The impact of demographic factors on selected aspects of e-learning in higher education

Author(s):

Aleksander Aristovnik, (University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Nina Tomazevic, (Faculty of Public Administration, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Damijana Kerzic, (University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Lan Umek, (Faculty of Administration, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia)

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Single Sentence Summary:

This paper illustrates the impact of demographic factors on selected aspects of e-learning in higher education revealing that the students' attitudes to blended learning increases significantly by year of study and decreases according to the amount of other non-study activities.

Abstract:

Purpose

In higher education, a combination of traditional face-to-face learning and e-learning is becoming very popular. During their studies, students are enroled in several e-courses. They perceive various aspects of e-courses and show different responses when using teaching materials and learning in an e-course. The purpose of this paper is to measure such aspects from the students’ perspective and explore the differences among various subgroups of students.

Design/methodology/approach

In the survey, students expressed their opinions on 13 different aspects (a seven-level scale) of the e-courses in which they were enroled. In addition, the influence of some demographic characteristics was analysed. The authors used statistical tests (t-test and ANOVA) to compare the means among the analysed subgroups.

Findings

The empirical results reveal some differences among the subgroups of students. Students’ attitudes to blended learning increase significantly by year of study and decrease according to the amount of other non-study activities. Simplicity of finding materials in an e-course is the factor where male and female students differ significantly. This finding serves as a guideline for faculty management concerned with how to adjust blended learning to fulfil the various expectations of different student subgroups.

Originality/value

This paper’s insights will be of value to individuals and institutions engaged in the e-learning process in higher education. In particular, the results will be helpful to the faculty management and teachers with the main task to increase the engagement of particular groups of students regarding the work in e-courses.

Keywords:

Higher education, Blended learning, Demographic factors, LMS Moodle, Public administration education, Students’ perspective

Type:

Research paper

Publisher:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Received:

14 September 2016

Revised:

14 November 2016

Accepted:

25 November 2016

Copyright:

© Emerald Publishing Limited 2017
Published by Emerald Publishing Limited
Licensed re-use rights only

Citation:

Aleksander Aristovnik, Nina Tomazevic, Damijana Kerzic, Lan Umek, (2017) "The impact of demographic factors on selected aspects of e-learning in higher education", The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, Vol. 34 Issue: 2, pp.114-121, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJILT-09-2016-0045

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