in higher education. The current study tested an extended causal model built on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). Data collected from 485 students were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate a baseline model with nine latent variables that affect students’ behavioral intention to accept and use information technology for learning even after the current restrictions caused by the pandemic. The baseline model can be considered psychologically sound but accords only partially with the UTAUT model. The implications of these results are discussed with regard to digital learning in higher education.

Authors

• Thomas Lehmann, University of Bremen

• Patrick Blumschein, University of Education Freiburg

• Norbert M. Seel, University of Freiburg