Abstract
Online learning has become an increasingly popular alternative to traditional
education, and a greater number of students are enrolling for online courses,
especially at private higher education institutions. With the increased demand for
online education, more lecturers have had to shift from face-to-face education to
teaching online courses. Lecturers have varying levels of acceptance and adoption
of online learning. This study aims to examine the acceptability of facilitating online
learning by academic lecturers in private higher education institutions in South Africa
from a Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 3 (UTAUT3) perspective
- to uncover significant variables that impact lecturers' acceptance of online learning.
The researcher adapted the original UTAUT3 model for this study and developed a
survey instrument to gather data. The online survey gathered quantitative data from
academic lecturers working in private higher education institutions across South
Africa to quantify variables that influence the acceptance of online learning. The data
was analysed using Structural Equation Modelling and AMOS 26. The data was
presented in graphs and tables to illustrate the effect of variables on lecturers’
acceptance. The findings of this study indicated that hedonic motivation influences
lecturers’ behavioural intention to use online learning, and that personal
innovativeness influences their behavioural use of online learning.