A qualitative study of students' perspective on e-learning adoption in India

Abstract

Purpose

This paper will try to uncover how e-learning is giving a new shape to the education industry. Also, it will encompass the students' perspective and experience of e-learning.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study employed interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to intensely scrutinize the lived-in experiences of the participants. In the present study, the respondents were selected from Delhi NCR of India. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect the primary data to understand the student's perspectives on the impact of information and communications technology (ICT) in education industry.

Findings

The findings have been grouped under two sections referred to as “themes,” which include “drivers for e-learning adoption” and “inhibitors which restrict the adoption of e-learning.”

Practical implications

At present, India does not have a big market for e-learning, but there is huge potential in the country. The present study may be helpful for the educational institutions in India and in similar developing countries in understanding the students' perspectives on e-learning adoption. The educational institutions may improve their systems accordingly so that they can not only retain the students of their own countries but also attract students from other countries for further education.

Social implications

E-learning can be employed to give users quick access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of people, communities, and the cultures to increase the tangibility.

Originality/value

The study will be useful to the policymakers in the higher education sector of developing nations like India, in understanding the students' mindsets. This study makes a contribution to the growing literature on e-learning, where the researchers have determined the relative importance of various motivating and inhibiting factors which influence the adoption of e-learning. Additionally, the study has used IPA as the methodology to determine the factors, which is a novel contribution.

Citation

Phutela, N. and Dwivedi, S. (2020), "A qualitative study of students' perspective on e-learning adoption in India", Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 545-559. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-02-2019-0041