A Cross-cultural Comparison on Students’ Perceptions towards Online Learning

Kaushal Kumar Bhagat; Chun-Yen Chang

doi:10.12973/ejmste/81151

Full Text (PDF)

Kaushal Kumar Bhagat ¹, Chun-Yen Chang ² ³ ^*

More Detail

¹ Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University, Beijing, CHINA
² Graduate Institute of Science Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, TAIWAN
³ Science Education Center, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, TAIWAN
^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore cross-country (Taiwan versus India) differences in students’ perceptions of online leaning by gender. The self-reported instrument, POSTOL (Perception of Students towards Online Learning), was conducted to the students from Taiwan and India. Of the total 441 respondents, there were 233 students from India and 208 from Taiwan. A 2x2 between-subjects multivariate analysis of variance was employed on the four dimensions of the POSTOL scale. This scale consists of four dimensions: instructor characteristics, social presence, instructional design, and trust. Results showed that there were significant differences, between India and Taiwan, in the perception of students towards online learning. However, there was no significant interaction effect of country by gender. Findings indicated that culture did influence students’ perceptions towards online learning. There is a need to raise awareness about factors that may affect online learning experience and to provide guidance and for practice and future work.

Keywords

cross-country
gender
online learning
perception

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/81151

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2018 - Volume 14 Issue 3, pp. 987-995

Publication date: 11 Dec 2017

Article Views: 854

Article Downloads: 306

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Altbach, P. G. (2014). MOOCs as neocolonialism: who controls knowledge? International Higher Education, 75, 5-7.
Ashong, C. Y., & Commander, N. E. (2012). Ethnicity, gender, and perceptions of online learning in higher education. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 8(2), 98-110.
Barak, M., Watted, A., & Haick, H. (2016). Motivation to learn in massive open online courses: Examining aspects of language and social engagement. Computers & Education, 94, 49-60. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2015.11.010.
Barberà, E., Layne, L., & Gunawardena, C. N. (2014). Designing online interaction to address disciplinary competencies: A cross-country comparison of faculty perspectives. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 15(2).
Bates, T. (2001). International distance education: Cultural and ethical issues. Distance Education, 22(1), 122-136.
Bhagat, K. K., Wu, L. Y., & Chang, C. Y. (2016). Development and validation of the perception of students towards online learning (POSTOL). Educational Technology & Society, 19(1), 350-359.
Bhattacharyya, H. (2003). Multiculturalism in contemporary India. International Journal on Multicultural societies, 5(2), 148-161.
Chen, K.-C., & Jang, S.-J. (2010). Motivation in online learning: Testing a model of self-determination theory. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(4), 741-752. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2010.01.011.
Cheng, S.-S., Liu, E. Z.-F., Chen, N.-S., Shih, R.-C., & Chang, C.-S. (2012). Gender differences in college students’ behaviors in an online question-answer discussion activity. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 21(2), 245-256.
de Barba, P. G., Kennedy, G. E., & Ainley, M. D. (2016). The role of students’ motivation and participation in predicting performance in a MOOC. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 32(3), 218-231. doi:10.1111/jcal.12130.
Delahunty, J., Jones, P., & Verenikina, I. (2014). Movers and Shapers: teaching in online environments. Linguistics and Education, 28, 54-78.
Eryilmaz, E., van der Pol, J., Ryan, T., Clark, P. M., & Mary, J. (2013). Enhancing student knowledge acquisition from online learning conversations. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 8(1), 113-144. doi:10.1007/s11412-012-9163-y.
Gemmell, I., Harrison, R., Clegg, J., & Reed, K. (2015). Internationalisation in online distance learning postgraduate education: a case study on student views on learning alongside students from other countries. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 52(2), 137-147. doi:10.1080/14703297.2014.881264.
González-Gómez, F., Guardiola, J., Martín Rodríguez, Ó., & Montero Alonso, M. Á. (2012). Gender differences in e-learning satisfaction. Computers & Education, 58(1), 283-290. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2011.08.017.
Gunawardena, C. N., Nolla, A. C., Wilson, P. L., Lopez‐Islas, J. R., Ramirez‐Angel, N., & Megchun‐Alpizar, R. M. (2001). A cross‐cultural study of group process and development in online conferences. Distance Education, 22(1), 85-121. doi:10.1080/0158791010220106.
Hamdan, A. K. (2014). The reciprocal and correlative relationship between learning culture and online education: A case from Saudi Arabia. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 15(1), 309-336.
Horzum, M. B., Önder, İ., & Beşoluk, Ş. (2014). Chronotype and academic achievement among online learning students. Learning and Individual Differences, 30, 106-111. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2013.10.017.
House, R. J., Hanges, P. J.,Javidan, M.,Dorfman, P. W.,&Gupta, V. . (2004). Culture, Leadership and Organizations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Joksimović, S., Gašević, D., Loughin, T. M., Kovanović, V., & Hatala, M. (2015). Learning at distance: Effects of interaction traces on academic achievement. Computers & Education, 87, 204-217. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2015.07.002.
Joo, Y. J., Oh, E., & Kim, S. M. (2015). Motivation, instructional design, flow, and academic achievement at a Korean online university: a structural equation modeling study. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 27(1), 28-46. doi:10.1007/s12528-015-9090-9.
Kerr, B. (2014). Challenges in global e-learning: What does the literature tell us. Paper presented at the 2014 International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL).
Khandelwal, S. K., Jhingan, H. P., Ramesh, S., Gupta, R. K., & Srivastava, V. K. (2004). India mental health country profile. International Review of Psychiatry, 16(1-2), 126-141. doi:10.1080/09540260310001635177.
Kim, K.-J., & Bonk, C. J. (2002). Cross-cultural Comparisons of Online Collaboration. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 8(1), 0-0. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2002.tb00163.x.
Kim, Y., Glassman, M., & Williams, M. S. (2015). Connecting agents: Engagement and motivation in online collaboration. Computers in Human Behavior, 49, 333-342. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.03.015.
Kimbrough, A. M., Guadagno, R. E., Muscanell, N. L., & Dill, J. (2013). Gender differences in mediated communication: Women connect more than do men. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 896-900. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.005.
Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Kupczynski, L., Brown, M., Holland, G., & Uriegas, B. (2014). The Relationship between Gender and Academic Success Online. Journal of Educators Online, 11(1), 1-14.
Lee, S. J., Srinivasan, S., Trail, T., Lewis, D., & Lopez, S. (2011). Examining the relationship among student perception of support, course satisfaction, and learning outcomes in online learning. Internet and Higher Education, 14(3), 158-163. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2011.04.001.
Lim, D. H. (2004). Cross Cultural Differences in Online Learning Motivation. Educational Media International, 41(2), 163-173.
Liu, I. F., & Young, S. S. C. (2017). An exploration of participative motivations in a community-based online English extensive reading contest with respect to gender difference. Interactive Learning Environments, 25(1), 48-61. doi:10.1080/10494820.2015.1090457.
Loizzo, J., & Ertmer, P. A. (2016). MOOCocracy: the learning culture of massive open online courses. Educational Technology Research and Development, 1-20. doi:10.1007/s11423-016-9444-7.
Matsumoto, D. (1996). Culture and psychology. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks Cole Publishing.
McLoughlin, C. (1999). Culturally responsive technology use: developing an on-line community of learners. British Journal of Educational Technology, 30(3), 231-243. doi:10.1111/1467-8535.00112.
Mercer, N. (2000). Words and Minds: How we use language to think together. London, UK: Routledge.
Milheim, K. L. (2014). Cultural inclusivity in online learning Student-Teacher Interaction in Online Learning Environments (pp. 76-88).
Nistor, N. (2013). Stability of attitudes and participation in online university courses: Gender and location effects. Computers & Education, 68, 284-292. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2013.05.016.
Olaniran, B. A. (2009). Discerning culture in e-learning and in the global workplaces. Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal (KM&EL), 1(3), 180-195.
Olesova, L., Yang, D., & Richardson, J. C. (2011). Cross-Cultural Differences in Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Online Barriers. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 15(3), 68-80.
Ordóñez, A. C. (2014). Predicting International Critical Success Factors in e-learning: A comparison of four universities from China, Mexico, Spain and USA. Retrieved from http://www.tdx.cat/bitstream/handle/10803/276198/Thesis%20Armando%20Cortes_24_Jul_2014_ok.pdf;jsessionid=18B3E50FA1797D31F8EB6F052E768FE2.tdx1?sequence=1.
Osman, G., & Herring, S. C. (2007). Interaction, facilitation, and deep learning in cross-cultural chat: A case study. The Internet and Higher Education, 10(2), 125-141. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2007.03.004.
Prowse, S. (2015). Taiwan’s Growing Multiculturalism. The Diplomat. Retrieved from http://thediplomat.com/2015/02/taiwans-growing-multiculturalism/.
Song, H.-g., Restivo, M., van de Rijt, A., Scarlatos, L., Tonjes, D., & Orlov, A. (2015). The hidden gender effect in online collaboration: An experimental study of team performance under anonymity. Computers in Human Behavior, 50(Supplement C), 274-282. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.04.013.
Stewart, B. L. (2004). Online learning: a strategy for social responsibility in educational access. The Internet and Higher Education, 7(4), 299-310. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2004.09.003.
Uzuner, S. (2009). Questions of culture in distance learning: A research review. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 10(3), 1-11.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: Interaction between learning and development. Cambridge. MA: Harvard University Press.
Wang, C.-H., Shannon, D. M., & Ross, M. E. (2013). Students’ characteristics, self-regulated learning, technology self-efficacy, and course outcomes in online learning. Distance Education, 34(3), 302-323. doi:10.1080/01587919.2013.835779.
Wang, M. (2007). Designing online courses that effectively engage learners from diverse cultural backgrounds. British Journal of Educational Technology, 38(2), 294-311. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2006.00626.x.
Wikipedia. (2016). List of languages by total number of speakers. Retrieved on June 19, 2016 from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=List_of_languages_by_total_number_of_speakers&id=726089308.
Wong, L.-H. (2012). A learner-centric view of mobile seamless learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 43(1), E19-E23. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01245.x.
Xie, K., Miller, N. C., & Allison, J. R. (2013). Toward a social conflict evolution model: Examining the adverse power of conflictual social interaction in online learning. Computers & Education, 63, 404-415. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2013.01.003.
Yang, J., Huiju, Y., Cen, S.-J., & Huang, R. (2014). Strategies for Smooth and Effective Cross-Cultural Online Collaborative Learning. Educational Technology & Society, 17(3), 208-221.
You, J. W. (2016). Identifying significant indicators using LMS data to predict course achievement in online learning. The Internet and Higher Education, 29, 23-30. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2015.11.003.
Zhu, C. (2012). Student Satisfaction, Performance, and Knowledge Construction in Online Collaborative Learning. Educational Technology & Society, 15(1), 127-136.

How to cite this article

Vancouver

Bhagat KK, Chang C. A Cross-cultural Comparison on Students’ Perceptions towards Online Learning. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2018;14(3):987-95. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/81151

APA

Bhagat, K. K., & Chang, C. (2018). A Cross-cultural Comparison on Students’ Perceptions towards Online Learning. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 14(3), 987-995. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/81151

AMA

Bhagat KK, Chang C. A Cross-cultural Comparison on Students’ Perceptions towards Online Learning. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2018;14(3), 987-995. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/81151

Chicago

Bhagat, Kaushal Kumar, and Chun-Yen Chang. "A Cross-cultural Comparison on Students’ Perceptions towards Online Learning". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2018 14 no. 3 (2018): 987-995. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/81151

Harvard

Bhagat, K. K., and Chang, C. (2018). A Cross-cultural Comparison on Students’ Perceptions towards Online Learning. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 14(3), pp. 987-995. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/81151

MLA

Bhagat, Kaushal Kumar et al. "A Cross-cultural Comparison on Students’ Perceptions towards Online Learning". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 14, no. 3, 2018, pp. 987-995. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/81151